The House of Representatives on Thursday approved a slate of spending bills that will fund parts of the government for FY 2022, including the Department of Education.
ACE and 32 other higher education associations sent a letter of support to House leaders July 23 for the higher education provisions in the bill, originally approved by the House Appropriations Committee on July 15. That measure largely aligned with President Biden’s FY 2022 budget, including substantial increases to student aid and scientific research.
The seven bills make up what's known as a “minibus,” or a limited version of the omnibus spending packages that fund the entire government at once. Congress has until the end of September to fund the government in full.
Overall, the legislation provides $27.2 billion for federal student aid programs and another $3.43 billion for higher education programs, an increase of $889 million from FY 2021 and $122 million above Biden’s budget request. The bill would increase the maximum annual Pell Grant award by $400.
On the research side, the bill increases funding for the National Institutes of Health to $49 billion, up $6.5 billion from FY 2021. This total includes a $3.5 billion increase for the base budget (an 8.2 percent increase) and $3 billion for the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health.
The highly partisan nature of the legislation means there is unlikely to be consensus on it in the Senate. The probable outcome is another long, protracted fight that won’t be resolved until the end of the year.