U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chairman of the chamber's education committee, released a package of eight bipartisan bills to narrowly update the Higher Education Act (HEA).
The legislation fleshes out a proposal the senator previously outlined when he blocked a bill to extend funding for minority-serving colleges and universities, Inside Higher Ed reported. The Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act, which the House approved last Tuesday, would provide a two-year extension of the $255 million in annual funding for historically black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions that expired at the end of September. In its place, Alexander offered a deal that would attach long-term funding for those colleges to several measures with bipartisan support in the Senate.
The Student Aid Improvement Act would streamline the Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA), simplify financial aid award letters, expand Pell Grant eligibility for students in prisons and allow Pell to be used for short-term programs, among other changes. The package would be paid for by allowing student borrowers on income-driven repayment plans to pay up to 10 percent of their discretionary income, even if the amount exceeds what they would owe under a standard repayment plan.
The legislation notably does not include the College Transparency Act, which would create a federal student-level data system to track college outcomes. Sen. Alexander, who recently signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill, said on the Senate floor that the measure should be part of the package, however.
The proposal follows months of stalled efforts to reach a bipartisan deal for a comprehensive HEA reauthorization and illustrates Sen. Alexander's urgency to pass major higher education legislation before he retires after next year. However, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member on the education committee has insisted that lawmakers pass the FUTURE Act and then work on a comprehensive HEA reauthorization, reported Inside Higher Ed. Further, House Democrats are unlikely to take up the legislation even if it manages to pass the Senate.
Related Link
Inside Higher Ed
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2019/09/27/alexander-releases-narrow-higher-ed-package
Inside Higher Ed
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2019/09/30/alexander-backs-college-transparency-act