The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a hearing on “Fiscal 2021 Budget Request for the Department of Education” in which Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos testified. Career and technical education garnered bipartisan support, especially for the nearly $900 million increase in the President’s Budget.
Rep. Moolenaar and Ranking Member Cole were supportive of the Second Chance Pell; Rep. Moolenaar noted that community colleges in his district are interested in participating. Secretary DeVos hopes to make Second Chance Pell a permanent program but believes Congress needs to authorize the program, which is why there was no line item in the budget for it. Republicans would also like to see Federal Work Study programs collaborate with the private sector to allow students to work in their field of study, such as teaching or health professions. Rep. Bustos was particularly concerned about the budget’s proposal to eliminate Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Secretary DeVos highlighted the College Score Card and myStudentAid app as ways for students to gain a better understanding on how much college may cost, if they will need loans, how they could pay it off, and have FAFSA more accessible. Secretary DeVos discussed the Department’s proposal to cap graduate student loan amounts and cap the amount for parents.
Summary of the hearing is available here.