Enactment of Omnibus Expected in the Coming Days
By Hugh T. Ferguson, NASFAA Staff Reporter
Update: President Trump formally signed the measure into law on Dec. 27.
With Congress on Monday having cleared a massive package of legislation that would fund the federal government for fiscal year (FY) 2021, provide additional pandemic relief to higher education, and make a number of other higher education-related policy changes, the measure’s enactment could still take a few more days.
The impending government shutdown was prevented through a provision included with passage of the spending package that keeps the federal government funded until President Donald Trump, who has endorsed the measure but recently demanded additional funds for direct stimulus payments, can sign off on the entirety of the bill. Given that the bill text totals over 5,000 pages in length, and due to the complicated nature of the year-end package and the time needed for congressional clerks to organize the text, the final bill signing could take a few days.
For more details on the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 NASFAA has provided a high-level summary of the FAFSA simplification measures included in the package along with NASFAA’s in-depth analysis of additional provisions along with analysis of the bill’s FY 2021 spending provisions and COVID relief measures related to higher education.
This is likely to be one of, if not the final, pieces of legislation to be enacted this Congress.
Want to learn more about the policy implications of this spending package? Check out our latest episode of "Off The Cuff", which highlights everything you need to know about the final version of this bill.
Publication Date: 12/23/2020
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