House committee takes up Democrats’ higher education plan

With help from Bianca Quilantan

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— A House committee today is set to take up Democrats’ $400 billion higher education plan. Expect dozens of amendments.

— Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is being called to testify before the House about the Trump administration’s stalled processing of loan forgiveness claims submitted by former Corinthian Colleges students.

— A GAO report found that religious-based hate crimes are on the rise on college campuses and recommended that the Justice Department do more to help colleges address the problem.

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HOUSE COMMITTEE TAKES UP DEMOCRATS’ HIGHER EDUCATION BILL: The House education committee today will consider Democrats’ sweeping plan to overhaul federal higher education policy. The $400 billion proposal to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, dubbed the College Affordability Act, H.R. 4674 (116), calls for expanding federal student aid programs and new federal spending to help states eliminate tuition at community colleges. Here’s what to expect:

— Democrats are upping the ante on Pell Grants: They’re proposing to further increase the program as part of a package of revisions to the original bill. The committee will take up those revisions in an amendment in the nature of a substitute by Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.). Other changes include expanding subsidized federal student loans to graduate and professional students at public and nonprofit colleges and replacing a six-year statute of limitations on collecting defaulted federal student loans with a new cap on the collection fees borrowers may be charged.

— The revised proposal calls for boosting the maximum Pell Grant amount by $625 instead of the $500 increase in the original bill. That would be the largest single-year increase in the history of the program, according to a Democratic committee aide. The increase would push up the maximum award to $6,820 for fiscal 2021, and subsequent automatic increases tied to inflation would lead to an estimated $8,250 maximum in fiscal 2029.

— Expect the committee to work through dozens of amendments: Democrats are planning to offer roughly 10, and GOP lawmakers have submitted approximately 50, according to committee aides. Most of the amendments will likely break down along party lines — meaning committee Democrats will reject GOP proposals — but it’s expected that several of them may win bipartisan support.

— The markup begins at 10:15 a.m. ET in room 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Watch the livestream.

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Fuente de la Información: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-education/2019/10/29/house-committee-takes-up-democrats-higher-education-plan-781750