Introduction by Barbara K. Mistick

Dear Colleagues,

It was another action filled week in Washington, as Congress introduced and marked up a nearly $4 trillion tax bill to reform large swaths of the federal tax code. That bill contained a few real bright spots for private, nonprofit colleges and universities, most notably in its preservation of all the existing student and family higher education tax benefit programs, maintenance of the tax-free status of bonds frequently issued by institutions of higher education, and expansion of employer-sponsored tuition and student loan repayment benefits.

However, the proposal to vastly expand the higher education endowment tax would have a devastating impact on access and affordability as eligible institutions would be responsible for paying tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to the federal government rather than investing those resources in students and programs.

Your continued advocacy throughout the reconciliation process will be important to ensuring that the voices of our institutions and the students we serve are front and center during deliberations on Capitol Hill. To help with this work, we have created a Reconciliation Advocacy Center [LINK] to keep you apprised of the process and bill status and to equip you with talking points, sample letters, and other resources to be effective advocates. The Advocacy Center will be updated regularly as the House and Senate committees act in the coming weeks, with an eye toward completing their reconciliation work by July 4. 

In other news, I had the opportunity this week to continue my dialogue with Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. I was joined in my meeting with the Secretary by Dr. Donna M. Carroll, president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities. We discussed a host of issues, including opportunities for regulatory reform, changing student demographics, the value of the Pell Grant program, and the importance of the campus-based aid programs (Federal Work-Study and SEOG). I look forward to continuing to meet with Secretary McMahon to highlight the diversity and value of our membership in helping achieve broad educational and workforce goals.

NAICU Resources

• Reconciliation. NAICU’s Reconciliation Advocacy Center [LINK] will provide the tools and materials needed to effectively advocate for as the House and Senate continue their work on reconciliation.

• Executive Orders. NAICU’s webpage on President Trump’s Executive Orders (EOs) affecting higher education has been updated to include three recent EOs: 1) Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education; 2) Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities; and 3) White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Soundbites

• NAICU’s Director of Tax Policy, Karin Johns, was quoted in Inside Higher Ed’s reporting on the tax bill introduced and voted on this week in the House Committee on Ways and Means.

• On Wednesday, NAICU announced the new members of its Board of Directors, led by incoming Board Chair Robert L. Manuel, president of DePaul University. This new class of leaders will take office on July 1, 2025.

I hope you have a pleasant weekend.

For more information, please contact:
Barbara K. Mistick, D.B.A.