This week’s Federal Update covers Congressional and Executive Branch activities of interest in Washington, D.C.
Congressional Branch Activities of Interest
Floor Activity
The House and Senate are in session this week.
Reconciliation
This week the Senate Budget Committee released the text of a budget resolution that is expected to be considered this week on the Senate floor. The resolution includes instructions for both House and Senate Committees. Committees that received instructions would be required to report their reconciliation bills by May 9.
The plan assumes the cost of extending the expiring 2017 law’s tax cuts amounts to zero, using a so-called “current policy baseline.” The Senate plan calls for $4 trillion in tax cuts to renew expiring pieces of the tax law, and $1.5 trillion more in further tax cuts.
Bills Introduced
H.R.2583 – To Establish the Office of the Special Inspector General for Unlawful Discrimination in Higher Education - Introduced by Rep. David Taylor (R-OH), proposes the creation of the Office of the Special Inspector General for Unlawful Discrimination in Higher Education within the U.S. Department of Education. This new office would be tasked with investigating and addressing cases of unlawful discrimination—such as those based on race, religion, or political belief—at colleges and universities that receive federal funding. Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN) is listed as an original cosponsor.
H.R.2456 – Department of Education Termination Act Introduced by Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), this bill proposes the complete termination of the U.S. Department of Education.
H.R.2446– Prohibiting Federal Aid to Institutions Authorizing Antisemitic Events. Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY) introduced this bill to bar colleges and universities from receiving federal student aid under Title IV of the Higher Education Act if they allow events on campus that the federal government determines to be antisemitic.
H.R.2516– Accreditation for College Excellence (ACE) Act. Reintroduced by Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT), this bill would prohibit the use of political or ideological litmus tests in the accreditation process for colleges and universities.
Executive Branch Activities of Interest
President Trump Outlines Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Goals in Letter to Dir. Kratsios
Following White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director Michael Kratsios’ Senate confirmation last week, President Trump sent a letter outlining his goals and priorities for OSTP. The letter describes President Trump’s three focus areas for OSTP:
- How can the United States secure its position as the unrivaled world leader in critical and emerging technologies — such as artificial intelligence, quantum information science, and nuclear technology — maintaining our advantage over potential adversaries?
- How can we revitalize America’s science and technology enterprise – pursuing truth, reducing administrative burdens, and empowering researchers to achieve groundbreaking discoveries?
- How can we ensure that scientific progress and technological innovation fuel economic growth and better the lives of all Americans?
President Trump credited “the uniquely successful American partnership of Government, industry, and academia that built the greatest and most productive nation in human history.” Read the full letter here.
President Trump Signs Executive Order Establishing Investment Accelerator
On March 31 President Trump issued an executive order (EO) establishing the United States Investment Accelerator within the Department of Commerce. The Accelerator will facilitate investments in the United States above $1 billion.
According to the order, “The Investment Accelerator shall be responsible for the CHIPS Program Office within the Department of Commerce, which shall focus on delivering the benefit of the bargain for taxpayers by negotiating much better deals than those of the previous administration.” The full EO may be found here.
Agencies announce review of federal contracts and grants at Harvard University; Princeton University
The Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and the General Services Administration announced a federal review of Harvard University’s contracts and grants as part of the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. The review covers $255.6 million in contracts and over $8.7 billion in multi-year federal grants, investigating whether Harvard is in compliance with civil rights laws following allegations of antisemitic harassment on campus. The federal government may issue Stop Work Orders or terminate contracts if violations are found. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon criticized Harvard for prioritizing “divisive ideologies” over student safety and called on the university to take stronger action. The move follows a similar review at Columbia University.
The Trump administration has also frozen approximately $210 million in federal funding to Princeton University. The freeze reportedly impacts dozens of grants from agencies including NASA and the Departments of Defense and Energy. Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber, who recently criticized the administration’s approach to higher education in a public op-ed, confirmed the freeze in a campuswide email and stated that the university would comply with the law while defending academic freedom and due process.
Department of Health and Human Services See Mass Layoffs
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. initiated an overhaul of federal health agencies on April 1, triggering mass layoffs and a leadership purge across institutions such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The administration is eliminating 20,000 jobs—shrinking the Department of Health and Human Services workforce from 82,000 to 62,000—under the justification of realigning the agency's mission and saving $1.8 billion annually.
A fact sheet from HHS specified that NIH “will decrease its workforce by approximately 1,200 employees by centralizing procurement, human resources, and communications across its 27 institutes and centers.”