Workforce Pell Consideration in the House

Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU)

June 6, 2024

Congress to consider important higher education provisions next week

Workforce Pell Consideration in the House

Next week, the House of Representatives will consider the National Defense Authorization Act, a “must-pass” bill that authorizes funding for the military and its programs each year. As of this morning, over 1,200 amendments have been filed for the House Rules Committee to review and approve for floor consideration. The Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act has been offered as an amendment by Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY). The original bill passed the House Education and Workforce Committee earlier this year and was the result of a compromise between Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Ranking Member Scott. The Rules Committee has the authority to decide whether this amendment will reach floor consideration, and CECU is registering its support for the legislation with Committee members.

This important legislation includes proprietary institutions as eligible entities for short-term Pell Grant funding. However, funding for these additional Pell Grants is offset by eliminating direct loan eligibility for institutions subject to the endowment tax created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act levied on institutions with more than 500 students and endowments worth more than $500,000 per student. This pay-for is opposed by many other higher-education organizations and has created a barrier to quick passage of the bill. Progressive Democrats have also taken issue with proprietary institution eligibility and resisted advancing the bill without an opportunity to message that opposition.

WIOA Hearing in Senate HELP

Additionally, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is holding its first hearing next week on the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The House of Representatives has already passed a bipartisan version of the bill which makes no changes specific to or with a disproportionate impact on proprietary institutions of higher education. This hearing is not intended to focus on the House legislation, but an opportunity to set out Senate priorities for federal workforce program updates. CECU is working with Senators to ensure that proprietary institutions remain a valued stakeholder in federal workforce programs.

CECU’s Government Relations Updates