The Senate on Tuesday, August 10, passed one of President Joe Biden’s most ambitious pieces of legislation, a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package.
The bill, which now must pass the House, counts as the largest federal investment in America’s public works system in more than 10 years.
Taking on the challenge of chairmanship, Clyburn responded that he was ready to “direct our bipartisan oversight of the federal response to the COVID-19 crisis.” But contrary to the thoughts of some observers, he added that the concentration would be “forward looking,” as opposed to investigating the actions that led up to the crisis.
The Chairs of the Congressional Tri-Caucus –Congressional Black (CBC) Caucus Chair Karen Bass (CA-37), Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chair Joaquin Castro (TX-20), and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair Judy Chu (CA-27) – released their Tri-Caucus Higher Education Priorities for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.
Higher education has always offered opportunities to learn and earn a better quality of life. But in the 21stCentury, higher education has also become synonymous with ever deepening debt. More than 44 million consumers of varying ages and occupations struggle with $1.5 trillion in student debt.
Every budget defines priorities and values. To put it another way, what’s really important in life gets supported financially. For many families, having a home, food, and utilities usually rank pretty high. Then there are other budgetary concerns like saving for college or having a ‘rainy day’ fund to cover less frequent costs that can be much higher than the size of the next pay check.
The congressman’s comments and the advancement of the Rebuild America’s School Act comes as a new report revealed that White school districts receive $23 billion more in funding than non-white districts despite serving the same number of students.
“…this year, just a week before Christmas, there are people who were dealing with the aftermath of something far colder than the weather: college closures with no advance notice and a promise of more information at a date yet to be determined.”
Historically black colleges and universities in Maryland would receive up to $56.9 million annually under legislation, sponsors say, that would restore years of underfunding and program duplication by the state but is unlikely to pass.
In light of President Obama’s work to stem over-incarceration, Congressmember Karen Bass (D-Calf.), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, recently introduced bipartisan legislation that would bolster the Administration’s efforts to eliminate barriers to education for ex-offenders. H.R. 4004, the “Stopping Unfair Collateral Consequences from Ending Student Success Act” or the SUCCESS Act, would repeal the law that makes it all but impossible for people with a drug conviction, no matter how petty, to apply for federal financial aid for education. A section of the Higher Education Act suspends college aid for a person who is convicted of a drug
Thousands of low-income students will be eligible for federal Pell grant money to take college courses while still in high school. The opportunity is part of an experimental program announced on October 30 by the Obama administration. The Education Department said the administration will invest up to $20 million in the 2016-17 school year — helping up to 10,000 students. High school students who take college courses through “dual enrollment” programs will be eligible. Those programs allow high school kids to take classes at a local college, often earning college credit. “A postsecondary education is one of the most important