Federal Working Group Update 

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The Universities of Wisconsin Federal Updates Working Group has been actively reviewing federal legislative actions, regulatory changes, and Presidential executive orders. In addition to monitoring these actions, Universities of Wisconsin leaders have been in frequent contact with Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation, State of Wisconsin officials, and our national associations while continuing to provide resources to students and staff. Here is a summary of some of the actions taken by the Universities of Wisconsin:  

Higher Education Leaders Share Concerns on Federal Financial Aid 

In May, the leaders of the Universities of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the Wisconsin Technical College System sent a letter to Wisconsin’s Congressional Delegation highlighting concerns with the Student Success and Taxpayer Saving Plan as passed by the House Education and Workforce Committee. 

Fuel Futures – Importance of Pell Grants 

At the June meeting of the Board of Regents, President Rothman shared his views related to the impacts of proposed changes to federal financial aid being discussed in Congress. Recognizing the importance of federal financial aid programs to student success, President Rothman unveiled the Universities of Wisconsin Fuel Futures website, which serves as a portal for UWs graduates and students to share their stories about how Pell Grants and other federal financial aid helped foster educational opportunities. 

Communication from President Rothman to Congressional Delegation on Federal Budget Impact 

In June, Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman sent a letter to Wisconsin’s congressional delegation expressing opposition to the proposed cuts to federal financial aid and federal research agencies contained within President Trump’s FY26 Discretionary Budget Request. The letter asked for Congress to keep these concerns in mind as it drafts and considers FY26 appropriations legislation. 

One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Congressional Action and Executive Orders  

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act  into law. Following the bill becoming Public Law No. 119-21, the Department of Education began the implementation of the higher education provisions of the law, and the Department has now announced negotiated rulemaking as it looks to implement the provisions related to federal student loans and the Pell Grant program. 

As Congress returns to DC following the August Recess, it works to advance appropriations legislation ahead of the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30. While the House of Representatives did not consider the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act before the August Recess, the Senate Appropriations Committee did mark up the legislation. For more, you can watch the archived markup and review the bill text and committee report. As part of this process, changes to the Pell Grant and other federal financial aid programs are possible, but to date, our voice and the voice of colleagues across the country are mitigating the most drastic measures.  

While the Federal Updates Workgroup continues to be engaged on these and other legislative matters, it also continues to track and share updates related to Presidential Executive Orders including those listed below, which you can review to learn more. 

Litigation Action on Federal Directives 

Wisconsin has joined several multi-state lawsuits to fight unlawful impacts to the Universities of Wisconsin, and in some cases, submitted declarations in suits brought by partners in higher education. Some lawsuits have resulted in court orders that block the federal government from executing these directives until further legal judgement can be reached. Check out the Universities of Wisconsin Litigation Update page that summarizes the litigation actions. 

Resources for International Students, Faculty, and Staff  

The Universities of Wisconsin created the International Student, Faculty & Staff Resources website. The site has resources and FAQs in response to Executive orders and agency guidance affecting several aspects for international students, faculty, and staff including visa revocation, immigration status, and travel.  

Looking Ahead 

As Congress returns to DC and additional action takes place on the federal level, updates will continue to be posted on the Federal Updates website and shared with campus communities of practice, federal updates workgroup contacts, and campus legislative liaisons. If you are looking for more detail on the items above, you can also review the Federal Updates website. 

 

 

 

August 22, 2025

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Message from Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman

The following message from President Rothman providing updates on work occurring over the summer related to several federal issues. As the fall semester begins, rest assured updates will be shared via appropriate campus channels and through the Universities of Wisconsin Federal Updates webpage.

As students return to campus and legislative leaders return to Washington, D.C. following the August recess, I want to provide some updates on our work on a host of federal issues.

Federal Updates Working Group

Since the beginning of the calendar year, the Universities of Wisconsin have been reviewing federal legislative actions, regulatory changes, and Presidential executive orders. Our team and your university leaders have been tireless in responding to these changes and supporting our UWs on these national issues. Continue to check our Federal Updates website for updates and additional information.

