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Week of November 28
- This week, both the U.S.
House and U.S. Senate are in session for legislative business. While
neither chamber is expected to consider student financial
aid-related legislation, the House and Senate will continue to work
on transition activities for the upcoming 115th Congress. For
example, House Democrats are expected to vote on their party
leadership and House Republicans are expected to select the chairs
of the House Appropriations, House Education and the Workforce,
House Energy and Commerce, and House Financial Services Committees.
- On Tuesday at
12:40 p.m., Federal Reserve Board of Governors Member Jerome
Powell gives a speech titled, “The Economic Outlook,” at
the Economic Club of Indiana Luncheon in Indianapolis, IN.
- Tuesday through
Friday, all day, Federal Student Aid holds its 2016 Training
Conference for Financial Aid Professionals in Atlanta, GA. Select
conference topics include: Federal Perkins Loans Program Update;
Administering Title IV Aid for Transfer Students; National Student
Loan Data System (NSLDS) Update; NSLDS Enrollment Reporting;
Hands-On NSLDS; Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System
Update; Default Prevention; Public Service Loan Forgiveness Policy
and Operations; Borrower Defense to Repayment Final Regulations;
Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plans/Pay As You Earn (PAYE); and How
to Detect and Deter Federal Financial Aid Fraud. For conference
details and the agenda, visit the FSA
website.
- Wednesday through
Friday, all day, the American Association of State Colleges and
Universities, in consultation with the American Association of
Community Colleges, Association of Public and Land-Grant
Universities, and Council for Advancement and Support of Education,
holds its 23rd annual Higher Education Government Relations
Conference in St. Petersburg, FL. The conference will demonstrate
how campus government relations professionals can create messages,
engage and energize stakeholders, and assemble coalitions that
recognize and reflect new realities confronting public higher
education and state government. Conference participants will attend
sessions on bridging the campus and capitol divide through
institutional leadership, the voluntary system of accountability and
student achievement measure, and federal legislation and policy
issues.
- Wednesday through
Friday, all day, the Foundation for Excellence in Education hosts
its 2016 National Summit on Education Reform. The Summit provides
state and local policymakers, education leaders, and advocates with
comprehensive information on evolving laws, new trends, successful
policies, and the latest innovations that are transforming education
for the 21st Century. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will
give the keynote address. Select proceedings will be livestreamed on
the Summit
website.
- On Wednesday at
9:15 a.m.,
the Brookings Institution holds an event titled, “Understanding
Fedspeak,” to examine the purpose and quality of Federal Reserve
communications from the perspectives of academics, former Fed
officials, Wall Street watchers, and those in the press who cover
the Federal Reserve. Participants include: Jon Faust,
Director, Center for Financial Economics, and Louis J. Maccini
Professor of Economics, Johns Hopkins University; Alan
Blinder, Visiting Fellow, Economic Studies, Brookings
Institution; Louise Sheiner, Senior Fellow,
Economic Studies, and Policy Director, The Hutchins Center on Fiscal
and Monetary Policy, Brookings Institution; Ben Bernanke,
Distinguished Fellow in Residence, Economic Studies, Brookings
Institution; Tim Duy, Blogger, Senior Director,
Oregon Economic Forum, and Professor of Practice, Department of
Economics, University of Oregon; Ylan Q. Mui,
Reporter, The Washington Post; David Wessel,
Director, The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy,
Brookings Institution; Roberto Perli, Partner,
Cornerstone Macro; Peter Hooper, Managing Director,
Chief Economist, Deutsche Bank Securities; Julia Coronado,
Chief Economist, Graham Capital Management; Vincent Reinhart,
Chief Economist, Standish Mellon Asset Management; Donald
Kohn, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, Brookings
Institution; and Jerome Powell, Member, Federal
Reserve Board of Governors.
- On Wednesday at
11:00 a.m., the Federal Reserve Bank of New York releases
its Q3 2016 Household Debt and Credit Report. The Household Debt and
Credit Report offers an updated snapshot of household trends in
borrowing and indebtedness, including data about mortgages, student
loans, credit cards, auto loans, and delinquencies.
- On Wednesday at
12:00 p.m., the Cato Institute holds a briefing on Capitol
Hill titled, “Cutting Wasteful Spending in the Trump
Administration.” The event, which discusses a new report by Sen.
James Lankford (R-OK) on wasteful spending that the
incoming Trump administration can cut, features Sen. Lankford; Thomas
Schatz, President, Citizens against Government Waste; Chris
Edwards, Editor, DownsizingGovernment.org,
Cato Institute; Justin Bogie, Senior Policy Analyst
in Fiscal Affairs, The Heritage Foundation; and moderator Peter
Russo, Director of Congressional Affairs, Cato Institute.
