President and Administration
A group of national security heavy-hitters are asking conferees on the China competition bill to keep a House provision that would exempt immigrants with advanced STEM degrees from green card caps, to bolster the U.S. workforce…
The U,S. public's view of the nation's economy is the worst it's been in a decade, a new poll finds, with many Americans also saying they feel financial strain in their own lives…
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by half-a-percentage point - the largest interest hike in more than two decades last week, as part of its escalating campaign to battle stubbornly high inflation…
The national average residential electricity rate was up eight percent in January from a year earlier, the biggest annual increase in more than a decade…
The Supreme Court has voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, according to an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito circulated inside the court…
The third round of funding for the Federal Communications Commission’s Emergency Connectivity Fund program opened last week, and it may be the last chance schools and libraries have to apply for remaining emergency money to improve internet access and purchase equipment to help address the homework gap, according to the agency…
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is departing the White House later this month, and will be replaced by principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre…
Congress
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said driving will “unquestionably” include automated vehicles in the future, and Congress must do more to clarify how regulators can approach them…
Senate Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy (D-VT) stated that he plans on leaving a "clean slate" for next January, and promised to work to finalize all FY23 appropriations bills before he leaves office in January…
Mental Health
A House committee is planning to vote on a bipartisan package of mental health legislation that would reauthorize several federal health programs and require self-funded, non-federal governmental plans to comply with laws requiring the same coverage for mental health care as other types of medical care…
Researchers are imploring Congress to force social media companies to share data showing the platforms’ effect on users, especially children…
The national mental health crisis gripping postsecondary institutions has led to an uptick in students registering with campus disability support offices to receive accommodations for psychological disorders…
The pandemic and the raucous political climate have taken a devastating toll on the mental health of LGBTQ youth - nearly half of whom have seriously considered suicide in the past year, according to a nationwide survey released last week from the Trevor Project…
Education
A recently announced $100 million donation to Success Academy charter schools by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will allow the network to move ahead with building a massive K-12 school in the South Bronx, but staffing shortages could prove a major hurdle…
The Department of Education will update the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act…
The Degrees When Due (DWD) initiative, led by the Institute for Higher Education Policy, worked with more than 200 participating colleges in 23 states between 2018 and 2021 to find ways to assist students who interrupted their education and get them back on track to earning degrees or training certificates…
About a third (32%) of currently enrolled students pursuing a bachelor's degree report they have considered withdrawing from their program for a semester or more in the past six months…
Transfer student enrollment rates decreased by 6.9 percent over last year, according to a new study by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center…
Older Americans are much more likely than younger Americans to believe that “the value of a college education is worth it even if someone needs loans to attend,” according to a new survey by NORC at the University of Chicago…
Student Debt Cancellation
Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), a close ally of President Biden, said congressional Democrats will keep up pressure on him to use his executive authority to forgive as much as $50,000 in student loan per borrower rather than the more limited plan being considered by the White House…
President Biden is considering limiting his program to relieve student debt to Americans earning less than $125,000, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last week…
Using executive action to cancel debts for student borrowers without tying relief to their individual needs and using regulatory procedures would put the Biden administration at risk of having its plan overruled in court, according to a legal analysis prepared by Charlie Rose, who served as the top lawyer in the Education Department under President Obama from 2009 to 2011…