- Advocacy needed to protect Pell in Senate reconciliation package
- FY 26 appropriations ramps up
- Senate HELP Committee approves key nominations
House passes their reconciliation package, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”
On Tuesday, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) sent a joint letter to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP), urging them to reject the harmful cuts to Pell Grant eligibility included in the House-passed budget reconciliation bill.
As a reminder, the House bill – the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” – makes devastating cuts to Pell Grant eligibility for community college students, reducing the size of grants for students enrolled in less than 15 credits per semester and eliminating Pell Grant eligibility altogether for students enrolled in less than 8 credits per semester. With action in the House completed, the Senate will begin crafting its legislation, likely by modifying the House bill’s provisions. Both chambers must agree on a final bill, although it will only require Republican votes.
As AACC’s David Baime covers in the Community College Daily, it is critical that community colleges communicate their opposition to these cuts to their senators, especially those on the HELP Committee. Time is of the essence, with Senate leadership indicating that they would like a final piece of legislation signed into law by the July 4th recess.
While the critical budget reconciliation process deals with mandatory funding, like student loans, the important discretionary appropriations process is also underway for Fiscal Year 2026. This includes funding for key community college priorities, including the maximum Pell Grant award, Strengthening Community College Training Grants, the Title III-A Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP), and many others.
Last week, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon defended the Trump Administration’s “skinny budget” for the Department of Education (ED) before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS-ED). She is set to appear before the Senate LHHS-ED Appropriations Subcommittee next Tuesday and the House Education and Workforce Committee next Wednesday.
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer appeared last week before the Senate LHHS-ED Appropriations Subcommittee and will appear before the House Education and Workforce Committee next Thursday, both in defense of the budget request for the Department of Labor (DOL).
To get a sense of timing, House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) has published his markup schedule for FY 26, with subcommittee markups beginning on June 5 and a full committee markup concluding on July 24. In the Senate, subcommittee markups are expected to start the last week of June.
As of May 29, the Trump Administration has yet to release its full budget request. As AACC’s Jim Hermes covered in the Community College Daily earlier in May, the Administration’s skinny budget request includes a 22.6 percent cut to discretionary, non-defense funding, including a 15 percent cut to funding for the Department of Education (ED). However, the document does not include exact funding requests for each program, including the Pell Grant program. The Administration is expected to release a full budget request in the next week or so.
While the budget request is just that – a request – Chair Cole has indicated that he would like to keep the House’s product as aligned to the President’s priorities as possible. However, with final appropriations bills requiring bipartisan support in the Senate, it is extremely unlikely that the draconian cuts in the budget request will be fully enacted.
Senate HELP Committee approves key nominations
Last week, the Senate HELP Committee approved key Trump Administration appointees for the Departments of Education and Labor, including Henry Mack III’s nomination to serve as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training, Kevin O’Farrell’s nomination to serve as Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the Department of Education, and Nicholas Kent’s nomination to serve as Under Secretary of Education – the federal government’s top higher education policy role. The nominations will now be considered by the full Senate, though a date has not yet been set.