ASAHP Joins ACE Letter to Congressional Leadership on Funding Safeguards

ASAHP joined dozens of other organizations in a ACE-led letter to Congressional leadership and appropriators regarding appropriations safeguards, as Congress considers FY 26 funding. The letter urges Congress to ensure that all funds allocated for FY 2026 be spent by the administration as intended, which may require detailed legislative language and other procedural safeguards.

The letter may be accessed here.

New America Webinar on How Indirect Cost Reform Will Affect University-Industry R&D Partnerships

On September 22 from 2:30-3:30pm Eastern, New America will hold a webinar titled, “ How Indirect Cost Reform Will Affect University-Industry R&D Partnerships”. The webinar will examine the concern about indirect costs and the Financial Accountability in Research (FAIR) model, a proposed approach to reform indirect cost governance and improve transparency, consistency, and fairness in calculating and covering expenses.

More details may be accessed here.

House Subcommittee Advances HRSA Title VII Reauthorization Legislation

On Wednesday, the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health advanced reauthorizations of HRSA Title VII and Title VIII workforce development programs. In the bill, Title VII health professions education workforce development programs would be reauthorized through FY 2030.

More details are here, and the Subcommittee’s Title VII bill is here.

House Committee Advances FY 26 Labor-HHS Funding Bill

In a mark up which concluded early Wednesday morning, the House Appropriations Committee advanced the FY 26 Labor-HHS bill 35-28 in a party-line vote. According to Republicans, the draft fiscal spending bill proposes a 7% cut in discretionary spending below the FY25 enacted level, while Democrats note it is a 11% cut. The bill includes $108 billion for HHS, a roughly $7 billion cut from FY 25 levels., and includes $67 billion for the Department of Education, a roughly $12 billion cut from FY 25 levels. Democrats strongly opposed the bill. Subcommittee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) remarked that Republicans know this bill will not pass on the floor due to the size and scope of the proposed cuts. In opening remarks, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD-05) shared, “This bill, whatever we do, will be largely dictated by what the Senate can do.” Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL-04) noted, “With the President’s leadership, we have taken a critical look at every program and in several cases had to make hard decisions on some ‘nice to have’ programs.” More details may be accessed here, here, and here.

House Appropriations Subcommittee to Mark Up FY 26 Labor-HHS Bill

Today at 5pm Eastern, the House Appropriation Committee’s Labor-HHS Subcommittee will mark up the FY 26 Labor-HHS appropriations bill.

According to the Committee, the Labor-HHS bill provides, “a total discretionary allocation of $184.5 billion, which is $13.7 billion (7%) below the Fiscal Year 2025 enacted level.” The bill provides a discretionary total of $108 billion to the Department of Health and Human Services, which is $7 billion (6%) below the FY25 enacted level. The Committee would provide a total of $7.1 billion for HRSA, a decrease of $866 million below the FY 2025 level. This recommendation would include $1.4 billion for Health Workforce training, a decrease of $37 million below the FY 2025 level. The bill would provide a total of $7.1 billion for HRSA, $866 million below the FY 2025 level. The bill would provide $1.4 billion for Health Workforce training, a decrease of $37 million below the FY 2025 level.

The bill provides a discretionary total of $67 billion to the Department of Education, which is $12 billion (15%) below the FY25 enacted level. The bill maintains funding for Pell Grants at the discretionary maximum award level of $6,335, which when combined with mandatory funding under current law would continue to support a total maximum award of $7,395, which is level funding.

A Full Committee markup is expected as soon as next week.

The Subcommittee markup may be viewed here. The bill and Republican Committee summary may be found here. Bill summaries from the Committee Democrats may be found here and here.

House Subcommittee to Hold Hearing on Examining Opportunities to Advance American Health Care through the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technologies

On Wednesday, September 3, 2025, at 10:15 am Eastern, the House Energy &. Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health, Chaired by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) will hold a hearing entitled “Examining Opportunities to Advance American Health Care through the Use of Artificial Intelligence Technologies.”

A hearing memo from the Subcommittee may be accessed here. The hearing may be viewed here.

ASAHP Joins Joint Comments to the Department of Education Regarding Student Loan Caps

ASAHP and 39 other organizations submitted joint comments to the Department of Education’s (ED) Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee as they begin their work on the negotiated rulemaking to implement the student financial aid provisions under Public Law 119–21, commonly referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The organizations urged that ED should adopt a clear and inclusive regulatory definition of “professional degree programs” that encompasses any master’s or doctoral degree education generally required for licensure or certification in health professions. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act set new student loan caps for graduate students, with a higher cap for those pursuing a professional degree.

