This Week in Legislation - Week of May 8, 2017

Week of May 8, 2017

·         This week, the U.S. House is in recess and will return for legislative business on Monday, May 15, 2017. The U.S. Senate is in session for legislative business, but it is not expected to consider student financial aid-related legislation.

      ·         On Wednesday at 10:30 a.m., the Senate Budget Committee holds a hearing titled, “Economic Growth Policies for the New Administration.” The sole witness will be: The Honorable Phil Gramm (R-TX), former U.S. Senator, and Visiting Scholar, American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

·         On Wednesday at 12:00 p.m., Education Secretary Betsy DeVos delivers the spring commencement address at Bethune-Cookman University’s graduation ceremony in Daytona Beach, FL.

·         On Wednesday at 2:00 p.m., the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) hosts a field hearing on small business lending in Los Angeles, CA. The event will feature remarks from CFPB Director Richard Cordray and testimony from community groups, industry representatives, and members of the public.

·         On Thursday at 9:30 a.m., New America hosts a summit titled, “Varying Degrees: How America Perceives Higher Education.” The event will take a closer look at America’s thoughts and perceptions of higher education and discuss the implications of these findings for students, institutional leaders, and policymakers. Participants in the first panel on “How Current Students View Higher Education and the Pursuit of the American Dream,” include: Jemiscoe Chambers-Black, Student, Southern New Hampshire University; Lindsay Shurtliff, Student, Northern Virginia Community College; Ariel Ventura-Lazo, Student, Northern Virginia Community College; and moderator Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, Reporter, The Washington Post. Participants in the second panel on “Discussion: Diving into the Data – Translating America’s Perceptions Into Policy,” include: José Luis Cruz, President, Lehman College; Cheryl Oldham, Vice President of Education Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Scott Ralls, President, Northern Virginia Community College; Deborah Santiago, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President for Policy, Excelencia in Education; and moderator Rob Nabors, Director of U.S. Policy, Advocacy, and Communications, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

·         On Thursday at 4:00 p.m., AEI and the Pepperdine School of Public Policy host an event titled, “Viewpoint Diversity in American Higher Education,”  to discuss political partisanship in American higher education and faculty’s role in addressing this dynamic. Participants include: Jon Shields, Government Professor, Claremont McKenna College; Samuel Abrams, Political Science Professor, Sarah Lawrence College; Gerard Alexander, Political Science Professor, University of Virginia; Eliot Cohen, International Affairs Scholar, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; James Gimpel, Political Science Professor, University of Maryland; Samuel Goldman, Political Science Professor, The George Washington University Loeb Center for Religious Freedom; and moderator Pete Peterson, Dean, Pepperdine School of Public Policy.

·         On Friday at 12:00 p.m., Hogan Lovells US LLP hosts a complimentary webinar for CLE credit titled, “Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for the Boardroom  - An Executive Focus.” Led by firm partner Mark Brennan, the webinar will focus on the key decisions facing company executives as they navigate TCPA risks and assess compliance strategies. Specifically, the webinar will assess major risk drivers and key factors for strategic decision-making; recent litigation and regulatory developments; the election impact; and issues on the horizon for the rest of this year. The Hogan Lovells team will also discuss evolving compliance strategies and additional Board actions and operational steps that participants can take to help protect their organization against class action lawsuits and regulatory enforcement actions. For details and to register, visit the Hogan Lovells website.

·         On Saturday at 10:00 a.m., President Donald Trump delivers the keynote address at Liberty University’s commencement ceremony in Lynchburg, VA.

 

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