DC Insight - 6/10/22

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ACE, Other Higher Ed Groups Call on Courts to Define Student-Athletes as Students, Not Employees
American Council on Education – June 8, 2022
The America Counciil on Education and 12 other higher education associations submitted an amicus brief yesterday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in the case Johnson v. the NCAA regarding whether NCAA Division I student-athletes in all sports should be considered employees of their college or university.

Appropriations Committee Announces Fiscal Year 2023 Markup Schedule
House Committee on Appropriations – June 8, 2022
House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) today announced the Committee’s expected schedule for marking up fiscal year 2023 appropriations bills. Subcommittee and Full Committee markups for the 12 annual appropriations bills are scheduled to begin on Wednesday, June 15, and conclude on Thursday, June 30.

House sets $1.6 trillion cap for fiscal year 2023 appropriations
Roll Call – June 8, 2022
The House adopted a $1.6 trillion discretionary spending cap for the upcoming fiscal year, clearing the way for appropriators to start moving the fiscal 2023 spending bills through that chamber as bicameral talks reconvene on a framework for bills that can pass the Senate as well.

Resurrected budget package no slam dunk as negotiations heat up
Roll Call – June 6, 2022
The bill formerly known as ‘Build Back Better’ has a new lease on life, but Democrats have little time and big decisions to make. Democrats face big obstacles and a deadline measured in weeks as they attempt to salvage a scaled-down tax, climate and health care package that could give them a boost ahead of the November elections.

Researchers criticize Senate plan to steer more NSF funding to have ‘have not’ states
Science – June 3, 2022
The Senate’s version, a nearly 2500-page package called the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), mandates a 10-fold budget increase for the NSF program that steers funding to have-not states called EPSCoR (Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research). The similarly mammoth House version, called the America COMPETES Act, would create new competitive NSF programs targeting poorly funded institutions in any state.

House passage of FDA user fees reauthorization package
House Committee on Energy & Commerce – June 8, 2022
The House of Representatives passed the Food and Drug Amendments of 2022 (FDA22), which reauthorizes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) user fee programs for prescription drugs, generic drugs, biosimilars, and medical devices. Additionally, the bill will help foster the development of cutting-edge continuous manufacturing technology by allowing FDA to partner with universities across the country to designate them as National Centers of Excellence in Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing.

GOP pushes for SCOTUS security bill after arrest near Kavanaugh’s house
The Hill – June 8, 2022
Republicans are calling on the House to pass a stalled bill aimed at expanding security protection to the families of Supreme Court justices after police arrested an armed man near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh early Wednesday morning.

Uvalde survivor and victim's parents deliver emotional testimony at House hearing on gun violence
CBS News – June 9, 2022
A young student who survived the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, was among of group of witnesses who testified before House lawmakers at a hearing on gun violence.

House passes ‘red flag’ bill in hopes of stemming shootings
Roll Call – June 9, 2022
The House voted 224-202 on Thursday to allow federal courts to temporarily bar some people from possessing or purchasing firearms if they are believed to pose a risk to themselves or others. The passage of the bill caps the House’s actions this week on gun violence, which included votes on other gun control bills and testimony from survivors of a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. 

Takeaways from the January 6 committee hearing
CNN – June 10, 2022
The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack held its first hearing Thursday evening, detailing the findings of the panel's investigation.

Legal fights over pronouns may thwart Cardona’s plan to help trans students
Politico – May 25, 2022
Cardona’s new proposed rule for Title IX, the federal education law that prohibits sex-based discrimination, is expected to go public in June and include protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time. Enforcing the policy may prove difficult for Title IX administrators. And the pending rule will tee up more legal battles over competing philosophies on gender ideology, forcing institutions to tiptoe between potentially costly settlements in courts and protecting transgender students on campus.

Watchdog presses NIH over foreign funding disclosures
The Hill – June 5, 2022
The oversight office for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report Tuesday that found a majority of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) grant recipients failed to meet federal requirements regarding foreign financial interests and support.

Why the average gas prices is at $4.99 a gallon and how high it'll go
CNN Business – June 10, 2022
The US average for the price of a gallon of regular gas hit $4.99 according to the most recent reading from AAA Friday. It marked the 14th straight day, and the 31st time in the last 32 days that gas has set a record in America.

White House unveils plans to roll out COVID-19 vaccines for kids 5 and under
The Hill – June 9, 2022
Ten million pediatric COVID-19 vaccine doses will be available for states, Tribes and other jurisdictions to pre-order in anticipation of vaccinations for kids ages 5 and younger beginning before the end of the month, the White House announced Thursday.

Biden says he is weighing executive orders on abortion rights
The Hill – June 9, 2022
President Biden said late Wednesday that he is considering signing an executive order on abortion rights if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade later this month, offering a window into the administration’s thinking as officials prepare for the ruling.

Reform to Student Loans: What Higher Ed Wants
Inside Higher Ed – June 7, 2022
As President Biden moves closer to canceling at least some student debt in the near future, many higher education advocates and members of Congress are concerned that cancellation without broader reforms to the federal loan system at large will merely provide a temporary solution to a much larger issue.

How Would Student-Loan Forgiveness Really Work?
The Chronicle of Higher Education – June 8, 2022
Nearly 18 months into the term of President Biden, his administration continues to grapple with whether and how to provide blanket forgiveness to the more than 40 million people who hold nearly $1.6 trillion in student-loan debt.