June 2, 2025

Leading the News this Week

ACCT has been informing members and staffers of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee of the possible impacts of the reconciliation proposal that they will soon be tasked with evaluating and possibly modifying. ACCT is greatly concerned with the proposal to eliminate Pell eligibility for students enrolled in less than half-time (this would amount to 7.5 credits, which in a traditional 3 credits per course model means that students would have to enroll for three classes (9 credits) to be Pell eligible). The next couple of days, through the first weeks of June, will be a critical time to reach out to these Senators and advocate for community colleges and their students. To further amplify these efforts in this slim window of time, we ask you to participate in our action campaign and let your Senators know, with data, the ill effects of this current reconciliation bill. Take action here!

Any questions or requests for support in contacting the Senate should be directed to publicpolicy@acct.org. 

News in Higher Education

The President's Budget Request

A few weeks ago, the Trump administration unveiled its skinny budget request, an abbreviated budget that outlined a general picture of how the administration envisions government agencies and programs ought to be funded. On Friday, the Trump administration released additional information regarding the President's budget request for the Department of Education and the Department of Labor, including funding at the programmatic level. While we are still waiting for the full budget request, including congressional justifications, the new information outlines the following:

The elimination of funding for the following programs:

• Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (SEOG), which provide aid to students from the lowest-income backgrounds
• All seven TRIO Programs, such as Upward Bound (UB), Student Support Services, and Veterans UB
• Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), which prepares students for postsecondary education
• The Strengthening Institutions Programs (SIP), a flexible grant that supports under-resourced institutions, many of them being community colleges
• The Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), which houses competitive grants such as the Basic Needs Grant and the Postsecondary Student Success Grant
• Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) Program, which supports parenting students to persist and complete postsecondary education programs
• Adult Basic Education, which supports basic literacy and numeracy amongst the adult population.

President Trump has also requested a reduction of funding for the following:

• The maximum Pell award, reduced from $7,395 to $5,710 (a $1,685 cut).
• An 80% cut to the Federal Workforce Study program, with the added component that employers are to pay 75 percent of a student's wage, with the federal government contributing the remaining 25 percent (this is a reversal of the current cost-share agreement, where the federal government contributes 75%).
• The creation of a Make America Skilled Again block grant, which aims to consolidate Department of Labor workforce training programs, with 10% funding geared towards apprenticeships. The Strengthening Community College Training Grant would be eliminated as part of this consolidation.  

The Trump administration is requesting to maintain funding levels for the following:

• Strengthening Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
• Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving Institutions (ANNHs)
• Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
• Strengthening Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs)
• Strengthening Asian American- and Native American Pacific Islander-serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)
• Strengthening Native American-serving nontribal institutions (NASNTIs) 

Congressional Hearings

The Hill will be quite active this week with three Congressional Hearings in the education and labor space. Here is a list of hearings ACCT plans to tune into: 

• Tuesday, June 3rd, starting at 10 AM ET, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies will hold a hearing titled A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Education, featuring Secretary of Education Linda McMahon as the witness. 
• Wednesday, June 4th, starting at 10:15 AM ET, the House Education and Workforce Committee will hold a hearing titled Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Education, featuring Secretary of Education Linda McMahon as the witness.
• Thursday, June 5th, starting at 10:15 AM ET, the House Education and Workforce Committee will hold a hearing titled Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Labor, featuring Secretary of Labor Lore Chavez-Deremer as the witness.

LAW is Going Live

Please join ACCT's Government Relations Team on June 6th at 1:00PM ET as they unpack updates in the Federal government, including the latest on the reconciliation process and the Trump administration's budget request. Click here to register. 

Advocacy Update

Now that the House Education and Workforce Committee no longer has reconciliation on their to-do list, ACCT is reaching out to committee staff and staffers from members' offices to orient their focus on reauthorizing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). One feature of this reauthorization would be the codification of the Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants (SCCTG). The December 2024 draft of the Continuing Resolution, a government funding package, included reauthorization language, which was later removed in the final bill in favor of a slimmer funding package.

For more on ACCT's list of advocacy priorities, please view our Green Sheet.

To further enhance our advocacy efforts, the Government Relations Team invites you to email publicpolicy@acct.org to share how recent developments at the federal level have impacted your students and your campus.

Grant Opportunities

Please review the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education's Community College webpage for new grants community colleges are eligible for.

• June 6, 1:00PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
• June 17 - Preservation and Access Education and Training Grant closing date
• June 20 - Fire Science Innovations through Research and Education (FIRE) Grant Application Due
• Jul 11, 2025, 01:00 PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
• Aug 1, 2025, 01:00 PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
• Sep 5, 202,5 01:00 PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
• October 22 - 25 - ACCT Leadership Congress

Outreach Efforts

Is your institution meeting or hosting an event with federal elected officials?

We created a Congressional Contact Form that will help us track outreach efforts of community college leaders across our membership. By filling out the form, you are better informing ACCT's advocacy efforts and our advocacy team is able to continue those conversations with congressional staff in DC. 

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. Read the Latest Articles on ACCT NOW:

Would you Like a Federal Update Session for Your Team?

Both this new presidential administration and new Congress have brought with them a flurry of developments in the federal landscape that can make keeping up a monumental task. ACCT's Government Relations team is here to help by offering a 45-minute to an-hour federal update session to community college leadership teams who are ACCT members. To request a session, fill out this form and please email publicpolicy@acct.org with any questions.

Have a Question?

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. For more information about ACCT's advocacy services, visit acct.org/advocacy

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) Alert network. To join, simply register here. 

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