WASHINGTON UPDATES
Capitol Advocacy Partners provides weekly newsletter updates featuring curated news from the executive and legislative branches, along with timely information on federal funding opportunities—tailored to keep you informed and ahead.
DC Update: 6/17/19
President and Administration
President Trump has asserted executive privilege over congressionally subpoenaed documents on the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census…
On Thursday, 6/14, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill to make improvements to the IRS, after the House passed the measure earlier this week. The bill, known as the Taxpayer First Act…
Department of Education
On Wednesday, 6/12, the Education Department published in the Federal Register proposed regulations to overhaul the federal requirements governing college accreditation. They're based on…
Congress
The Senate markups that were rumored to begin in late June will now be delayed…
On Wednesday, 6/19, the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on "Innovation to Improve Equity: Exploring High-Quality Pathways to a College Degree" at…
On Thursday, 6/13, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) announced a bill that would forgive billions of dollars in outstanding student loans and wipe out almost all student debt held…
The lack of a spending deal with fewer than 15 legislative days remaining until the August recess is prompting some GOP senators to discuss the possibility of cutting…
The House will vote on the first federal minimum wage increase in over a decade this July. The legislation to be considered is the…
On Wednesday, 6/19, the House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties will hold a hearing on H.R. 40, “Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act” and the…
DC Update: 6/10/19
President and Administration
On Friday, 6/7, President Donald Trump dropped his unpopular plan to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of goods from Mexico after the two countries reach a deal to stem the flow of Central American migrants entering the United States. Mexico said it would…
On Wednesday, 6/6, House Democratic appropriators met to discuss the President's $4B border supplemental request…
On Thursday, 6/5, the U.S. Surgeon General said the use of e-cigarettes can be linked to rising tobacco use among young people…
On Thursday, 5/2, Attorney General Barr approved the creation of the State and Local Law Enforcement Coordination Section (SLEC-S) within the Office of Legislative Affairs. As of Monday, 6/3, the SLEC-S will be responsible for…
Department of Education
The U.S. Department of Education has formed a five-person team that will be devoted full-time to helping schools recover from hurricanes, floods, and wildfires…The House education subcommittee heard about the new dedicated staff at the same time they heard testimony from…
Congress
On Tuesday, 6/4, the House voted to protect so-called Dreamers and establish a path to citizenship for more than 2 million immigrants without legal status. The bill would grant…
On Wednesday, 6/12, the House will take up an FY 20 five-bill megabus totally roughly $990 billion. The package includes...
2020 Candidates
Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California says he’s the only presidential candidate to make gun control the top priority…
Other
On 6/4, the CAP team participated in a webinar hosted by The National Reentry Resource Center entitled “Connecting the Dots: Lessons Learned from a Comprehensive Juvenile Justice Systems Improvement Initiative.” The webinar briefed the following…
Funding/Support Opportunities
New grants from the Department of Education and Labor…
Education Update: 6/10/19
President and Administration
On Friday, 6/7, President Donald Trump dropped his unpopular plan to impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of goods from Mexico after the two countries reach a deal to stem the flow of Central American migrants entering the United States. Mexico said it would…
On Wednesday, 6/6, House Democratic appropriators met to discuss the President's $4B border supplemental request…
Department of Education
The U.S. Department of Education has formed a five-person team that will be devoted full-time to helping schools recover from hurricanes, floods, and wildfires…The House education subcommittee heard about the new dedicated staff at the same time they heard testimony from…
Congress
On Tuesday, 6/4, the House voted to protect so-called Dreamers and establish a path to citizenship for more than 2 million immigrants without legal status. The bill would grant…
On Wednesday, 6/12, the House will take up an FY 20 five-bill megabus totally roughly $990 billion. The package includes...
The House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee advanced by voice vote its FY’20 Homeland Security bill…The bill provides a total of...
On Wednesday, 6/12, the Committee on Small Business will meet for a hearing set to discuss the fact that student loan debt is now a $1.49 trillion issue that continues to...
