Dive Brief:
- House Republicans have drafted a budget bill for the U.S. Department of Education that blocks key Obama initiatives, including various regulations and a proposed college rating system.
- Inside Higher Ed reports that the bill would completely prohibit spending on all regulations related to the department's "gainful employment" rule, state authorization, teacher preparation, and the credit hour.
- The bill also allocates $100 million more than Obama requested for the National Institutes of Health, increases spending for the TRIO and GEAR UP programs, and takes surplus Pell Grant money from 2015 for other priorities, according to the article.
Dive Insight:
The Republican spending bill would block virtually all of President Obama’s higher education priorities. Without money to fund staff work on the proposed college and university rating system, it can’t be completed. Without money to enforce gainful employment regulations, which demand greater accountability for career-focused programs at for-profit and community colleges, they can’t be implemented.
The spending bill is coming out of the House Appropriations subcommittee, meaning there is significant political wrangling time before it is turned into law by Congress. Obama will be forced to concede on other priorities to get his key initiatives through the budget process, assuming Republicans are willing to negotiate. One can assume he will, at the very least, fight for gainful employment regulation and the college ratings system, a framework for which was expected very soon.