House Democrats Set to Release New Coronavirus Relief Package
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is preparing to unveil a new coronavirus stimulus plan calling for up to $2.4 trillion in spending in an attempt to restart negotiations with Republicans and the White House as talks have stalled in recent weeks. The package, which has yet to be released, is expected to be a scaled back coronavirus relief package after the House passed the $3.4 trillion Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act in May but it went nowhere in the GOP-controlled Senate.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said a vote could take place as early as next week and that the framework for the package is largely in place. "I think the contours are already there," Neal said, according to Politico. "I think it's now about time-frame and things like that."
The package comes after the House passed a continuing resolution (CR) last week that would prevent an impending government shutdown from happening at the end of the month by funding federal agencies and programs run by the Department of Education (ED) through December 11. The measure advanced with broad bipartisan support and did not include many COVID-related items regarding higher education.
NASFAA on Friday joined a coalition of higher education associations, led by the American Council on Education, in asking for $120 billion in additional funds for education in order to "partially mitigate the challenges that students and institutions are facing" as a result of the pandemic.
Publication Date: 9/28/2020
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