Another section of this issue of the newsletter describes how omnibus appropriations legislation will increase funding for various government agencies in the health domain. The field of education also will benefit from the availability of added money. The enactment of Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (H.R. 2471) will provide $3 billion for higher education to fund increases for most Title IV programs at the U.S. Department of Education. The maximum Pell Grant will undergo a $400 increase that raises it to $6,895. Although the boost is a welcome development, an aim is to double the grant, an objective that was advocated by some Democrats during the campaign for the presidency in 2020. Compared to funding in FY 2021, Federal Work-Study, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, TRIO, and GEAR UP are among the other programs benefiting from modest increases for FY 2022.
Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), tribal colleges and universities, and other primarily minority serving institutions (MSIs) are highly important entities that will experience an increase of $96 million compared to the previous fiscal year. The overall amount of funding is $885 for these institutions. A related consideration is that HBCUs and MSIs will have more flexibility regarding how COVID-19 relief aid is spent. Another noteworthy feature pertains to the acquisition of real property or construction directly related to preventing, preparing for, and responding to the coronavirus.
While acknowledging these gains, within the education community there is a concern that other unresolved issues warrant additional government action. An example is the necessity of addressing the student debt crisis. Thus far, the Biden administration has approved approximately $16 billion in targeted forgiveness, according to the Education Department. Students who qualify for the total and permanent discharge program due to disability, who qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program with nonprofit or government work, or who were misled by fraudulent schools have been the beneficiaries of this forgiveness. A partial remedy is that payments on student loans have been paused by the federal government since March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unless further action is taken, payments will resume in May of this year.
The Changing Face Of Federal Regulations
The Higher Education Act (HCE) is a vital piece of legislation that undergirds a great many key governmental activities. Initially passed in 1965, it has been rewritten on eight separate occasions since that year. In its most current version, although originally destined to expire at the end of 2013, the law has been extended by Congress. It remains unclear when the next reauthorization will take place. Until then, however, agencies achieve their respective agendas by using regulations to do so. A concern is that some regulations can be guaranteed to be reversed whenever a new occupant resides in the White House. It used to be more the case that once regulations were formulated, they tended to remain in place for lengthy periods of time. The current pattern is for rules to come and go in cycles that reflect which political party is in control of the executive branch. The result affecting colleges and universities can be somewhat chaotic when they attempt to implement official guidance that experiences constant revisions.
The Negotiated Rulemaking Process
Typically, the Department of Education develops its proposed regulations without public input and then publishes them in the Federal Register for comment by the public. The published document is known as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, or NPRM. Under negotiated rulemaking, the Department works to develop an NPRM in collaboration with representatives of the parties who will be affected significantly by the regulations. A series of meetings is conducted during which these representatives, referred to as negotiators, work with the Department to reach consensus on the Department’s proposed regulations. The Institutional and Programmatic Eligibility Committee had its 1st session on January 18-21, its 2nd session on February 14-18, and the 3rd session on March 14-18. Gainful employment is an example of a topic discussed at these sessions. Registration links closer to the start of negotiations are posted at www2.ed.gov/ policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2021/index.html, along with recordings and transcripts of the meetings on that site.