The comments may be accessed here.

The Chronicle of Higher Education Hosts Four-Part Fall Webinar Series on the Trump Administration and Higher Education

The Chronicle of Higher Education is hosting a four-part Fall webinar series titled, “Trump and Higher Ed: Understanding the Latest”. Webinars will be held September, October, November, and December.

A registration link and more information may be accessed here.

ASAHP Joins Joint Letter Urging Congress to Reauthorize HRSA Title VII Health Professions Programs

ASAHP and 66 other organizations urged Congress to swiftly consider and advance legislation that would reauthorize the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Title VII health professions and Title VIII nursing workforce development programs, which are set to expire at the end of fiscal year 2025 (September 30, 2025).

The joint letter to Congressional Committee leaders may be accessed here.

Department of Education Publishes Proposed Rule On Public Service Loan Forgiveness with 30 Day Comment Period

On Friday, the Department of Education issued its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program to exclude organizations that engage in activities that are illegal from being qualifying employers. The NPRM was published in the Federal Register on August 18 and has a 30-day comment period. Comments can be submitted through regulations.gov. ED expects to finalize the rule by November 1, 2025, so it can go into effect July 1, 2026.

FY 26 Labor-HHS bill Advances Senate Appropriations Committee

The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up two of its FY 26 appropriations bills on Thursday, including its $200 billion Labor-HHS bill, which is $1 billion below FY 25 enacted funding levels (according to FY 25 figures from the Congressional Research Service). Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) noted that with the passage of Labor-HHS bill, eight bipartisan bills have moved through her Committee, comprising 87% of the discretionary budget. The Senate Labor-HHS bill moved through the Appropriations Committee by a vote of 26-3. Please find links to the bill text, Majority summary, Minority summary and Committee Report.

The Senate Committee’s bill allocates $79 billion for the Department of Education (ED), whereas President Trump’s budget proposal had requested $66.7 billion for ED. The Senate bill also keeps the maximum Pell grant award at $7,395, despite the White House budget request to lower it to $5,710.

Vice Chair Patty Murray’s (D-WA) remarks highlighted the bipartisan work done by the Committee on the bill, which rejected many of the proposed cuts by the Administration. She also highlighted how the bill rejects the Administration’s proposed cuts to Pell Grants, and increases NIH by $400 million. 

The next step in the appropriations process will occur when the House returns to Washington after Labor Day with a markup of the House Labor-HHS bill in Subcommittee on September 4thand in full Committee on September 9th. It is a near certainty that a Continuing Resolution will be needed to keep the government running after September 30th, though the threat of a government shutdown continues to loom if the Administration and Congressional Democrats cannot agree on the terms of a CR.

Coverage from Inside Higher Ed is here.

Department of Education Announces Negotiated Rulemaking on Higher Education

The Department of Education announced  yesterday that it will hold two negotiated rulemaking sessions on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s higher education provisions and other Administration priorities.

The Department will hold a virtual public hearing on Thursday, August 7.

The Department will create two committees. The Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee will address federal student loan-related changes, including phase-out of graduate and professional PLUS Loans, establishment of new loan limits and lifetime borrowing caps, the simplification of student loan repayment plans, and more. The Committee will meet September 29 – October 3 and November 3-7, 2025.

The Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee will address Workforce Pell, institutional and programmatic accountability and other issues. The Committee will meet December 8-12, 2025, and January 5-9, 2026.

If the Department publishes final rules by November 1, 2026, the rules will go into effect July 1, 2027.

The announcement is here. Registration for the virtual public hearing is here. More details, including information on submitting comments and committee member nominations are here.

House Appropriations Committee Releases FY 26 Subcommittee Allocations

This week, House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) released FY 26 House subcommittee allocations for the twelve appropriations bills. The allocations were approved 35 to 26 in a party line vote in the House Appropriations Committee yesterday. House appropriators are writing their bills to a nearly $1.6 trillion discretionary topline, with about $892.5 billion for defense and $705.6 billion for non-defense discretionary spending. The Labor-HHS bill’s allocation is $184.491 billion. 

The House’s proposed discretionary funding level is almost three percent below the FY 25 level passed in March. Defense spending is proposed to be level funded, and the proposed nondefense discretionary level would be nearly six percent below the FY 25 level, with proposed cuts of $44.7 billion. The House’s proposed level for nondefense discretionary spending is significantly higher than what the White House has called for, as President Trump’s FY 26 budget proposed a 23 percent cut to nondefense discretionary spending. 