Funding/Support Opportunities
A new funding opportunity from the Department of Education…
DC Update: 6/3/19
President and Administration
On Thursday, 5/30, President Trump announced new tariffs on Mexico in an effort to pressure the country to halt the flow of migrants from Central America…The U.S. will impose a 5 percent tariff beginning…Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard responded to these tariffs Monday, 6/3, saying tariffs on Mexican goods will hurt both countries…
On Thursday, 5/30, California U.S. District Court Judge Haywood Gilliam, an Obama appointee, rejected the Trump administration's request to start using diverted military funds to build a wall on the southern border…On Friday, 5/24, Gilliam issued a preliminary injunction…On Thursday Gilliam again decided against administration officials…
Department of Education
The Education Secretary announced the annual updates to the tables used in the statutory Federal Need Analysis Methodology that determines a student's expected family contribution (EFC) for award year (AY) 2020-21 for student financial aid programs such as…
On Tuesday, 5/21, Secretary Betsy DeVos announced major improvements to the College Scorecard…The College Scorecard now also includes information on…
On Wednesday, May 22, the Department of Homeland Security announced new and increased fees for international students, schools and exchange visitors set to take effect...
On Friday, 5/24, the attorneys general of 51 states and territories asked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to stop requiring that disabled veterans fill out paperwork to become eligible for federal student loan forgiveness. Instead, they want DeVos to…
Congress
Congress's to-do list is getting longer and longer…Here are the key items:
Disaster aid: The legislation includes provisions that benefit...
Budget caps: Congress has until the end of September to get a caps deal to raise the spending levels for...
Debt ceiling: Tied to the talks about getting a caps deal is how Congress will raise the debt ceiling in order to avoid a default in the fall…Analysts predict Congress will have to raise the ceiling by...
Government funding: Congress is facing a fall deadline to fund the government and avoid a second shutdown in 2019. Lawmakers need to pass 12 appropriations bills before...
Infrastructure: The implosion of Trump’s meeting with top congressional Democrats has thrown a wrench into Congress’s chances of getting a deal on infrastructure...
On Friday, 5/24, The Senate GOP behind closed doors added a permanent ban on earmarked spending to their conference rules…
On Tuesday, 5/29, Rep. Seth Moulton, a Marine veteran running for president, introduced a plan to expand mental health services for the military, veterans and high school students…The $3 billion mental health plan would require…Moulton said he would pay for it by…
Other
The College Board has for several years been testing an "adversity index" designed to place students' SAT scores in the context of…On Thursday, the College Board said it would be expanded to…
Education Update: 6/3/19
President and Administration
On Thursday, 5/30, President Trump announced new tariffs on Mexico in an effort to pressure the country to halt the flow of migrants from Central America…The U.S. will impose a 5 percent tariff beginning…Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard responded to these tariffs Monday, 6/3, saying tariffs on Mexican goods will hurt both countries…
Department of Education
The Education Secretary announced the annual updates to the tables used in the statutory Federal Need Analysis Methodology that determines a student's expected family contribution (EFC) for award year (AY) 2020-21 for student financial aid programs such as…
On Tuesday, 5/21, Secretary Betsy DeVos announced major improvements to the College Scorecard…The College Scorecard now also includes information on…
On Wednesday, May 22, the Department of Homeland Security announced new and increased fees for international students, schools and exchange visitors set to take effect...
Congress
Congress's to-do list is getting longer and longer…Here are the key items:
Disaster aid: The legislation includes provisions that benefit...
Budget caps: Congress has until the end of September to get a caps deal to raise the spending levels for...
Debt ceiling: Tied to the talks about getting a caps deal is how Congress will raise the debt ceiling in order to avoid a default in the fall…Analysts predict Congress will have to raise the ceiling by...
Government funding: Congress is facing a fall deadline to fund the government and avoid a second shutdown in 2019. Lawmakers need to pass 12 appropriations bills before...
Infrastructure: The implosion of Trump’s meeting with top congressional Democrats has thrown a wrench into Congress’s chances of getting a deal on infrastructure...
On Friday, 5/24, The Senate GOP behind closed doors added a permanent ban on earmarked spending to their conference rules…
On Tuesday, 5/29, Rep. Seth Moulton, a Marine veteran running for president, introduced a plan to expand mental health services for the military, veterans and high school students…The $3 billion mental health plan would require…Moulton said he would pay for it by…
Other
The College Board has for several years been testing an "adversity index" designed to place students' SAT scores in the context of…On Thursday, the College Board said it would be expanded to…
Free school lunch is the latest idea to emerge among 2020 Democrats…A few candidates have proposed universal free meals in schools, regardless of students' family income. The plans would cost…