Weekly Federal Update 5/2/22

President and Administration

Last week, President Biden told members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus that he was looking at different options for forgiving student loan debt…

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday, 4/28, announced a plan to ban sales of menthol-flavored cigarettes in the U.S., a measure many public health experts hailed as the government’s most meaningful action in more than a decade of tobacco control efforts…

The U.S. economy contracted in the first three months of the year, but strong consumer spending and continued business investment suggested that the recovery remained resilient…

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously today, 5/2, that the city of Boston violated the Constitution when it refused to let a local organization fly a Christian flag in front of city hall…

Broadband resources for state and local governments…

Congress  

Senate Majority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have agreed on a pathway to begin an official House-Senate negotiation on the Bipartisan Innovation Act, a massive package to ensure U.S. technological competitiveness with China…

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) huddled last week to discuss putting together a package to address gas prices…

A small bipartisan group of lawmakers gathered again today, 5/2, to hash out whether a deal is possible to combat climate change and modernize U.S. energy policy…

Speaker Pelosi led a congressional delegation to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv over the weekend…

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chair of the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, says the panel will hold public hearings in June. Thompson also said the panel will issue one final report in the fall…

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, introduced legislation last week that would reduce the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine to 2.5:1 from 18:1…

Republicans and Democrats are signaling they'll back President Biden's proposed $33 billion supplemental aid package for Ukraine's military, economic and humanitarian needs…

Mental Health

Three decades ago, the gravest public health threats to teenagers in the U.S. came from binge drinking, drunken driving, teenage pregnancy and smoking…

In partnership with the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has developed new, free informational resources that inform Americans of their rights under law on coverage for mental health benefits…

Education

Last week, the Department of Education announced major actions and investments from government, the private sector, and nonprofit organizations to support student academic and mental health recovery as part of ED’s broader effort to help students, schools, and communities recover from the pandemic and re-emerge stronger…

In a new article, the Education Secretary lays out his department's values and priorities for improving education in this next phase of recovery…

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration recently launched an equity action plan with steps to offer more resources and opportunities to faculty members and students at minority-serving institutions…

Student Defense, the Project on Predatory Student Lending and the National Consumer Law Center have filed a lawsuit against Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and the Department of Education on behalf of student loan borrowers with unresolved borrower defense to repayment claims… 

The Department of Education is putting the finishing touches on a long-awaited rewrite of Title IX which is widely expected to codify the rights of trans students for the first time…

Rates of cheating in online examinations have hit a record high, according to proctoring data that show one in 14 students was caught breaking the rules last year…

Weekly CA-COVID Update 4/27/22

California

A new poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies found that just four percent of California voters listed COVID-19 as the most important issue for the state to address, with housing affordability, homelessness, crime and gas prices dominating the priorities - and climate change ranking below fuel costs…

Food banks across the state are seeing an influx of new faces as spikes in the cost of groceries and gas have some Californians seeking help for the first time…

Six weeks after Gov. Newsom unveiled a far-reaching effort to push more people into court-ordered treatment for severe mental illness and addiction, homeless advocates are calling it legally misguided and immoral at the proposal’s first public hearing at the state Capitol yesterday, 4/27…

New rules for the state's major web-access project define precisely what affordable means when it comes to an internet plan…

Highlighting a growing trend as California’s severe drought extends into a third summer, 1.4 million East Bay residents will see new crackdowns on water use - the first since 2016 - under rules approved yesterday, 4/26… 

California witnessed 367 incidents of antisemitic hate and harassment last year, part of a record national spike that observers fear will only continue in 2022, as right-wing extremism ricochets online and fringe groups pop up throughout the Bay Area…

Among the 17 states where population declined over the year, losses were greatest in New York (-1.58%), Illinois (-0.89%), Hawaii (-0.71%) and California (-0.66%). Losses in these states were driven by people moving away…

California wants electric vehicle sales to triple in the next four years to 35 percent of all new car purchases, an aggressive target set as part of the goal to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by the middle of next decade…

