Senate GOP HELP Members are Announced

January 9, 2025

HEADLINES

Cassidy Seated as Chair of Senate HELP Committee, Announces GOP Members (U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor & Pensions, January 7, 2025) U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) was officially seated as the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee for the 119th Congress. Cassidy was previously ranking member of the HELP Committee in the 118th Congress. As chair, Cassidy will establish the agenda of the HELP Committee in the 119th Congress.

Biden Scraps Debt Relief Plans, Other Regs (Inside Higher Ed, December 20, 2024) The Department of Education recently announced that it is abandoning the effort to update the rules for accreditation, state authorization, and cash management. Regulatory proposals were hashed out in the spring but have stalled since.

U.S. Finalizes New Rules for Distance Ed and College Prep Programs (Inside Higher Ed, December 30, 2024) In a blow for immigration advocates, the Education Department decided against expanding some TRIO programs to undocumented students. Institutions will have to submit to the federal government new data on their distance education programs under a batch of new rules the Biden administration recently finalized. The new rules will take effect July 1, 2026.

Rep. Tim Walberg to Chair House Education Committee (Higher Ed Dive, December 13, 2024) Rep. Tim Walberg, a Republican from Michigan, has been tapped to chair the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. “We have significant work ahead of us, from enshrining protections for parents to continuing to protect Jewish students on college campuses to rights providing more opportunity and flexibility to American workers,” said Walberg. He introduced legislation in May 2023 that would prohibit accreditors from requiring colleges to adhere to DEI standards. 

There’s Still Time To Register for this month’s 2025 CHEA/CIQG Annual Conference – Join us later this month at the 2025 CHEA/CIQG Annual Conference scheduled for January 27-30, 2025, at The Westin Washington D.C. City Center Hotel in Washington, D.C. This year’s in-person event promises to build on the excitement and successes of last year’s Annual Conference. The theme for the four-day conference is “Quality Assurance in an Era of Change: Reflect, Reimagine, Recommit,” a powerful message that seeks to engage the global CHEA/CIQG community. Register now!