Budget and Appropriations
Section 1 Content
The federal government supports the work of colleges and universities by funding programs for student financial aid, scientific research, institutional support, and other activities. The American Council on Education (ACE) monitors the annual federal budget and appropriations process from start to finish, with a particular focus on how the decisions made may impact student aid. Throughout the process, ACE’s Government Relations division meets with congressional staff, advocates for appropriate funding, analyzes policy, and reviews and advises on legislation.
September 29, 2023
Letter Opposing the House Continuing Resolution for FY 2024
ACE, on behalf of five other higher education associations, wrote to leaders of the House of Representatives to express disapproval of a proposed continuing resolution that would reduce funding for higher education.
July 28, 2023
Letter on House FY 2024 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill
ACE, on behalf of of 29 other higher education organizations, wrote to leaders of the House Appropriations Committee with concerns about proposed cuts for higher education programs in the House's Labor-HHS-Education funding bill for FY 2024.
May 17, 2023
Higher Education and a Debt Ceiling Default
A memo examining the potential impact on higher education if the U.S. federal government fails to raise the national debt ceiling, causing the United States to default on its obligations.
December 14, 2022
Letter to the Senate on Research Funding for HBCUs, MSIs in the 2023 NDAA
Letter from ACE and 16 other higher education organizations to Senate leaders in support of provisions in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act funding research at historically Black colleges and universities, tribal colleges and universities, Hi...
April 19, 2022
Letter to Appropriations Subcommittees on Education Funding Priorities for FY 2023
Letter from the Student Aid Alliance to House and Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations subcommittees requesting that student aid remains a high priority in the funding bill for FY 2023.
February 3, 2022
Letter to Congress on Doubling the Pell Grant
Along with 188 partner organizations, ACE sent this letter to congressional leaders yesterday asking them to consider doubling the maximum Pell Grant as they work toward a spending agreement for FY 2022.
October 27, 2021
Letter to Congress on Higher Education Priorities in the Build Back Better Plan
ACE and a coalition of higher education organizations urge House and Senate leadership to preserve critical investments in college affordability and completion in the final Build Back Better package.
October 20, 2021
Letter to Congress in Support of the Higher Education Provisions in the Build Back Better Act
Letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urging Congress to retain the level of higher education funding and key tax provisions provided in the Build Back Better Act passed by the House Budget Committee.
September 23, 2021
Letter to House Leadership on Repealing Pell Grant Taxability
Letter from ACE and other assocations to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy urging them to repeal the taxability of Pell Grants in the FY 2022 budget reconciliation process.
September 22, 2021
Letter to the Senate Finance Committee on Repealing Pell Grant Taxability
ACE President Ted Mitchell writes to urge members of the Senate Finance Committee to repeal the taxability of Pell Grants in the FY 2022 budget reconciliation process.
September 9, 2021
Letter of Support for the FY 2022 Budget Reconciliation Bill
Letter to the House Education and Labor Committee in support of the investments this legislation makes in students, educators, and institutions, and requesting lawmakers to include funding to double the maximum Pell Grant award.
September 3, 2021
Letter to Chairs and Ranking Members of the Ways and Means and Finance Committee on Repeal of the Taxability of Pell Grant Aid in Reconciliation
On behalf of ACE and the undersigned higher education associations are writing to urge you to repeal the taxability of Pell Grants by incorporating the “Tax-Free Pell Grant Act” in Reconciliation.
July 23, 2021
Letter of Support for the FY 2022 Labor HHS Minibus Bill
ACE and the other undersigned organizations write in support of the Fiscal Year 2022 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill that will be considered on the floor as part of the FY22 minibus of appropriations b...
July 14, 2021
Letter of Support for the FY 2022 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill
Letter to the chair and ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee in support of the higher education provisions in the FY 2022 Labor-HHS-Education bill.
June 14, 2021
Letter to Chairs and Ranking Members of the Ways and Means and Finance Committee on Higher Ed Tax Proposals in American Jobs and American Families Plan
We are urging Congress to include the tax proposals onlined here in any legislation that incorporates the American Jobs and American Families plans.
June 4, 2021
Letter on Higher Education Appropriations for FY 2022
Letter from ACE and 48 other higher education associations to House and Senate appropriators outlining the priorities for students, institutions, and researchers as Congress works on funding bills for FY 2022.
March 25, 2021
Request to Congress: Double the Pell Grant
Letter to Congress from nearly 1,200 organizations, including nearly 900 colleges and universities, requesting lawmakers to double to amount of the maximum Pell Grant award.
March 25, 2021
Talking Points: Why Congress Should Double the Pell Grant
This important investment will drive economic recovery, help address racial and economic inequities in college completion rates, and increase overall educational attainment.
March 17, 2021
Student Aid Alliance FY 2022 Higher Education Appropriations Priorities
Letter to the chairs of the House and Senate appropriations committees outlining the higher education funding priorities for FY 2022, including doubling the maximum Pell Grant.
March 15, 2021
Letter of Appreciation to Congressional Leaders for Passing the American Rescue Plan
Letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for including support for postsecondary students and institutions in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319).
March 10, 2021
American Rescue Plan Simulated HEERF Allocations: Proprietary Institutions
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provides almost $40 billion in relief funds directly to higher education institutions. This simulation shows how the Education Department might distribute these funds to proprietary schools.
April 18, 2024
dotEDU Live: Budget Battles, FAFSA Fails, and Biden's New Loan Forgiveness Plan
With Congress back from spring break, Jon and Sarah look at what's on the agenda in DC.
