This Week in Legislation

 

·       This week, both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate are in session for legislative business. However, neither chamber is expected to consider student financial aid-related legislation.

·       Today through Friday, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Liberty Street Economics blog launches a series on different aspects of the evolving higher education market, including enrollment growth and its composition, student loans, and student loan defaults. The first post is entitled, “The Changing Higher Education Landscape,” and will assess the transformation of different sectors of higher education over the past 16 years. The series that follows will explore the student populations that led to this growth in enrollment and analyze how student loans, graduation, and loan defaults changed in various postsecondary sectors. The blog posts will be accessible each morning through the Liberty Street Economics blog.

 

·       On Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) hosts an event titled, “Lessons Learned from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Data Breach: Remarks from House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT).” The discussion will look into OPM’s data breach, which compromised the personally identifiable information of more than 21.5 million individuals, and address what lessons federal agencies can learn from one of the largest data hacks in U.S. government history. Participants include: The Honorable Jason Chaffetz, Chairman, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee; Claude Barfield, Resident Scholar, AEI; and Jeffrey Eisenach, Visiting Scholar, AEI. For details and to register, visit AEI’s website.

·       On Wednesday at 2:30 p.m., the Senate Special Committee on Aging holds a hearing entitled, “Securing America’s Retirement Future: Examining the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Recommendations to Boost Savings.” The center’s report includes a recommendation to increase financial literacy and foster a culture of personal savings saying, “Too few Americans understand the basics of personal finance. A strong foundation in financial literacy is vital to empower individuals to address their own savings and financial security needs.” Witnesses will be announced at a later date.

·       On Thursday, all-day, the CFPB hosts a Financial Education Exchange Conference for interested parties in the financial education field, including financial coaches, credit counselors, financial counselors, and others helping consumers navigate financial decisions. The event’s agenda includes a presentation and group discussion on the five principles to support financial well-being. For information on how to participate remotely via webinar, send an email to: CFPB_FinEx@cfpb.gov.

 

·       On Thursday at 9:30 a.m., the Joint Economic Committee holds a hearing entitled, “Federal Debt: Direction, Drivers and Dangers.” Witnesses include: The Honorable Mitch Daniels, President, Purdue University; The Honorable Judd Gregg, Co-Chair, Campaign to Fix the Debt and former Chairman, Senate Budget Committee; and The Honorable Alice Rivlin, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution and former Director, Office of Management and Budget.

·       On Thursday at 10:00 a.m., the Urban Institute hosts a discussion titled, “Student Debt: Setting the Record Straight.” The discussion will highlight two new books that separate fact from fiction around student debt: Student Debt: Rhetoric and Realities of Higher Education Financing, by Sandy Baum, and Game of Loans: The Rhetoric and Reality of Student Debt, by Beth Akers and Matthew Chingos. The three authors will discuss the data and research behind the provocative arguments of their new books and what it all means for higher education policymaking. Catherine Rampell, opinion writer for the The Washington Post, will serve as moderator. To register, visit the Urban Institute website.

 

·       On Thursday 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 Friday at 9:45 a.m. CDT, Education Secretary John B. King, Jr. gives remarks at a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Partnership in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) event at Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama. The secretary will meet with HBCU presidents, industry executives, and students to discuss the progress being made to increase the number of minority students in STEM.

 

 

This information is shared by SASFAA's Legislative Affairs' Committee and NCHER.