- Speaker Johnson fails to pass his Continuing Resolution
- AACC submits comments on the 2025-26 FAFSA
- ICYMI: Department of Education delays Gainful Employment reporting
Speaker Johnson fails to pass his Continuing Resolution
On Wednesday, a bill to extend government funding to March failed by a vote of 202-220, with 14 Republicans and all but three Democrats voting against the bill. Brought forward by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), the bill aimed to avoid a government shutdown, with funding for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY 24) set to expire on October 1. However, his approach was unusual and failed to get the requisite support from the chamber. Members in both parties raised objections to the proposed six-month extension. Many members wanted to see a shorter-term CR to keep pressure on Congress to pass an FY 25 funding bill by the end of the year. Others want to see how negotiating dynamics may shift after the election. Democrats objected to conservative policy riders attached to the CR, including the SAVE Act, and the exclusion of some anomalies requested by the Biden Administration. Some Republicans objected to keeping funding levels stable, rather than exploring further cuts to government spending.
The House will now go back to the drawing board. Speaker Johnson will likely pursue a shorter-term, clean CR to give appropriators time to pass a larger funding bill before the end of December. This approach will require the support of Democrats, so some anomalies, including the Biden Administration’s request for additional money for the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), may be included.
AACC submits comments on the 2025-26 FAFSA
Last Friday, we submitted formal comments in response to the Department of Education’s Request for Information (RFI) on the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
As a reminder, the Department had previously announced that they would not be pursuing a public comment period for the 2025-26 FAFSA, rendering them unable to make substantive changes to the form’s wording, questions, or order of questions. However, ED issued an RFI requesting feedback on the current form and recommendations for non-substantive changes where appropriate. These changes could include editing or creating new “help text” to provide students and families with more information on questions and fields.
Our comments reflect feedback from financial aid officers at community colleges across the country. They are largely aimed at reducing incidences of conflicting information that require student- and institution-initiated corrections and delay financial aid disbursement. The Association’s asks include clarifying questions that students and contributors have struggled with, enhancing skip logic to eliminate opportunities for conflicting information, and ensuring that students and contributors have provided all required information before submitting a new or corrected form.
We are carefully monitoring the rollout of the 2025-26 FAFSA.
ICYMI: Department of Education delays Gainful Employment reporting
Last Friday, the Department of Education (ED) announced that it will delay the institutional reporting deadline for Gainful Employment (GE) and Financial Value Transparency (FVT) to January 15, 2025. As covered in the Community College Daily, we have been closely following the implementation of the new GE/FVT rules and has raised significant concerns about the October 1 deadline with agency officials. We welcome the delay, which will give both colleges and the Department more time to facilitate effective compliance and to ensure the integrity of generated data.