Online platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube would face added legal obligations to protect children and teens under a bill being considered in California’s legislature…

Two newly introduced bills could significantly impact the early education landscape in California if they eventually become law…

Coronavirus

The vice president tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, 4/26, her office announced…

California is no longer recommending a five-day quarantine period for people who are exposed to COVID-19 but remain asymptomatic…

The United States is finally “out of the full-blown explosive pandemic phase” that has led to nearly one million deaths from COVID-19 and more than two years of suffering and hardship, Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, said this morning, 4/27… 

Yesterday, 4/26, the White House made a push for more COVID-19 patients to get treated with Pfizer's Paxlovid as hundreds of people in the U.S. continue to die from the virus every day…

The Biden administration is expected to renew its pressure campaign on Congress to fund testing, treatments, therapeutics and prevention of future surges of COVID-19 as lawmakers return this week…

Small-business owners are bristling over a congressional proposal that would redirect unspent money from COVID-19 programs to provide $10 billion for the federal government’s pandemic health response, including vaccines and therapeutics…

The California Supreme Court must clarify the novel question arising from the COVID-19 pandemic of whether a company can be held liable for the spread of the COVID-19 virus to an employee’s household, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said in an order last week…

Members of Congress sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Monday, 4/25, asking whether the agency intended to delay reviewing Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for children five years old and younger and for “the scientific basis and any other rationale” for such an action…

A booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech significantly increased the level of neutralizing antibodies against both the original version of the virus and the Omicron variant in a small trial of children ages five to 11, the companies announced on Thursday, 4/21…

Infants born during the pandemic produced significantly fewer vocalizations and had less verbal back-and-forth with their caretakers compared to those born before COVID-19, according to independent studies by Brown University and a national nonprofit focused on early language development…

Vaccination coverage for kindergartners dropped across the country in the 2020-2021 school year, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday, 4/21, part of a worrying decline in childhood immunization since the start of the pandemic…

Moderna said its modified COVID-19 booster shot, designed to target two strains of COVID-19, generated a strong immune response against multiple variants of concern, including Omicron…

Weekly Federal Update 4/26/22

Mental Health

Federal Reserve policy makers and researchers who have been puzzled by the slow return of U.S. workers to the labor force as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic may have found a new explanation: alcohol and drug abuse…

Conducted March 16 to 22, the Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse survey found nearly one in five students had struggled with suicidal ideation during college and seven percent of respondents identified substance abuse as a recent mental health challenge - although national research estimates that one in four college students meets the diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders)…

While the mental health challenges facing college students are well documented, many students aren’t seeking out counseling and other support services available to them on campus…

A family tragedy sheds light on a burgeoning mental-health emergency…

Almost every measure of mental health is getting worse, for every teenage demographic, and it’s happening all across the country…

President and Administration

As Congress returns from its two-week recess, the House and Senate will begin negotiations to finalize a deal on far-reaching China competitiveness legislation…

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a bid by New York and three other states to overturn a $10,000 cap on federal tax deductions for state and local taxes that Congress imposed as part of the Trump administration’s sweeping tax overhaul in 2017…

After more than a year of review, more than 90 federal agencies, including all major Cabinet departments, released their “equity action plans” on Thursday, 4/21…

The Biden administration is preparing to scrap a Trump-era rule that allows medical workers to refuse to provide services that conflict with their religious or moral beliefs…

On Monday, 4/25, the Supreme Court began to hear oral arguments in the case of a high school football coach in Washington state who was fired for kneeling at the 50-yard line to pray after his team’s games…

Transportation projects that tackle carbon reduction from a variety of approaches - from greener truck stops to scooter charging - are eligible for a new pot of money being funneled to states from the infrastructure law…

The U.S. Justice Department said it would appeal a Florida judge’s ruling that threw out a mask requirement for plane and air travel, setting up a likely court battle that could extend past the midterm elections…

President Biden is expected to select Gary Restaino, the top U.S. prosecutor in Arizona, as the interim director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives until a permanent leader is confirmed…

