The Weekly Update

Joint Committee on Finance Listening Sessions

The final two Joint Finance Committee listening sessions took place last week in Hayward and Wausau. University representatives, students, alumni, chancellors, and community members were given the opportunity to testify to the committee members on the importance of the UWs 2025-27 biennial budget request. 

Assembly Committee on Education

Last week, the Assembly Committee on Education held a public hearing on AB 210, relating to: changes to amount of, and criteria for designating recipients of, academic excellence higher education scholarships. The Universities of Wisconsin and UW-Madison submitted written testimony in favor of this legislation.

AB 210 Universities of WI Testimony pdf

AB 210 UW-Madison Testimony pdf

State Building Commission

The next meeting of the State Building Commission will take place on Wednesday, May 7^th.

The schedule is as follows –

Administrative Affairs Subcommittee – 10:00 AM

Higher Education Subcommittee – 11:00 AM

Full Commission – 2:30 PM

The agenda is available online. You will also be able to view the meetings on WisconsinEye.

President Trump’s FY26 Discretionary Budget Request

Last week, President Trump submitted his FY26 Discretionary Budget Request, which you can review at the preceding link if interested. Congress will use this information as they begin to craft their own FY26 budget and appropriations bills. 

At the time of the release, Secretary McMahon released a statement on the request saying, in part “President Trump’s proposed budget puts students and parents above the bureaucracy. It reflects the historic mandate I have been given to serve as the final Secretary of Education. The federal government has invested trillions of taxpayer dollars into an education system that is not driving improved student outcomes – we must change course and reorient taxpayer dollars toward proven programs that generate results for American students.”

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees will begin to hold budget hearings with members of the Trump Administration in the coming days. For more information on the committee’s work you can view: https://appropriations.house.gov/ and https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/.

House Committee on Education and the Workforce Markup

Last week, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a committee markup for the Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Act. The legislation represents the Committee’s contribution to the mandate of the concurrent budget resolution. Additional committees will now markup their contributions to the bill, which will then be combined before floor consideration in the coming weeks.

At the time of the bill’s passage out of committee, Chairman Walberg said, “Our current student loan system is broken and has left students holding over $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt, with taxpayers estimated to lose hundreds of billions of dollars on loans disbursed over the next decade. The Biden-Harris administration’s misguided and unlawful actions have only added to this crisis rather than address the root issues. Still my Democrat colleagues continue to double down on their approach of loan forgiveness and free college. These policies ignore the fact that government spending on higher education has reached record highs and millions of students receiving those funds will ultimately end up with a degree that doesn’t pay off or fail to finish school altogether.

“The bill passed by Committee Republicans today not only would save taxpayers over $350 billion but also bring much-needed reform in three key areas: simplified loan repayment, streamlined student loan options, and accountability for students and taxpayers. I’m proud of the Committee’s work today to finally stand up and end the status quo of endless borrowing.”

If interested in reading more, the following resources from the Committee’s press release may be of note:

• The bill’s fact sheet is available here.
• The full text is available here.
• The section-by-section summary is available here.
• The Congressional Budget Office’s preliminary cost estimate is available here.

House Education and the Workforce Hearing

On May 7^th beginning at 9:15AM Central Time, the committee will hold a hearing titled, “Beyond the Ivy League: Stopping the Spread of Antisemitism on American Campuses.” Announced witnesses include:

• Dr. Jeffrey Armstrong, President, California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo)
• Dr. Wendy Raymond, President, Haverford College
• Dr. Robert Manuel, President, DePaul University

Further witnesses could be announced closer to the hearing date. If interested, you can tune in to watch via the Committee Website.

House and Senate Hearing Schedule

If interested, you can see a full list of upcoming hearings on the Senate Hearings & Meetings Page. A review of this week’s committee hearings in the House of Representatives is available via the Committee Schedule within the House of Representatives Legislative Activity section on the Chamber’s main page.   

House and Senate Floor Schedules

The House of Representatives and Senate are both scheduled to be in session and voting this week. A full list of votes can be found on the respective websites for the House of Representatives and the Senate as they are released.