Chavez-DeRemer Confirmed as DOL Secretary, LAW is Going Live, ED Loses Half its Workforce, Uncertainty Over Averting a Government Shutdown
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March 13, 2025
Leading the News this Week
Monday evening, in a 67 to 32 vote, the Senate confirmed Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Secretary of the Department of Labor. Throughout the hearing, Secretary Chavez-DeRemer has stated her strong support for apprenticeship programs and the importance of community and technical colleges in workforce development. Secretary Chavez-DeRemer's was sworn in as the 30th U.S. Secretary of Labor on March 11, 2025.
Official portrait of Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer
News in Higher Education
LAW is Going Live
Please join ACCT's Government Relations Team tomorrow Friday, March 14th, at 1:00PM ET as they unpack updates in the Federal government and how they may impact community colleges, higher education, and workforce development. This month's webinar will cover the Education and Labor Secretaries, the latest on Executive Orders, the Dear Colleague Letter and follow up FAQs document, and an update on federal funding. Slides will be sent to everyone who registers and the recording will be available on ACCT Connect early the next week Click here to register.
ED Loses Half of Workforce
This week the Department of Education (ED) has lost nearly half of its workers due to a combination of layoffs and resignations. To put this into perspective, at least 326 unionized workers from the Office of Federal Student Aid were let go. While Secretary Linda McMahon has said that these cuts will not impact statutorily required programs, such as Pell Grants, critics argue that implementation of programs will be affected by the massive shrink of ED's workforce, especially without a plan to redistribute the work.
Community Colleges in Action: NOVAnext Aims to Help Displaced Federal Workers
In the wake of the massive surge of unemployed federal workers, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) has launched its New Employment, Exploration and Transition (NOVAnext) program aimed to help recently unemployed federal workers and federal contractors transition to their next careers at no charge. Eligible students are federal workers and federal contract workers who have been laid off on or after February 1, 2025, reside within the NOVA service area, meet a residency requirement, and fill out an online application.
Uncertainty Looms Over Averting a Government Shutdown
With the possibility of a government shutdown on the horizon, the House Republicans passed their continuing resolution (CR), which would fund the government until September 30th with virtually no votes from the Democrats, who have asked the CR to include language that would ensure the Trump administration would spend the funds as enacted by Congress . Now the CR is in the Senate where it needs 60 votes to pass; this amounts to Republicans needing seven Democrats to agree to this funding package. Senate Democrats have not yet presented a clear position on averting a shutdown as many find the funding package problematic given the proposed cuts to the non-defense funding but also do not want a shutdown during a Trump administration. Meanwhile, the deadline to avert a government shutdown is Friday, March 14th.
ACCT is Taking Action
The House Majority passed a continuing resolution (CR) which proposes cuts in non-defense funding by $13 billion. This includes a $202 million cut to the Fund for Improvement in Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE), which are Congressionally funded community projects, formerly known as earmarks, administered by the Department of Education. The fate of programs like supplemental education opportunity grants (SEOG), Federal Work Study (FWS), Basic Needs, and Postsecondary Student Success Grants is also unclear given the cuts and lack of congressional directives included in the CR. This proposal is now being considered by the Senate.
ACCT is extremely concerned about the devastating impact the proposed slashes could have on our institutions' most vulnerable students. We urge our members to reach out to their federal elected officials and share how these cuts would negatively impact their constituents and ask them to reject these cuts to education programs. Please visit ACCT's Action Center to let your elected official know your concerns.
Grant Opportunities
Head Start/Early Head Start
The Department of Health and Human Services has issued a notice of a competitive grant opportunity to provide funds for Head Start and/or Early Head Start services to eligible children and families. Eligible states are Colorado, Delaware, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas. Click here for additional information. The closing date for application is April 29, 2025 11:59 PM EST.
- March 14 1:00PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
- April 4 1:00PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
- April 29 11:59PM ET - Head Start/Early Head Start Grant Application Due
May 2 1:00PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
- June 6 1:00PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
- Jul 11, 2025 01:00 PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
- Aug 1, 2025 01:00 PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
- Sep 5, 2025 01:00 PM ET - LAW Live Webinar
- October 22 - 25 - ACCT Leadership Congress
The Department of Labor has issued five rounds of the Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants, impacting 356 states and totaling to $265 million in funding.
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:
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