- On Wednesday at
2:00 p.m., the Federal Reserve releases its Beige Book.
Eight times a year, the Fed releases its Beige Book, a summary of
current economic conditions for the 12 Federal Reserve Districts
based on anecdotal information gathered through reports from Bank
and Branch Directors and interviews with key business contacts,
economists, market experts, and other sources.
- On Wednesday at
3:00 p.m., the Brookings Institution and the Committee for a
Responsible Federal Budget host an event titled, “A Reform Agenda
for the Federal Budget Process,” featuring remarks from House Budget
Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) on his proposed
reforms of the budget rules that could shape next year’s federal
budget and its progress through Congress. After the discussion, Rep.
Price and panelists will take questions from the audience.
Participants include: Maya MacGuineas, President,
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget; Harry Stein,
Director, Fiscal Policy, Center for American Progress; James
Wallner, Group Vice President for Research, The Heritage
Foundation; David Wessel, Director, The Hutchins
Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Brookings Institution; and Philip
Joyce, Professor of Public Policy, University of Maryland
School of Public Policy.
- On Thursday at
8:30 a.m., The Heritage Foundation hosts an event titled,
“Tax Reform in the Next Congress,” featuring remarks by House Ways
and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) as he makes
the case for tax reform and shares his perspective on likely
Congressional action. Following Chairman Brady’s remarks, a panel
will examine the similarities and differences between the Ways and
Means Committee and Trump tax plans and discuss their likely
economic impact. Participants include: Stephen Entin,
Senior Fellow, Tax Foundation; Jason Fichtner,
Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason University; Daniel
Mitchell, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute; and moderator David
Burton, Senior Fellow, The Heritage Foundation.
- On Thursday and
Friday, all day, Academic Impressions hosts a conference titled,
“Optimizing Your Tuition Discounting Strategy,” in Silver Spring,
MD. Attendees will learn how to develop tuition discounting
strategies that achieve both enrollment and net tuition revenue
goals. This event will help balance institutional goals of access
with necessary tuition revenue benchmarks by analyzing the:
relationship between sticker price and discount rate; balance
between institutional goals and external benchmarks; and optimal
means of utilizing financial aid in the discounting process. For
details and to register, visit the Academic
Impressions website.
- On Friday at 1:00
p.m., Federal
Reserve Board of Governors Member Daniel Tarullo gives
a speech titled, “Financial Regulation Since the Crisis,” hosted by
the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Office of Financial
Research 2016 Financial Stability Conference.
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Betsy DeVos Nominated for Education Secretary
President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday nominated
education reformer Betsy DeVos as the next U.S. Secretary of Education.
Calling Ms. DeVos “a brilliant and passionate education advocate”, Mr.
Trump said she will help him “reform the U.S. education system and break
the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver
world-class education and school choice to all families.” In a statement
following the announcement, Ms. DeVos said she was honored to help Mr.
Trump “make American education great again.” She went on to say that “the
status quo in education is not acceptable. Together, we can work to make
transformational change that ensures every student in America has the
opportunity to fulfill his or her highest potential.”
Ms. DeVos is Chair of the education group American
Federation for Children, which has made private school choice its main
concern. She is also a former Michigan Republican Party chairwoman and
the DeVos family is the most prolific donor to the Michigan Republican Party,
GOP officeholders and candidates. In 2000, Ms. DeVos and her husband,
Dick, funded an unsuccessful statewide ballot initiative to amend the
state constitution to allow tax dollars to be used for private school
tuition through education vouchers. They have since advocated for school
vouchers in other states. In 2012, Mr. DeVos led the charge in getting
the Legislature to make Michigan a right-to-work state, eliminating work
rules that made financial support of unions a condition of employment for
teachers in public schools. The DeVoses founded their own charter high
school, the West Michigan Aviation Academy.
In response to her appointment, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar
Alexander (R-TN) said Ms. DeVos would make an “excellent choice” as
Education Secretary and that he would “move swiftly in January to
consider her nomination.” Sen. Alexander said he looked forward to
working with Ms. DeVos “on the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher
Education Act, giving us an opportunity to clear out the jungle of red
tape that makes it more difficult for students to obtain financial aid
and for administrators to manage America’s 6,000 colleges and
universities.” Because Ms. DeVos has focused her work on K-12, it is
difficult to know much about what the Trump Administration has planned
for higher education. Therefore, who Mr. Trump selects for other senior
posts at the Department and in the White House Domestic Policy Council
will be key. A related article by The Chronicle of Higher Education
is included in the expanded version of today’s Daily Briefing.
