Federal Friday:
- Department of Education: U.S. Department of Education Bolsters Office of the Ombudsman to Improve Consumer Education and Increase Transparency for Student Borrowers
- Department of Education: Why I’m Visiting Every State as Secretary of Education
- Select Committee on the CCP: The U.S. Department of Defense Research and Engineering’s Failures to Protect Taxpayer-Funded Defense Research
- Department of Education: U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon’s remarks at Hillsdale College on September 8, 2025.
- Department of State: Adjudicating Nonimmigrant Visa Applicants in Their Country of Residence – September 6, 2025
- Department of Education: U.S. Department of Education Ends Funding to Racially Discriminatory Discretionary Grant Programs at Minority-Serving Institutions
House Appropriations Committee Update
On September 9th, the House Appropriations Committee met and advanced the FY26 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Given Committee approval, the bill can now be considered by the full House of Representatives where work continues on appropriations legislation in advance of the end of the federal fiscal year, September 30th.
If interested, a summary of the bill is available here. Further, bill text, before the adoption of amendments, is available here, and the bill report, before adoption of amendments, is available here.
Federal Rulemaking
In the background of Congressional action, federal agencies continue to put forward guidance and rules, which the Universities of Wisconsin continue to review and address.
While there are several comment periods that are currently active, two examples include an IPEDS comment request, which follows a Presidential Memorandum dealing with transparency in higher education admissions, and a new proposed rule related to “duration of status” for international students from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. For more, you can review the Department’s press release and the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register.
For additional information on these rules and potential comments, please continue to be in touch with the university liaison to the federal update workgroup.
Political Activity Guidance Reminder
As a reminder, as uncertainty continues around the emerging federal landscape, Universities of Wisconsin employees should be mindful of political activity and public advocacy guidelines.
Activities such as sharing a petition or contacting a legislator for political purposes using your university email address or state resources to engage in political campaign activities at any time or engaging in political activities during work time are prohibited.
In your capacity as private citizens, on non-work time, and without use of university resources (including the use of university email addresses) employees may circulate or sign a petition or letter of support advocating for public policy or a political candidate. However, if using your name and official title, it should be made clear that an individual’s endorsement indicates neither support nor endorsement by the university of a particular policy position or candidate, and that you are acting solely in your role as a private citizen.
For more information, you can read the Guidance on Political Activities Frequently Asked Questions document. Importantly, these FAQs should be treated as general guidelines and not legal advice.
Please direct specific questions regarding political campaign issues to the Office of General Counsel or your university’s Office of Legal Affairs.