Today, Dept. of Education officials announced a series of actions centering on transparency in an effort to force accreditors to focus more on student outcomes and hold failing colleges accountable. For the most part, the accrediting agencies will not be required to change their practices. Instead, ED hopes to drive change by publishing and disseminating a wealth of information about accreditors and the colleges they oversee on a revamped department web page. One definite change accrediting agencies will have to make: submitting decision letters – which the department will then publish online – when they put institutions on probation.
Category: On the Hill
Senate Passes Budget Around 3 am
The Senate cleared a bipartisan budget and debt limit accord early Friday morning which would send the legislation to the President’s desk. Roughly 72 hours after it was unveiled and buying roughly two years of relative budgetary stability after months of partisan sniping on spending, the Senate passed HR1314 shortly after 3 am. The House passed the measure Wednesday evening.
Just after 3 am, the upper chamber passed the deal by a vote of 64-35, roughly 90 minutes after voting to cut off debate on the legislation. Eighteen Republicans voted in favor of final passage, including Senate GOP Leadership, while 35 Republicans voted against the measure. Forty-four Democrats and two independent senators who conference with Democrats backed the package. See the vote total here.
The budget deal would raise discretionary spending caps for defense and nondefense accounts by $80 billion above the sequester level for fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2017 and suspend the debt limit until March 15, 2017. The increased discretionary spending is offset with cuts to various entitlement programs and revenue raisers.
Senate to Consider Budget Deal at 1 AM
Not all Congressional work is hearings, fundraisers, cocktail parties. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced today that the Senate was on track to pass the budget deal. If there were no procedural issues, the vote is expected to occur at 1am Friday morning.
Ryan Elected as Speaker
Boehner has given his farewell and ends his five-year tenure in the bio. The House has elected Rep. Paul D. Ryan, a 45-year-old Republican, to Speaker.
House Approves Budget Deal
The House on Wednesday passed a two-year budget package that includes a suspension of the debt ceiling by a vote of 266-167. As has become custom, the measure passed with minimal Republican support: 187 Democrats voted for the measure but only 79 Republicans did. The measure now moves to the Senate, which could take it up as early as tomorrow. The budget measure (HR 1314) would raise discretionary spending caps by $80 billion for defense and domestic spending in both 2016 and 2017, splitting the amount evenly between the two categories.
The Senate is expected to take up the bill quickly, even though GOP presidential candidate and US Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) vowed to filibuster the legislation. Because the underlying legislation that’s being used as a vehicle for the deal has already passed the Senate, the measure could see a vote to cut off debate in the chamber tomorrow. Action could occur over the weekend, though votes might get pushed to Monday, just one day before Treasury Secretary Lew’s November 3rd debt ceiling deadline.