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Final Debt Relief Rulemaking Expected Next Month
Kelly Leon, a spokesperson for the U.S.
Department of Education, told Politico’s Morning Education that
the Department expects “to publish a final procedural rule before the
conclusion of this (Obama) Administration.” While the bulk of the
regulations regarding how defrauded student loan borrowers are able to
have their debt forgiven was finalized on November 1, a recent
notice from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget states
that a final “procedural rule” will be provided that outlines the details
of how the debt-relief process will work for borrowers and schools. The
final rule will also explain how the Department will accept and consider
evidence of fraud as well as how schools will be permitted to defend
themselves against such allegations.
Secretaries from Five Agencies Ask for Cooperation
in College Access and Completion
In a
letter written earlier this month to state workforce agencies,
welfare administrators, student financial aid professionals and other key
contacts at the state and local levels responsible for administering
federal benefits programs, Secretaries from the Departments of
Agriculture, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and
Treasury outlined guidance on how federal agencies should cooperate in
order to assist low-income students access and complete college. “For too
many students and families, a high-quality college education still feels
out of reach, signaling that there is still more work to do to eliminate
barriers to college access and college completion,” they wrote. While
they noted the successes of the Obama Administration in this
area—doubling investments in federal financial aid through Pell Grants
and tax credits; student loans made more affordable by keeping interest
rates low; allowing borrowers to cap student loan payments at ten percent
of their discretionary income; making accessing financial aid simpler and
faster; providing students with information about college costs and
outcomes to help them make better college choices; and promoting
innovation, competition, and accountability to help bring down costs and
improve college quality—the Secretaries went on to say that low-income
students are likely to have some unmet financial need even when they do
receive aid. “Part of the solution,” they wrote, “is ensuring that
millions of people enrolled in the federal means-tested programs can
easily access the available support and information about education and
training opportunities and resources to gain the skills they need for the
21st century economy.” They asked that letter recipients work together to
connect eligible students with available federal support and to partner
with states to ensure resources effectively support
their communities.
Federal Reserve Meeting Indicates a Raise in
Interest Rates is “Coming Soon”
Minutes
released from the November meeting of the Federal Reserve’s Federal
Open Market Committee (FOMC) reveal that officials agreed it might be
appropriate to raise interest rates “relatively soon” against a backdrop
of an improving labor market and somewhat higher inflation. The minutes
showed that “some participants noted that recent committee communications
were consistent with an increase in the target range for the federal
funds rate in the near term or argued that to preserve credibility, such
an increase should occur at the next meeting.” During the November 1-2
meeting, policy makers took note of a steady increase in new jobs and a
tighter labor market that was driving “wage inflation” higher. Overtime
hours were also on the rise and some industries were facing a shortage of
qualified workers. The minutes showed that Fed officials also pointed to
“somewhat higher” inflation in recent months. In addition, the minutes
also showed officials emphasized that near-term changes in the benchmark
borrowing cost would be dependent on economic data, with the expectation
that “only gradual increases” would be warranted. FOMC members noted that
labor market conditions had improved “appreciably.” According to the
minutes, it was noted that “allowing the unemployment rate to modestly
undershoot its longer-run normal level could foster the return of
inflation to the FOMC’s 2 percent objective over the medium term.”
Most analysts are of the view that the FOMC will raise the federal funds
rate at the Committee’s next meeting, which is scheduled for December
13-14. Also, with President-elect Trump’s plans for big infrastructure
spending and tax cuts, there could be pressure to raise rates further
next year. Long-term rates have already risen. A related article by The
Wall Street Journal is included in the expanded version of today’s Daily
Briefing.
Education Department Update
The following announcement has been
posted to the IFAP website:
·
2016-11-22
- (General) Subject: 2017-2018 Application and Verification
Guide
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General News
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The Chronicle of Higher Education
hypothesizes that the Republican-led 115th Congress is likely to alter
several higher education policies.
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The Washington Post covers
Maryland SmartBuy, a $10 million program that lets people with education
loans purchase a home and wipe out college debt at the same time.
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Business Insider speaks with a
financial planner who says the most common money problem she sees with
20-somethings is that they don’t fully understand the debt they took on
during college until later.
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U.S. News and World Report breaks
down the final regulations on borrower defense to repayment.
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The Associated Press reports that
at least 50 public colleges and universities nationwide have lowered
nonresident tuition by more than 10 percent in recent years without
making similar reductions for in-state students.
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This information
is shared by SASFAA's Legislative Affairs' Committee and NCHER.
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