- Senate appropriators reject dramatic cuts to education, labor funding
- AACC offers public comments ahead of OBBB implementation</strong>
- 2026-27 FAFSA enters beta testing
- Register for Advocates in Action 2025!
Senate appropriators reject dramatic cuts to education, labor funding
Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 26) Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (LHHS-ED) appropriations bill. The Committee favorably reported the bill by a vote of 26 to 3, reflecting the bipartisan nature of the appropriations process in the Senate.
As covered in the Community College Daily, the Senate bill almost entirely rejects many of the cuts or outright program eliminations proposed in President Trump’s FY26 budget request—a relief to community college advocates. It maintains current funding for many programs important to AACC members, including the Strengthening Community College Training Grants (SCCTG) program, TRIO, GEAR UP, Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS), and Postsecondary Student Success Grants. The bill also keeps the maximum Pell Grant flat at $7,395, rejecting the President’s proposed cut to the award amount. The Title III-A Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) received a small funding cut, but this was in contrast to the President’s request to eliminate the program.
The House Appropriations Committee’s scheduled July markup of the same bill was pushed back until early September. While the House will likely propose cuts to some of the programs that were level-funded in the Senate bill, the formal top-line spending amounts released by the House Appropriations Committee for the Labor-HHS-ED bill imply that it too will reject many of the funding eliminations proposed in the President’s budget. AACC will continue to closely monitor the FY26 appropriations process and ask for member action.
AACC offers public comments ahead of OBBB implementation
On Thursday, AACC’s Senior Vice President for Government Relations, David Baime, offered public comments on the sector’s priorities for the implementation of the education components of H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) reconciliation legislation.
As a reminder, the Department of Education (ED) is required to go through a formal negotiated rulemaking regulatory process for all programs that fall under the Higher Education Act (HEA). With a number of HEA-related changes in the OBBB, ED will convene two negotiated rulemaking tables over the fall and winter.
The first table – to be called the “Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee –will address changes to student loan origination and repayment policies. The second – the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee – will be tasked with implementing Workforce Pell, the new accountability system that measures the earnings of program completers against a comparison group of high school graduates, and Gainful Employment/Financial Value Transparency regulations.
As the first step of the negotiated rulemaking process, ED held a public hearing to invite comments from stakeholders and members of the public. Representing AACC, Baime highlighted the importance of having community colleges represented at the negotiating tables; he asked the Department to align reporting requirements and accountability measures for Title IV-eligible programs under Workforce Pell, GE/FVT, and the new earnings-based accountability scheme; and he asked the Department to clarify how wages, completion rates, and placement rates will be collected, calculated, and verified for programs eligible for Workforce Pell.
AACC will be submitting more detailed written comments in the weeks ahead.
2026-27 FAFSA enters beta testing
On Monday, the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced that the 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has been launched in its beta test version. This is the earliest that the form has been launched and is ahead of FSA’s target date. The Department will be hosting beta testing events with students and families around the country starting this week. The beta version is set to become available to the wider public in September, with the final application set to open to all users on October 1.
Register for Advocates in Action 2025!
Registration is now open for AACC’s annual Advocates in Action! The two-day seminar will take place in Washington, D.C. on September 16 and 17.
For those who have not yet attended, the program is designed for community college leaders who want an insider’s view on how Washington formulates higher education policy and who want to become more involved in the federal legislative process. Interactive sessions with key executive branch officials and senior Congressional staff will provide valuable insights about the current dynamics and issues surrounding key funding and other pending legislation. Time is reserved for attendees to meet with their federal legislators to advocate for community college priorities.
Community college presidents, trustees, government relations directors, and other campus administrators are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to network, discuss key policy issues, and advocate for critical federal programs.