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Tuesday, May 2, 2017

This Week in Legislation - Week of May 1, 2017

Week of May 1, 2017
 
·         This week, both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate are in session for legislative business. Today, the Senate is expected to consider and approve the nomination of Jay Clayton to serve as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Later in the week, both chambers are expected to consider and pass H.R. 244, the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2017, which would provide discretionary funding to the U.S. Department of Education through September 30, 2017.
 
·         On Tuesday and Wednesday, all day, the Federal Reserve holds a two-day meeting of its Federal Open Market Committee. The minutes for each regularly scheduled meeting of the committee, which include a description of economic and financial conditions, are made available three weeks after its policy decisions are posted in the Federal Reserve Board’s Annual Report.
 
·         On Tuesday at 10:00 a.m., the House Financial Services Committee begins consideration of amendments to H.R. 10, the Financial CHOICE Act, which will reform the Dodd-Frank Wall Street and Consumer Protection Act. The committee anticipates voting on final passage of the bill later in the week.
·         On Tuesday at 12:00 p.m., American Student Assistance hosts a panel discussion titled, “Student Debt–It’s Not Just For Millennials: The Effect of Student Loans on Older Americans.” The event serves as a follow up to its recently updated report, Retirement Delayed: The Impact of Student Debt on the Daily Lives of Older Americans, and looks to discuss some of the issues facing older borrowers with student debt and pose policy solutions to help alleviate this increasing burden that is delaying retirement and financial security later in life. Participants include: Rachel Fishman, Senior Policy Analyst, New America Foundation; Lori Trawinski, Director, Banking and Finance, AARP Public Policy Institute; and Seth Frotman (invited), Student Loan Ombudsman, Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. To attend the event, send an email to jryder@asa.org.
 
·         On Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee holds a hearing titled, “Reviewing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid Data Breach.” Witnesses will be announced at a later date.
·         On Wednesday at 10:00 a.m., the House Budget Committee holds a hearing titled, “Failures of Fiscal Management: A View From the Comptroller General.” The sole witness will be The Honorable Gene Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States, U.S. Government Accountability Office.
 
·         On Wednesday at 10:30 a.m., the Senate Budget Committee holds a hearing entitled, “Private Sector Growth and the Economy.” Witnesses include: Michael Strain, Director of Economic Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute (AEI); William Dunkelberg, Chief Economist, National Federation of Independent Business; and Jeffrey Sachs, Director, Center for Sustainable Development, Columbia University.
·         On Wednesday at 1:00 p.m., the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government holds an oversight hearing on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Witnesses include: The Honorable J. Russell George, Inspector General for Tax Administration, U.S. Department of Treasury; and Nina Olson, National Taxpayer Advocate, IRS.
 
·         On Wednesday at 3:00 p.m., GradNation releases its "2017 Building a Grad Nation" report, which is the campaign’s 8th annual report on the current state of high school graduation rates in the United States. To coincide with the report’s release, the Aspen Institute, America’s Promise Alliance, Alliance for Excellent Education, Civil Enterprises, and the Everyone Graduates Center at John Hopkins University will host a panel discussion titled, “The State of our GradNation: What Will it Take to Get to a 90 Percent Grad Rate for All Students.” Participants include: Elliot Gerson, Executive Vice President, Aspen Institute; Nicole Anderson, President, AT&T Foundation; John Bridgeland, President and Chief Executive Officer, Civic Enterprises; Bob Balfanz, Director, Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University; Gov. Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education; John Gomperts, President and Chief Executive Officer, America’s Promise Alliance; Lisa Stark, Contributor, Education Week; Charlene Briner, Deputy Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Education; Jennifer DePaoli, Senior Research and Policy Advisor, Civic Enterprises; and Anthony Terrell, Principal, Mt. Vernon High School, Fairfax, VA.
 
·         On Thursday and Friday, all day, the National Skills Coalition hosts Apprenticeship Forward, a national conference that will help chart a path toward a future where millions more American workers and businesses reap the benefits of a high performing apprenticeship system built through the collaboration of the public, private, and philanthropic sectors. 
·         On Friday at 9:00 a.m., MTV, Better Make Room, and the Reach Higher Initiative host the 2017 National College Signing Day in New York City, NY. The event, which celebrates high school seniors pursuing higher education, will feature former First Lady Michelle Obama.
·         On Friday at 11:30 a.m., Federal Reserve Board of Governors Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer gives a speech titled, “Monetary Policy Rules and Committees,” at the Structural Foundations of Monetary Policy Conference in Stanford, CA.
·         On Friday at 1:30 p.m., Federal Reserve Board of Governors Chair Janet Yellen gives a speech titled, “125 Years of Women’s Participation in the Economy,” during the 125 Years of Women Conference at Brown University in Providence, RI.
·         On Friday 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.
 
 
This information is shared by SASFAA's Legislative Affairs' Committee and NCHER.

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