Vice President Kamala Harris’s chief of staff is stepping down in the latest shake-up among her senior aides…

The Biden administration is launching a $6 billion effort to rescue nuclear power plants at risk of closing, citing the need to continue nuclear energy as a carbon-free source of power that helps to combat climate change…

The Agriculture Department announced more than $238 million in funding from bipartisan infrastructure law for the Secure Rural Schools program last week, which aims to help states and counties fund local services otherwise at risk because of a decline in timber sales revenue…

Congress  

The “Four Corners” – House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Kay Granger (R-TX), the ranking member, plus Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), the ranking member – will meet on Thursday, 4/28…

Education

More students are using their own money to pay for college rather than relying on their parents, according to the College Ave Student Loans survey conducted by Barnes & Noble College Insights…

Last week, the Education Department announced changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Income-Driven Repayment programs…

The U.S. government has extended through the 2022–23 academic year COVID-era guidance that allows international students enrolled at American colleges and universities to continue to take more online courses than federal law permitted before the pandemic…

Enrollment in state pre-K programs fell for the first time in two decades after a period of steady growth, according to a new report focusing on the 2020-21 school year…

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in what may be the most rapid rise in homeschooling the U.S. has ever seen…

As schools get thrust into the center of the divisive culture wars, a new survey shows a larger share of Americans support an expansion of classroom discussion on racism and sexuality than those who believe such conversations should be curtailed…

A new dashboard tracking ESSER spending data district by district has been published by Edunomics…

A new GAO report identified a dozen areas of greatest national concern where “GAO can better be prepared to respond”…

Weekly Update 4/13/22

California

Enrollment in California public schools plunged for the second straight school year under COVID restrictions, new figures released yesterday, 4/12, show, with the number of K-12 students dipping below six million for the first time in more than 20 years, driven in part by dismal numbers in the Bay Area… 

The California Assembly’s Higher Education Committee approved two bills at a hearing last week that would offer more financial stability to adjunct professors at California community colleges… 

From housing and health to transportation and education, the Legislative Analyst’s Office provides a litany of sobering climate change impacts for California legislators to address as they enact policies and set budgets…

Starting this week, California State Library Parks Passes will be distributed to public libraries across the state for checkout by library patrons…

The initiative, which the organizers expect to qualify for the 11/8 election, would generate an estimated $3 billion to 4.5 billion annually for the cause through at least 2033…

The crime prevention spending package the Sacramento Mayor and others presented will be on the table along with other spending priorities Newsom could consider…

The California Air Resources Board is slated to release documents in support of its plan to require that, starting in 2035, all new cars sold in the state must be zero-emissions vehicles…

Coronavirus

Researchers trying to devise an updated COVID-19 vaccine for use this fall would have to settle on a formula as early as June to meet that deadline, federal officials said last week, even though some clinical trials are just now getting underway…

The COVID-19 funding bill that the White House has been requesting for months has been delayed once again as Senators in both parties decided that they did not have enough time to pass the $10 billion bill last week…

In about half of U.S. counties, less than 10 percent of children ages five to 11 have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19…

President and Administration

The Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court Thursday, 4/7, marking a historic moment for the high court and a massive victory for President Joe Biden…

Last week, the Biden administration proposed a long-sought change to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) aimed at lowering health insurance costs for millions of Americans…

On Monday, 4/11, Vice President Kamala Harris announced new steps designed to reduce the cost of federal home loans for Americans saddled with medical debt and make it easier for veterans to have health care bills forgiven…

President Biden announced the finalization of new federal rules restricting the sale of kits for “ghost guns” which allow purchasers to assemble potentially untraceable weapons…

Remote working may be a boon for many Americans. But it could lead to higher borrowing costs for some cities tapping the municipal-bond market…

President Biden announced yesterday, 4/12, a plan to suspend a ban on summertime sales of higher-ethanol gasoline blends, a move that is aimed at reducing gas prices…

