Washington Update, March 13, 2023  Dear Colleagues:   On Thursday, the Biden-Harris Administration unveiled their FY2024 budget proposal. Under the request, the Department of Education would receive $90 billion in total discretionary funding- a $10.3 billion  or 13.6% increase over the FY 2023 enacted level of [...]

Washington Update, March 3, 2023  Dear Colleagues:  There was a flurry of activity on Capitol Hill this week as Members of Congress returned from recess. House Republicans re-introduced the Parent Bill of Rights and the Supreme Court heard arguments on the Administration’s student loan forgiveness [...]

Dear Colleagues:  This week Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME), Chair and Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced the Appropriations Subcommittees chairs, ranking members, and full rosters for the 118th Congress. In a joint press release, Senators Murray and Collins said: [...]

Dear Colleagues,  This week, President Biden delivered his annual State of the Union address- touting economic and legislative achievements made throughout his first two years in office. This year’s State of the Union address was the first time since 2019 that the President and Congressional [...]

Dear Colleagues: Nearly a month into the 118th Congress, Democratic and Republican leadership are finalizing committee and subcommittee assignments. Senate Democrats announced Committee assignments last week- including a few changes. In the Senate HELP and Appropriations committees, the changes from the last Congress are as [...]

Dear Colleagues: Next week, Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona is scheduled to deliver a major address at the Department of Education’s Lyndon Baines Johnson building in Washington, D.C. The speech entitled, “Raise the Bar: Lead the World,” will offer the Secretary the opportunity to [...]

Dear Colleagues: Early Saturday, after a historic five-day, 15 ballot fight- with major concessions made to the so called “never Kevin” holdouts, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) secured his position as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Many analysts and DC insiders believe that the political [...]

Dear Colleagues: Just before the holiday break, Members completed their final task as the 117th Congress- passing the FY2023 omnibus spending package. The bill provides a $3.2 billion increase over the FY2022 level of funding provided to the Department of Education, with several significant increases [...]

December 16, 2022 Dear Colleagues: On Friday afternoon President Biden signed a short-term funding bill, otherwise known as a continuing resolution or CR, that will keep the government open and funded through December 23rd. The CR keeps the government open and freezes funding levels at [...]

Dear Colleagues: The final countdown is on for Congress to pass a FY2023 spending bill with the current Continuing Resolution (CR) expiring next Friday. There is considerable speculation on whether or not a bill will pass before January, but many on the Hill remain hopeful [...]