Introduction by Barbara K. Mistick

Dear Colleagues:

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education is marking up its FY 2027 funding bill this morning. According to the committee’s media materials, the bill would increase the Pell Grant maximum to $7,445 for the 2027-28 award year and pay for the Pell funding shortfall by eliminating subsidized loans for undergraduate students. The $50 Pell increase signifies the strong bipartisan support the program has in Washington. This is the first step in the congressional funding process, with the Senate expected to act later this spring and final negotiations to take place this fall. (See story for more details.)

Last Friday, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed changes to what is commonly referred to as the “Uniform Guidance” (UG) for federal grantmaking. In addition to proposing a wide-ranging restructuring of how grant competitions are run and mandating new requirements, the proposal changes the UG from guidance for agencies to interpret to a regulation that applies government wide. This change will have extensive implications for colleges and universities seeking grants from the federal government. NAICU will work with its colleagues in the higher education community to submit comments to OMB before the July 13 deadline. (See story for more details.)

Finally, I’d like to thank NAICU’s government relations team for its work in organizing, preparing for, and hosting our series of six webinars created to help NAICU members understand and get ready for the regulatory changes going into effect on July 1 as part of the implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 

The regulatory topics covered accreditation, new accountability metrics, changes to federal lending, Workforce Pell, and preparing your campus for the July 1 implementation deadline for some of these changes.  The series, which concluded yesterday, also included a webinar on President Trump’s FY 2027 budget and its plans for addressing the Pell Grant shortfall.

You can view the webinars and presentation materials on NAICU’s website. I hope you find these materials helpful in your preparations.  We will continue to keep you updated on these and other actions taken by the administration and Congress.

I hope you have a pleasant weekend.

Regards,

Barbara

Barbara K. Mistick, D.B.A.
President, NAICU