Congress
Reversing Student Loan Hike
Morning Briefing: Sprint to August Begins With Student Loans, Health Law By Adriel Bettelheim, CQ Roll Call www.cq.com Senate Democrats’ top priority this week will be trying to reverse a doubling of federal student loan interest rates that took effect July 1 and ending a months long impasse that could affect 7 million students who take out […]
House Passes Bill Tying Student-Loan Interest Rates to the Market
By Kelly Field (Chronicle.com) Washington Defying a threatened presidential veto, Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would tie student-loan interest rates to the free market. If enacted, the bill, HR 1911, would prevent interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans from doubling on July 1, and put an end to the temporary fix […]
113th Congress Convenes
The 113th Congress will convene today at the constitutionally required time of noon. When the new Congress is sworn in, North Carolina’s US House delegation will go from 7 Democrats & 6 Republicans to 4 Democrats & 9 Republicans. John Kline, a Minnesota Republican, will remain chairman of the House Committee on Education and the […]
Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye, 88, dies
Senator Daniel Inouye, a Hawaii Democrat and long-time chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, died Monday evening at 88. Inouye was a Medal of Honor-winning World War II veteran and represented Hawaii in the Senate for four decades. Leahy In Line Vermont Democrat Patrick J. Leahy is likely to succeed Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii as chairman of […]
How Will the Fiscal Cliff Impact Education Funding?
PBS NewsHour has an informative summary of what’s at stake in the fiscal cliff negotiations as it relates to education. The aspect of the “cliff” that would impact education budgets most directly is sequestration — mandatory cuts to discretionary federal spending. The White House Office of Management and Budget estimates sequestration would reduce discretionary […]
New Chairs for House Committees
Inside Higher Ed reports House Republicans have nominated congressmen for leadership positions, including several posts related to higher education. Committee leadership for the Democrat-controlled Senate have not yet been announced for the next Congress, which takes office in January. Click here to read the full story.
Congressional Leadership Votes and Announcements
APLU’s Council on Government Affairs (CGA) reports that the Senate Democratic Conference voted yesterday to keep its leadership team with Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) as Minority Leader, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) as Senate Democratic whip, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) as conference vice chairman and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) as conference secretary. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) […]
Looking Beyond November 6
InsideHigherEd.com has a great article this morning on the biggest issues Congress is likely to tackle following elections on November 6. Those issues include the “fiscal cliff,” a projected shortfall in the Pell Grant program and possibly the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Read the full article by clicking here.
CBO warns fiscal cliff would lead to deep recession
By Erik Wasson thehill.com The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday warned the economy will enter a recession next year if the country goes over the so-called fiscal cliff. In its most dire warning yet about the fiscal cliff yet, the CBO said the economy would contract by 0.5 percent in calendar year 2013 if […]