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Category: Administration

“Rescissions” Package on Hold

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After the House cleared a $15-billion “rescissions” package two weeks ago, supporters of the measure in the Senate sought to bring it up in an expeditious manner earlier today. As a result of 50-48 vote on a procedural move against it, the package appears to be stalled.

The package seeks to rescind funds from prior years that are unspent or whose authorizations have expired, and is an attempt by the Administration and some in Congress to show that they want to rein in spending.  Its supporters in the Senate may try to push it again later but it appears stalled for now.

 

ED Delays Gainful Employment Regulations Again

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In a notice posted  yesterday, the Education Department announcement that it will delay again by a year the implementation of “gainful employment” (GE) regulations.  Last July, the department decided to delay the implementation of the GE regulations until this July 1.  This notice pushes back the regulations until July 1, 2019.

Read more about the background on the issue here.

 

Trump to Announce Sweeping Reorg of Federal Gov’t

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Today Politco is reporting that “The Trump administration is preparing to release a sweeping plan for reorganizing the federal government that includes a major consolidation of welfare programs — and a renaming of the Health and Human Services Department.

The report, set to be released in the coming weeks by the White House OMB, seeks to move safety-net programs, including food stamps, into HHS, two sources with knowledge of the plan told POLITICO. The plan would also propose changing the name of the sprawling department, while separately seeking cuts at USAID and the State Department.”

Read more from Politico and check back here for more information as it’s available.

ED Proposes to Delay Implementation of Distance Education “State Authorization” Regulations

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The Department of Education announced today its intention to delay the implementation of “state authorization” regulations on distance education programs.  The announcement by the department, which is expected to appear tomorrow in the Federal Register, cites a number of remaining questions surrounding the issue, including various unresolved operational and definitional uncertainties. The department has proposed to delay the regulations by two years to July 1, 2020.

White House Releases “Rescission” Package

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As expected, the White House Office of Management and Budget released its package of proposed rescissions earlier today.  The list of programs targeted for cuts is available  here.  The package includes 38 items, totaling approximately $15 billion in cuts.

The biggest portion of the package, roughly $7 billion, would come from the Children Health Insurance Program and more than $4 billion would come come from the Department of Energy Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program.