The Biden administration kicked off a rural infrastructure tour on Monday, 4/11, as Democrats attempted to utilize the funding to help build support among rural voters ahead of the midterms…

 A Q&A with the new director of the Census Bureau, Robert L. Santos, on the issues with the 2020 count and preparing for the 2030 count can be found…

Congress  

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) is vowing to hold her previous stances from last year if negotiations of a resuscitated Democratic spending deal were to arise…

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to clarify how schools should monitor students’ online activities, arguing in a new report that educators’ widespread use of digital surveillance tools could trample students’ civil rights…

Education

The Progressive Policy Institute’s report analyzes the Education Department’s new proposed rule on charter schools that researchers say “would make it more difficult for charter school start-ups to get federal support”… 

On June 30, a U.S. Department of Agriculture waiver that drastically alters the way school meals are provided across the country is set to expire…

The Education Department is continuing to take action to support and invest in the teaching profession and address the teacher shortage many schools and districts across the country face…

The Biden administration on Wednesday, 4/6, moved to expunge the defaults of millions of federal student loan borrowers who fell behind on payments before the pandemic, as the White House formally unveiled a four-month extension of the pause on monthly loan payments and interest…

High school students experienced challenges with mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic including hopelessness, substance abuse, and suicidal thoughts or intentions…

While mental health worsened among all student groups during the COVID-19 pandemic, students of color were particularly vulnerable, according to a new study that documents inequalities in mental health care between 2013 and 2021…

A coalition of 26 organizations, led by the Defense of Freedom Institute, sent a letter last week to Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon urging the Education Department to halt its plans to unveil a new Title IX rule, which mandates how schools must respond to sexual misconduct complaints…

Students are more likely to enroll in science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses and graduate with a STEM degree when grade-forgiveness policies are in place, according to a recent study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research…

Math anxiety doesn’t just make students choke on tests…

Last week, the administration launched a $500 million grant program from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to upgrade our public schools with modern, clean, energy efficient facilities and transportation—delivering health and learning benefits to children and school communities, saving school districts money, and creating good union jobs…

Weekly CA-COVID Update 4/5/22

Chips Update

Congress is getting ready for a bicameral negotiation with the hopes of sending Chips legislation to President Biden’s desk at some point…

Breaking Federal News

The White House plans to once again extend the moratorium on federal student loan payments through the end of August…

California

On Sunday, there was a mass shooting in downtown Sacramento leaving six people dead and 12 wounded…

Last week, a California policy committee blocked a bill seeking to mandate household firearm databases in schools and formalize an investigation process responding to credible student threats…

California legislators over the next month will debate a host of proposals aimed at protecting children from exploitation, addiction, and other internet-based risks that trickle into real life…

California’s first-in-the-nation task force on reparations voted last week to limit state compensation to the descendants of free and enslaved Black people who were in the U.S. in the 19th century, narrowly rejecting a proposal to include all Black people regardless of lineage… 

California would pay farmers not to plant thousands of acres of land as part of a $2.9 billion plan announced last week aimed at letting more water flow through the state’s major rivers and streams to help restore the unique habitat in one of North America’s largest estuaries…

Coronavirus

Senate negotiators struck a deal on $10 billion in COVID-19 aid yesterday, 4/5, setting the chamber on a potential course to clear the bill this week…

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has introduced a Quarantine and Isolation Calculator to help people exposed to or diagnosed with COVID-19 determine how long to quarantine or isolate…

The federal government released a new website, which provides a one-stop access to community risk levels, treatments, testing and vaccines…

The CDC weighed in on vaccine effectiveness of different matchups following a primary Johnson & Johnson vaccine…

A new Israeli study shows that senior citizens who received a second booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination had a 78 percent lower mortality rate from the disease than those who got one only…

Adult COVID-19 patients also infected with the flu are four times more likely to require mechanical ventilation and 2.4 times more likely to die than if they had COVID-19 alone, finds a U.K. study published late last week in The Lancet…

President Biden received his second COVID-19 booster shot last week, moments after delivering a speech on the state of the pandemic at the White House…