A House education committee press release announced that Senate and House negotiators would "likely" meet this week to sign off on a final version of HEA reauthorization legislation (H.R. 4137, S. 1642), but Senate leaders have cast doubts that HEA legislation will be passed by both chambers before Congress' August recess.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has indicated that the House could vote on a final HEA bill before the August recess if a final version is ready in time, according to Congressional Quarterly. However, Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL) said there was virtually no chance the Senate would consider HEA reauthorization before September.

Additionally, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) told CQ that negotiators are finalizing the HEA reauthorization bill, but have not worked out every detail yet. Mikulski took over as the lead Senate negotiator when Senate education committee Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA) was forced to step down for medical reasons.

If Congress is able to pass HEA reauthorization legislation this year it will be the first time in 10 years that the bill has been updated and will provide Democrats with a significant domestic policy accomplishment to publicize.

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