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.
October 3, 2025
Letter to Congress on MSI Funding
On behalf of 20 other higher education associations, ACE urged congressional leaders to increase funding for Minority-Serving Institutions in FY 2026 and to reinstate funding that was cut during FY 2025.
September 30, 2025
Letter to Congress on FY 2026 Appropriations and Funding Implementation
ACE and more than 60 other higher education associations sent a letter to congressional leaders urging the inclusion of clear legislative language in the FY 2026 appropriations bills to ensure the executive branch carries out Congress’s funding decisio...
September 22, 2025
Letter to Congressional Appropriators on the FAIR Model
More than 160 organizations sent this letter this week to House and Senate appropriators urging support for the Joint Associations Group’s FAIR model for funding the full costs of federally supported research.
July 10, 2025
Summary: One Big Beautiful Bill Act
On July 3, 2025, the House passed the Senate version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a reconciliation bill makes enormous changes to the U.S. tax code, as well as federal programs that receive mandatory funding, such as federal student loans.
July 1, 2025
Bill Summary: 2025 Senate Reconciliation Package
This summary outlines the provisions in the Senate reconciliation bill that impact higher education institutions and students. The Senate passed the measure on July 1, 2025.
June 27, 2025
Letter to the Senate on Proposed Reconciliation Bill
On behalf of 43 other higher education organizations, ACE wrote to Senate leadership with concerns about portions of the reconciliation bill under consideration and appreciation for other elements of the legislation.
June 17, 2025
Senate Finance Reconciliation Tax Package: Summary of Key Higher Ed Provisions
The Senate Finance Committee reconciliation tax package includes several provisions that would modify the higher education-related elements of the House-passed version, particularly concerning increases to the endowment tax.
June 12, 2025
Senate 2025 Education Budget Reconciliation Bill
This summary outlines major provisions of the Senate’s 2025 education budget reconciliation bill, including sweeping changes to student aid eligibility, loan programs, repayment plans, and institutional accountability measures.
June 6, 2025
Analysis of Proposed Student Aid Changes in House Reconciliation Bill
Estimated impact by state of proposed changes to Pell Grant eligibility and elimination of subsidized loans under the 2025 House budget reconciliation bill.
June 5, 2025
talking Points: Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan
The House-passed Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan would sharply reduce access to Pell Grants and federal student loans, eliminate key aid programs, and impose new penalties on colleges.
May 21, 2025
Letter to the House on Proposed Reconciliation Package
On behalf of 17 other higher education associations, ACE wrote to House leadership to oppose the reconciliation bill under consideration due to provisions that will restrict student aid and impose new taxes on insitutions.
May 12, 2025
Letter to the House on Proposed Medicaid Cuts
On behalf of 13 other higher ed organizations, ACE wrote to the leadership of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce warning about the consequences for students and institutions of large cuts to Medicaid under consideration.
April 30, 2025
Summary: Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan
This document summarizes the Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan, which would overhaul the federal student loan program. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce approved the proposal on April 29.
April 29, 2025
Letter Opposing the House Budget Reconciliation Bill
Letter to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce expressing strong concerns and opposition to the Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan, a proposal to provide for budget reconciliation affecting education programs.
April 28, 2025
Letter to Congress on the GLS Grant Program
On behalf of 7 other education and health organizations, ACE wrote to congressional appropriators urging them to increase funding for the Garrett Lee Smith Campus Suicide Prevention Grant
Program.
April 7, 2025
Letter to the Education Department on FY 2025 Appropriations
On behalf of 19 other higher education organizations, ACE wrote to Education Secretary Linda McMahon urging her to confirm that all higher education programs will be funded at FY 2024 levels through the end of this fiscal year.
February 10, 2025
Potential Offsets Impacting Higher Ed
House Budget Committee Republicans assembled a menu of options for a reconciliation package. This document identifies proposals that could impact colleges and universities.
October 8, 2024
Letter to Congress on the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act
On behalf of 18 other higher education associations, ACE shared concerns with the House and Senate armed services committees about provisions in the NDAA that would place restrictions on institutions' research activity.
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.
October 8, 2025
Can They Do That? The White House’s Higher Ed Compact and Shutdown Fallout
The hosts break down the Trump administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence”—what’s in it, why it matters, and how it connects to the shutdown—along with other developments shaping higher education this week.
October 1, 2025
ACE, Higher Ed Groups Urge Congress to Safeguard FY 2026 Education Funding
ACE and more than 60 other higher education associations sent a letter to congressional leaders today urging them to ensure that all funds allocated in the FY 2026 appropriations process are fully spent by the administration as intended by law.
September 30, 2025
Government Shutdown Could Set Off Uncertainty for Research, Oversight, Some Student Benefits and Services
While shutdowns historically have limited effects on colleges and universities, this one would arrive amid broader uncertainty about federal education programs, research funding, and the role of executive authority in determining spending priorities.
