On Thursday and Friday this week the House Education and Labor Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee are holding their respective markups of the Build Back Better Act, the FY 22 budget reconciliation bill. The Education and Labor Committee provisions would provide two years of tuition-free community college, increase the Pell Grant maximum award amount, invest in grant programs to help train new teachers, make investments in HBCUs, tribal colleges and universities, HSIs, and other MSIs, and create a new program for student retention and completion grants. The Ways and Means Committee provisions would provide up to 12 weeks of universal paid family and medical leave for workers, reauthorize the Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG) program to strengthen it and make it available nationwide, deliver additional funding to the TAA for Community Colleges and Career Training program, and expand Medicare coverage to include dental, vision, and hearing benefits.
The House Education and Labor Committee bill may be accessed here. A fact sheet is available here. The House Ways and Means Committee bill text and section-by-section may be accessed here. Analysis from Inside Higher Ed may be accessed here. The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold their markup on Monday, September 13 at 11am Eastern. More details are available here.