December 6, 2019 Senate Passes Bill to Extend HBCU/MSI Funding, Modify FAFSAYesterday, the Senate unanimously passed an amended version of the FUTURE Act (H.R. 2486) to extend mandatory funding for grants available to Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), and Tribal Colleges under Part F of Title III of the Higher Education Act. Funding for the Part F grants had expired on September 30th, and prior efforts to extend the funding had faced roadblocks in the Senate. The amended FUTURE Act would also make modifications to the FAFSA application process by requiring greater information sharing between the IRS and the Department of Education. This cross-sharing of tax records will eliminate the need for additional income verification for most students applying for financial aid. It will also simplify the process to recertify income for borrowers in income based repayment plans. Additional information on the amended FUTURE Act may be viewed here. The bill will next need to be considered by the House. ACCT NOW is the go-to resource for issues affecting community colleges. Our new website features original reporting and research, as well as of-the-moment legislative updates. ACCT NOW also includes articles, reports, and research from outside sources that benefit the ACCT community. Spread the word. Please encourage your fellow trustees, presidents and colleagues to stay up to date about legislation that affects their community colleges by joining the Latest Action in Washington (LAW) E-Alert network. To join, simply e-mail publicpolicy@acct.org with 'LAW Alert' in the subject of the e-mail. For more community college news from inside the beltway, follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/CCTrustees) or like us Facebook (facebook.com/CCTrustees). Have questions? Contact us with any questions or concerns about public policy and ACCT's advocacy on behalf of two-year colleges and two-year college trustees. ACCT's Latest Action in Washington alerts are sent to interested ACCT members to keep you up to date on important legislative activities that impact community colleges. If you no longer wish to receive ACCT's Latest Action in Washington alerts, reply to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
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