September 23, 2025
Congress funded equity and access. The Trump administration calls it discrimination.
The Trump administration is cutting off or moving funding for TRIO, GEAR UP, and MSI programs—even though Congress approved the money. The hosts explain what’s happening, why it matters, and what colleges should do next.
September 9, 2025
Demands for Data on Race and the Future of College Admissions
dotEDU is back for Season 7 with an examination of President Trump's demand for admissions data by race and sex and what that means for campuses.
September 5, 2025
House Bill Preserves Pell, Slashes Other Student Aid Programs
With less than a month until federal funding expires, House appropriators this week advanced a bill that would sharply reduce support for higher education programs, setting up a clash with the Senate and raising the risk of a government shutdown.
August 4, 2025
Senate Appropriators Reject Trump’s Proposed Pell Grant and NIH Cuts
Senate Republicans moved last week to protect the Pell Grant program and other key education and research funding from deep cuts proposed by the Trump administration, setting up a budget battle with the House in September.
July 30, 2025
dotEDU Live: Ask Us Anything About Higher Education Policy
At the six-month mark of the Trump administration, the dotEDU Live hosts take stock of the landscape for colleges and universities in this all Q&A episode.
July 18, 2025
Science Funding Cut in House CJS Bill, Overall Appropriations Process Going Slowly
As lawmakers prepare to leave town for the August recess, the FY 2026 congressional appropriations process is behind schedule, including for the massive bill that contains much of the annual funding for higher education programs.
July 10, 2025
dotEDU Live: The Big Beautiful Bill Has Passed. What’s Next?
Jon Fansmith, Sarah Spreitzer, and Mushtaq Gunja break down what’s coming for student loans, Pell Grants, accountability rules, endowment taxes, and more.
July 3, 2025
Reconciliation Bill Narrowly Passes Congress
Congress has passed a final reconciliation bill, legislation that is an improvement over an initial House-passed bill but still combines major tax changes with deep spending cuts that will carry significant negative consequences for campuses and students.
July 1, 2025
Higher Ed Provisions Shift as Senate Debates Reconciliation Bill
The Senate convened Monday to begin final debate and voting on the GOP’s sweeping reconciliation bill, a massive tax and immigration package that carries significant and largely harmful implications for higher education.
June 26, 2025
dotEDU Live: What the Senate Reconciliation Bill Gets (Mostly) Wrong
Hosts Jon Fansmith, Sarah Spreitzer, and Mushtaq Gunja dig into the Senate’s reconciliation bill and what it means for colleges and students—student loan limits, endowment taxes, accountability rules, and more.
May 23, 2025
House Passes Reconciliation Bill with Far-Reaching Negative Implications for Higher Education
In a razor-thin vote early Thursday morning, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping reconciliation bill that is part of President Trump’s broader tax and immigration package.
May 19, 2025
Strengthening Higher Education: How States Can Lead Amidst Federal Uncertainty
This webinar, held in partnership with the Brookings Institution, examined how states were stepping up to support higher education amid federal uncertainty, highlighting strategies in funding, data, and state policy leadership.
May 19, 2025
House Reconciliation Bill Targets Higher Education with Deep Cuts and Tax Hikes
A budget reconciliation bill advancing in the House of Representatives proposes hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to student aid, imposes new taxes on colleges and universities, and jeopardizes health care for millions of students.
May 16, 2025
dotEDU Live: Associations Speak Out as Reconciliation Targets Higher Ed
Jon Fansmith, Mushtaq Gunja, and Sarah Spreitzer are joined by Steven Bloom, ACE assistant vice president for government relations, about the Trump administration’s escalating actions against higher education
May 9, 2025
White House FY 2026 Budget Proposal Targets Education, Science, and Civil Rights Funding
The Trump administration released its FY 2026 “skinny budget” on May 2, outlining sweeping cuts to federal programs that support higher education and scientific research.
April 30, 2025
dotEDU Live: The Trump Administration’s Pressure Campaign Continues
At the 100-day mark of the Trump administration, Jon Fansmith, Sarah Spreitzer, and Mushtaq Gunja review a fast-moving and consequential start: 142 executive orders, declining approval ratings, and significant policy shifts affecting higher education.
April 16, 2025
dotEDU Live: Harvard Pushes Back, Visa Chaos, and the Fight for Research Funding
This episode of dotEDU Live dives into the Trump administration’s sweeping demands on Harvard, the spike in international student visa revocations, and escalating legal battles over federal research funding.
March 20, 2025
dotEDU Live: What the Department of Education Layoffs Mean for Colleges and Universities
The hosts are joined by ACE President Ted Mitchell to explore the sweeping layoffs at the Department of Education and their impact on colleges and universities.