April 15, 2024
Student Aid Alliance Calls for Increases to Pell Grants, Other Federal Student Aid Programs
On the heels of Congress approving a long-delayed final FY 2024 spending package last month, the Student Aid Alliance (SAA) is urging the House and Senate appropriations committees to increase funding for student financial aid programs in FY 2025.
March 25, 2024
Biden Signs FY 2024 Spending Bill, Higher Education Funding Holds Steady
After months of delays, over the weekend Congress passed and President Biden signed a $1.2 trillion spending bill for the remainder of FY 2024 that includes funding for the Department of Education and some research agencies.
March 21, 2024
dotEDU Live: Student-Athlete Unions and the Mental Health Crisis in Higher Ed
ACE’s Steven Bloom, assistant vice president of government relations, joins hosts Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer to explore the complicated relationship between student-athletes and unions.
March 13, 2024
Biden Budget Proposes Pell Increase, Free Community College
President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget request released Monday includes $82 billion in federal discretionary spending for the Education Department.
February 22, 2024
dotEDU Live: Is Higher Education Act Reauthorization Finally Happening?
ACE’s Emmanual Guillory, senior director of government relations, joins hosts Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer to talk about the College Cost Reduction Act—the new Higher Education Act reauthorization bill from House Republicans.
January 25, 2024
dotEDU Live: New Year, Same Congress—What’s Next for Higher Ed?
Hosts Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer discuss how the 2024 presidential election might impact higher education and look ak problems with the new FAFSA, the latest House Higher Education Act reauthorization bill, short-term Pell, and more.
November 16, 2023
dotEDU Live: The Pre-Thanksgiving Policy Roundup
Hosts Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer are joined by their ACE colleague Steven Bloom to discuss how the never-ending threats of a government shutdown are impacting funding legislation for higher education.
October 19, 2023
dotEDU Live: Chaos in Congress and the Higher Ed Agenda
Hosts Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer discuss the House speaker race and its implications for the packed agenda—such as the ongoing spending battle—in Congress, as well as its impact on the Biden administration.
October 5, 2023
Higher Ed Trends to Watch with Scott Jaschik
Scott Jaschik, formerly of Inside Higher Ed, joins the podcast to talk about what he sees as the top 10 leading trends shaping higher education this year and his predictions for what’s ahead.
October 2, 2023
Student Aid Alliance Urges Biden Administration to Support Federal Student Aid
Members of the Student Aid Alliance sent a letter Sept. 29 to the Department of Education and Office of Management and Budget urging them to provide robust support for federal student aid in the fiscal year 2025 budget proposal.
September 21, 2023
dotEDU Live: What’s on the Policy Agenda for Higher Ed This Fall?
A government shutdown is looming on the horizon, and ACE’s Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer are back to answer your questions and break down what this means for the higher education community, as well as other issues on this fall’s policy agenda.
September 14, 2023
Government Shutdowns and Higher Education
Government shutdowns, or at least the threat of a shutdown, are increasingly common. How does a shutdown impact both the country in general and higher education institutions specifically?
September 8, 2023
Federal Budget Uncertainty Casts Doubt on the Fate of Federal Work-Study, Funding for Other Higher Ed Programs
After a monthlong break, the Senate and House returned to work with a looming deadline to fund the federal government for the upcoming fiscal year by Sept. 30.
August 7, 2023
House and Senate Far Apart on Education Funding for Fiscal Year That Begins Oct. 1
The Senate Committee on Appropriations voted 26 to 2 July 27 to approve the FY 2024 Labor-HHS-Education bill, increasing discretionary funds for the Department of Education by about $370 million over the current fiscal year to $79.6 billion.
July 17, 2023
House Spending Bill Eliminates Federal Work-Study and SEOG Grants, Makes Other Drastic Cuts to Higher Ed Programs
The House Appropriations Committee last week released the text of the bill that funds federal education programs for FY 2024, revealing drastic cuts to a number of key higher education programs for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
June 1, 2023
dotEDU Live: Gainful Employment Rules 3.0, Student Loan Payments Return
Hosts Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer are joined by Emmanual Guillory, ACE’s newest government relations staffer, to discuss the ongoing saga of the Education Department’s gainful employment rules.
May 22, 2023
How Defaulting on the National Debt Could Affect Higher Education
While this is uncharted territory, a default would likely create a great deal of chaos, uncertainty, and harm for institutions and students. ACE has prepared a brief memo exploring how a default might play out on campuses.
May 4, 2023
dotEDU Live: Why Should Higher Ed Care About Debt Ceilings and Other Budget Battles?
With the deadline to raise the federal debt ceiling fast approaching, Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer explain why the outcome matters to higher ed, including how it will impact budget proposals over the next few months.
March 13, 2023
Biden Budget Requests Increase in Pell Grants and More Funding for HBCUs, Renews Call for Free Community College
President Biden released his budget request for FY 2024 last week, which includes $90 billion in discretionary funding for programs at the Department of Education (ED).
February 17, 2023
dotEDU Live: New Rules from ED, Culture War Rhetoric Ramps Up, the End of the COVID Emergency, More
In this live episode, hosts Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer take audience questions on a range of topics, from the Education Department moving quickly on new regulations to the House hearing on the “crisis” in American education to ChatGPT.
Rail Content 1
Why Should Higher Ed Care About Debt Ceilings and Other Budget Battles?
Learn more about how budget and debt ceiling negotiations affect higher education on ACE's May 4, 2023 dotEDU podcast.
Listen