Washington Watch: Budget and Appropriations

Washington Watch: Senate passes reconciliation bill

By a 51-50 vote, with the tiebreaker cast by Vice President J.D. Vance, the U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed the so-called “One Big Beautiful” reconciliation bill. Shortly before the final vote was tallied, Senate Republicans…


Washington Watch: Hope remains for workforce Pell

Editor’s note: This article was updated at 8 a.m. on June 30, 2025. The Senate parliamentarian has approved a modified version of workforce Pell provisions in the budget reconciliation bill that the Senate Budget Committee…


Washington Watch: Reconciliation roller coaster

Senate Republicans continue to work through a bevy of political, policy and procedural hurdles to enact their version of the fiscal year 2025 budget reconciliation legislation ahead of a self-imposed July 4 deadline. The House…




Washington Watch: Contact your senators to protect Pell

The U.S. Senate is accelerating action on its version of the House’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” It is increasingly possible that the Senate bill, and therefore also the final reconciliation bill, will include devastating…


Washington Watch: Preserving Pell, front and center

The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has written to the Senate Labor, Health, Education and Pension (HELP) Committee, outlining its position on the higher education provision in the House-passed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”…




Washington Watch: ‘Skinny budget’ pitches big cuts, federalism

The Trump administration’s “skinny budget” released Friday reflects its previously stated general priorities, including dramatically reduced domestic spending and the targeting of programs defined as “woke.” As outlined below, higher education is not exempt.  The…