April 15, 2022
Bipartisan Innovation Act Conference Committee Appointments
Congressional Leaders announced their appointments to the Conference Committee that will work to resolve the differences between the House-passed COMPETES Act and the Senate-passed US Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). Together, the two bills are being referred to as the Bipartisan Innovation Act.
These two legislative proposals aim to strengthen the U.S.’ global competitiveness in manufacturing and technology among other areas. Notably, the House proposal includes language that would authorize Pell eligibility for shorter term workforce programs, reauthorize Apprenticeships, and pass the College Transparency Act. For more information on what they two bills include, how they differ, and what provisions are of interest to community colleges, you can check out ACCT’s fact sheet here.
Here are the conferees appointed by the House, Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans.
Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) Appropriations Reminder
A reminder that the Appropriations Committees in the House of Representative and the Senate are currently collecting input from members on what are their federal funding priorities for the next fiscal year. The House Appropriations Committee notified members that they will be accepting submissions until the last week of this month, meanwhile the Senate’s guidelines outlined their deadlines will be in May.
The FY23 cycle will also include requests for earmarks, now known as Community Funding Projects in the House and Congressionally Directed Spending in the Senate. To learn more about the rules governing earmarks and how your institution can make requests, check out our “Fiscal Year 2023 Earmarks Presentation” in our Advocacy Toolkits page.
ACCT Joins Coalition Calling on Congress to Support Student Mental Health
Earlier this week, ACCT joined a coalition of nearly 100 organizations in a letter calling on Congress to support and prioritize the mental and behavioral health needs of students in higher education. With the pandemic exacerbating the mental health needs of students across the nation, Congressional action is more urgent than ever.
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.
For more information about ACCT's advocacy services, visit acct.org/advocacy
