Dear Colleagues:

According to the Washington Post, President Biden and leaders in Congress are scheduled to be in Washington at the same time for just six days between now and June 1, the date when the Treasury says the United States could default on its debt. The president has invited the leaders of both the House and Senate to the White House next week to discuss the debt ceiling. 

So, while the debt limit is front and center in Washington, we remained concerned with the potential negative impact on higher education funding if cuts are negotiated as part of any debt limit deal as proposed by the House majority.

This week’s lede story reports on the proposed scheduling of the spending bill mark ups in the House for later this month and next. We will be tracking how the negotiations on the debt ceiling and the spending bill committee mark ups intertwine as the two processes unfold this month with a keen eye on any impact on higher education funding.

I also want to highlight that June 30 is the deadline to spend down any remaining HEERF funds you may have. Any unspent funds will have to be returned to the Treasury unless a waiver is secured (see our story below for more details).

Soundbites

• The Department of Education issued a report designed to give colleges and universities guidance and resources on how to make the college admissions process more open and fair to individuals who were formerly incarcerated, and how to help those students persist and complete. The report, Beyond the Box, is part of a larger effort during the past three administrations to help students with a history in the criminal justice system access higher education.

This week’s Washington Update also reports on an important bill introduced in both the House and Senate to protect family farmers and small business owners paying for college and provides an update on our efforts to encourage the IRS to expedite backlogged Employee Retention Tax Credit returns.