Week of December 7
·
This
week,
both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate are in session for legislative business.
o Both chambers may
vote on an Omnibus Appropriations Act to provide discretionary funding for
federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education, and keep the
federal government open past this Friday’s expiration of the current short-term
Continuing Resolution (CR). Absent this action, both the House and Senate are
expected to extend the CR until next Friday, December 18, to give negotiators
additional time to reach a comprehensive budget agreement.
o Both chambers may
consider legislation to temporary extend a series of smaller tax provisions
that expired earlier this year, including allowing teachers who spend their own
money on classroom supplies to take a $250 deduction on their taxes.
o The Senate is
expected to vote on, pass, and send to the President the Every Child Succeeds
Act (S. 1177), which would replace the George W. Bush-era No Child Left Behind.
Among the bill’s provisions, the legislation allows states and school districts
to spend federal funds on: 1) college and career guidance and counseling
programs, such as postsecondary education and career awareness and exploration
activities, training counselors, and financial literary and federal financial
aid awareness activities; and 2) enrollment in dual or concurrent enrollment
programs and early college high school courses.
· Today at 9:30 a.m., the Brookings
Institution holds an event titled, “A Discussion of the Key Economic Issues in
Election 2016,” to discuss some of the key issues on the economic agenda
leading into the presidential campaign, including advancing social mobility and
opportunity, increasing economic growth, and tax reform and fiscal policy.
Participants include: Jared Bernstein, Senior Fellow, Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities; Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President, American Action
Forum; Glen Hubbard, Dean, Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and
Economics, Columbia Business School; and Neera Tanden, President, Center
for American Progress.
·
Today
at noon,
the American Enterprise Institute holds an event entitled, “Shadow Financial
Regulatory Committee Conference.” The Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee
(SFRC) is a group of independent experts on the financial services industry who
meet regularly to study and critique regulatory policies affecting this sector
of the economy. SFRC members will present their adopted policy statements on a
variety of current financial regulation issues including: new Federal Reserve
capital requirements, the status of deposit insurance, government guarantees,
and too-big-to-fail problems, and the application of corporate versus
individual sanctions. Participants include: Franklin Edwards, Professor
Emeritus and former Arthur F. Burns Chair of Free and Competitive Enterprise in
Finance and Economics, Columbia University; Robert Eisenbeis,
Vice Chairman and Chief Monetary Economist, Cumberland Advisors; Richard
Herring, Jacob Safra Professor of International Banking and Co-director
of the Wharton Financial Institutions Center, Wharton School, University of
Pennsylvania; Edward Kane, Finance Professor, Boston College; George
Kaufman, Finance and Economics Professor, Loyola University Chicago; Albert
Kyle, Charles E. Smith Chair Professor of Finance, University of
Maryland; Erik Sirri, Director of Market Regulation, U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission; and Chester Spatt, Pamela
R. and Kenneth B. Dunn Professor of Finance, Carnegie Mellon University.
·
Today
at 1:00 p.m.,
Academic Impressions hosts a webinar entitled, “Understanding the Essentials of
Direct Assessment,” where participants will learn about the role of assessment
in competency-based education (CBE), accreditation in CBE programs, and
accessing financial aid for CBE programs. The instructor for the webinar is Kate
Kazin, Chief Academic Officer at College for America at Southern New
Hampshire University.
· Today at 3:00
p.m., the
Federal Reserve releases its “Consumer Credit – G.19” report, which includes
the amount of outstanding federal and private student loans.
·
On
Monday and Tuesday, all day, Academic Impressions hosts a two-day
conference entitled, “Career Services: Measuring and Communicating Student
Outcomes,” where attendees will learn how to collect student career data and
demonstrate the impact that institutions have made on students’ employability
and career success. The conference’s sessions include: Student Outcomes Goal
Setting and Benchmarking; Establishing Partner Data Expectations and Needs;
Sustainably Tracking and Analyzing Key Metrics; First Destination Collection
and Reporting; and Using Data to Tell the Story.
·
On
Tuesday at 10:00 a.m., the House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing
entitled, “Oversight of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.”
Witnesses include: The Honorable Richard Cordray, Director,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; The Honorable Thomas Curry, Comptroller
of the Currency, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; The Honorable
Martin Gruenberg, Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; The
Honorable Timothy Massad, Chairman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission; The
Honorable Debbie Matz, Chairwoman, National Credit Union Administration; The
Honorable Melvin Watt, Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency; The
Honorable Mary Jo White, Chair, Securities and Exchange Commission; and The
Honorable Roy Woodall, Jr., Independent Member with Insurance Expertise,
Financial Stability Oversight Council.
·
On
Wednesday through Friday, all-day, the American Association of State
Colleges and Universities (AASCU) holds its 22nd Higher Education
Government Relations Conference titled, “Higher Education and the Public Good,”
in Austin, TX. The conference, a partnership among AASCU, the American
Association of Community Colleges, the Association of Public and Land-Grant
Universities, and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, is the
premier annual professional development venue for government relations and
public affairs professionals who work on behalf of public higher education
institutions, systems, coordinating/ government boards, and policy
organizations. The conference’s agenda includes sessions on: What the
Presidential Campaign Means for Higher Education; State and Federal Free
Community College Plans: The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown; Championing the
Public Good of Higher Education in an Era of Polarization, Privatization, and Change;
An Update on the Voluntary System of Accountability and Voluntary Framework of
Accountability; and a Washington Update.
·
On
Wednesday morning,
the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas
at Austin, which challenges the university’s use of racial preferences in
admissions decisions. This is the second time that Abigail Fisher’s case
against the university has reached the Court. In 2013, the Supreme Court
directed the lower court to scrutinize more closely the university’s
justification for its use of race and compliance with Grutter v. Bollinger
(2003) which held that schools can use race to achieve diversity in some cases.
The lower court reaffirmed its previous ruling, and the Supreme Court agreed to
take the case again, which surprised many observers who now anticipate a major
decision changing the face of affirmative action in the country.
·
On
Wednesday at 10:00 a.m., the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Committee meets to consider a number of legislative measures and nominations,
including the reappointment of The Honorable Jessica Rosenworcel to the
Federal Communications Commission.
Forwarded from SASFAA's Legislative Relations' Committee.
Traditionally, Tuesday's lunch at the annual conference has been "on your own." Thanks to our sponsors this year, we will be providing lunch to all conference attendees, and you will have a choice as to who you would like to join for our Lunch and Learn.
