House Examines Proposed ED Budget 
After a delayed start, the U.S. House of Representatives has quickly gotten the fiscal year (FY) 2023 appropriations process underway with the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Sciences, and Education Committee hosting U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona this past week in a hearing to discuss the Department of Education’s (ED) FY 2023 budget request.  Secretary Cardona’s testimony highlighted the Department’s continued priorities of helping students respond and recover from the pandemic, addressing achievement and opportunity gaps, supporting the educator workforce, increasing affordability of higher education, and creating career pathways.  
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Legislative Bills of Note

•    H.R. 7530 (Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-FL) Student Loan Borrower Relief Act – This legislation aims to reform income-driven repayment plans and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.  The full text of the bill can be found here.  

•    H.R. 7465 (Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-PA) PSLF Payment Completion Fairness Act – This legislation would simplify the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program application process in order to increase the success rate of borrowers achieving forgiveness in order to incentivize students to work in public service.  The full press release from Rep. Houlahan’s office can be found here.

Biden Administration Takes on Student Loan Debt Head On
The Biden Administration continues to take steps to address the student loan debt issues facing many student borrowers and correct the administrative challenges of accessing existing loan forgiveness programs.  More recently, reports have indicated that President Biden is considering cancelling some amount of federal student loan debt by taking executive action on debt relief as external advocacy groups continue to campaign on this issue.
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Departments of Education and Labor Release Racial Equity Plans
The Biden Administration continues to prioritize advancing racial equity across the federal government.  In response to this ongoing priority, the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Labor (DOL) were among the 90 federal agencies that released equity action plans in April 2022.  Further details on each of the equity plans is available in Lewis-Burke’s full write-up on federal efforts to advance racial equity.
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The STEM Education Advisory Panel Meets for their Spring 2022 Meeting
On April 27, the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Advisory Panel held their Spring 2022 meeting.  Dr. Alondra Nelson, Acting Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and Dr. Karen Marrongelle, COO of the National Science Foundation (NSF), spoke to the STEM advisory panel on the importance of creating equitable participation and strengthening leaders in STEM.  The final advisory panel meeting is scheduled for August 2022.
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Department of Homeland Security Announces SEVP Extension
On April 18, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced an extension of its March 2020 COVID-19 Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) guidance to cover the 2022-2023 academic year.  ICE’s updated guidance is available here and a helpful SEVP resource compiled by NAFSA: Association of International Educators is available here.
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Department of Education Announces Expansion of the Second Chance Pell Experiment
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently invited 73 institutions of higher education to participate in the third round of the Second Chance Pell Experiment, which brings the total number of institutions involved in the program to expand higher education opportunities to incarcerated individuals to 200.  In its announcement of the program expansion, ED stated that it chose to expand the Second Chance Pell Experiment as a lead up to the reinstatement of broad Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated individuals, which goes into effect on July 1, 2023.  A full list of the colleges and universities invited to participate in the third expansion of the Second Chance Pell Experiment is available here.
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