The Labor-HHS bill was previously scheduled to be marked up in subcommittee on July 21 and in full committee on July 24, but the House cancelled one week of session earlier this month which pushed back the Committee’s work. The House Labor-HHS bill text is now expected to be released and taken up in early September, when Congress returns from August recess. The House Labor-HHS bill is tentatively set to be marked up in subcommittee on Thursday, September 4 and marked up in full committee on Tuesday, September 9. 

The Senate has not released its full subcommittee allocations, but is expected, like last year, to propose higher spending levels than the House. A Labor-HHS markup in the Senate Appropriations Committee has not been scheduled at this time.   

Congress Passes Budget Reconciliation Bill

On Thursday, the House passed the Senate-passed version of the budget reconciliation bill by a vote of 218-214, sending the Republican party-line package of domestic priorities to President Trump for his signature ahead of the July 4th holiday, meeting their latest self-imposed deadline. President Trump plans to hold a signing ceremony tomorrow. Two Republicans voted against the bill, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). 

The Senate passed the package on Tuesday in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance providing the tie-breaking vote. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted for the bill after receiving significant provisions for her state. Three Senate Republicans voted against the bill, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). Tillis, who said he was voting against the bill because it would cause many of his constituents to lose Medicaid coverage, announced he would be retiring at the end of this term.

Ahead of the vote for final passage, House Republicans set a record for the longest House vote, holding open a procedural vote for 7 hours and 24 minutes. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) also set a record for the longest House floor speech. Speaking for 8 hours and 44 minutes, Jeffries said the budget reconciliation package was an “all-out Republican assault on health care”. Regarding the bill’s impact on Medicaid, Jeffries said, “people will die. Tens of thousands, perhaps year after year after year as a result of the Republican assault on the healthcare of the American people. I'm sad. I never thought I would be on the House floor saying this is a crime scene."

The package, which extends the 2017 Trump tax cuts, would reduce revenues by $4.5 trillion and reduce spending by $1.2 trillion, adding $3.3 trillion in budget deficits over the next 10 years, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The package would increase border security and defense spending. Changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act would result in roughly 11.8 million more uninsured people by 2034, according to the CBO, while SNAP funding would be cut by 20 percent. The debt limit would also be increased by $5 trillion. 

Workforce Pell was included in the Senate and House passed package. After the provision had been found by the Senate Parliamentarian to be in violation of the Byrd rule, the provision was revised to limit eligibility solely to Title IV accredited institutions, eliminating the previous expansion of eligibility for high-quality, workforce programs that met certain requirements. Other education provisions include endowment tax increases, accountability measures, and the streamlining of loan repayment plans, including the termination of the SAVE plans for new loans starting July 2026. 

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) discussed two more reconciliation bills this Congress. “You can do a reconciliation budget for each fiscal year [the reconciliation bill which passed this was for the FY 25 year]. So, the plan is to do one in the fall for the FY 26 budget year, and then we can also squeeze in a third one for FY 27 before this Congress is up.” 

An overview from Inside Higher Ed may be accessed here.

7/10/25 update : A bill summary from the American Council on Education (ACE) may be accessed here.

Department of Education Concludes Negotiated Rulemaking Session on Public Service Loan Forgiveness

The Department of Education concluded its negotiated rulemaking session, with three days of negotiations on Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) this week. The Department’s aim is to ensure that employers in the PSLF program are not engaging in activities that a have a substantial illegal purpose, which could be interpreted as organizations that support undocumented immigrants, provide gender affirming care, support terrorism, have a pattern of violating state laws, and more. As negotiators did not reach a unanimous consensus, the Department of Education may write a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), expected in the coming months. After a public comment period, a final rule would follow. If that is published on or before November 1, 2025 then final rules can be implemented on July 1, 2026. A press release, and more details, from the Department of Education may be accessed here.

ASAHP Joins ACE Letter to Senate Leaders on Budget Reconciliation Bill

ASAHP joined the American Council on Education (ACE) and dozens of higher education associations in a letter to Senate leadership to express concerns regarding provisions contained in the Senate reconciliation titles proposed by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) and Committee on Finance. The letter states concern that cuts to student aid will increase costs to students and erect barriers to developing the workforce, and that new and increased taxes on institutions of higher education will limit student aid and constrain research.

The letter may be accessed here.