Lawmakers Divided on How Government Should Support Higher Education as Fall Semester Approaches – NASFAA
A virtual hearing of the House Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee on Tuesday served as a prime example of the litany of questions that remain as the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus continues to disrupt the country’s academic calendar, both this year and likely for the foreseeable future.
The hearing also underscored the growing partisan divide over what it will look like for higher education institutions to reopen safely in the fall — and what is needed from the federal government for that to happen.
Several Democrats who spoke Tuesday touted the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act as a way to help higher education institutions navigate the uncharted waters and lamented the lack of federal support besides the most recent stimulus package, while a handful of Republicans asked college and university leaders how they can trim expenses at their institutions and highlighted the assistance institutions already received from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.