Legislation and Executive Order Highlights

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law. Following the bill becoming Public Law No. 119-21, the Department of Education began the implementation of the higher education provisions of the law, and the Department has now announced negotiated rulemaking as it looks to implement the provisions related to federal student loans and the Pell Grant program.

In addition, Congress continues to work to advance appropriations legislation ahead of the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30. While the House of Representatives did not consider the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act before the August Recess, the Senate Appropriations Committee did mark up the legislation. If interested, you can watch the archived markup and review the bill text and committee report.

While we will continue to be engaged on these and other legislative matters, we also continue to track and share updates related to Presidential Executive Orders including those listed below, which you can review if you’d like to learn more.

Litigation

To date, the State of Wisconsin has joined several multi-state lawsuits relating to the actions of the federal government and their impact on the Universities of Wisconsin. Read more about this topic here: Litigation Action on Federal Directives.

Advocacy

We have been actively meeting and sharing updates with Wisconsin’s Congressional Delegation and working through our national associations on additional issues of importance and concern to our universities. These efforts have included in-person meetings on the criticality of federal financial aid and fully funding research agencies, among other topics.

Political Activity Guidance

Many of you have expressed interest in advocating for the UWs on federal issues. I applaud your commitment to the UWs. I urge you to be mindful of our political activity and public advocacy guidelines as a UW employee. Please read the Guidance on Political Activities Frequently Asked Questions for more information.

Recent Federal Actions

 

Message from Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman

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The following message from Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman provides updates on work occurring over the summer related to several federal issues. As the fall semester begins, updates will be shared via appropriate campus channels and through the Universities of Wisconsin Federal Updates webpage.

As students return to campus and legislative leaders return to Washington, D.C. following the August recess, I want to provide some updates on our work on a host of federal issues.

Federal Updates Working Group

Since the beginning of the calendar year, the Universities of Wisconsin have been reviewing federal legislative actions, regulatory changes, and Presidential executive orders. Our team and your university leaders have been tireless in responding to these changes and supporting our UWs on these national issues. Continue to check our Federal Updates website for updates and additional information.

Legislation and Executive Order Highlights

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law. Following the bill becoming Public Law No. 119-21, the Department of Education began the implementation of the higher education provisions of the law, and the Department has now announced negotiated rulemaking as it looks to implement the provisions related to federal student loans and the Pell Grant program.

In addition, Congress continues to work to advance appropriations legislation ahead of the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30. While the House of Representatives did not consider the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act before the August Recess, the Senate Appropriations Committee did mark up the legislation. If interested, you can watch the archived markup and review the bill text and committee report.

While we will continue to be engaged on these and other legislative matters, we also continue to track and share updates related to Presidential Executive Orders including those listed below, which you can review if you’d like to learn more.

Litigation

To date, the State of Wisconsin has joined several multi-state lawsuits relating to the actions of the federal government and their impact on the Universities of Wisconsin. Read more about this topic here: Litigation Action on Federal Directives.

Advocacy

We have been actively meeting and sharing updates with Wisconsin’s Congressional Delegation and working through our national associations on additional issues of importance and concern to our universities. These efforts have included in-person meetings on the criticality of federal financial aid and fully funding research agencies, among other topics.

Political Activity Guidance

Many of you have expressed interest in advocating for the UWs on federal issues. I applaud your commitment to the UWs. I urge you to be mindful of our political activity and public advocacy guidelines as a UW employee. Please read the Guidance on Political Activities Frequently Asked Questions for more information.

August 8, 2025

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White House Orders on Grantmaking and Admissions

On August 7, President Trump acted on issues related to oversight of federal grantmaking and admissions practices at institutions of higher education. The Universities of Wisconsin continue to review these orders and will share relevant updates with university stakeholders as appropriate.  Should you wish to review the documents, you can find them at the links below.

 Recent Federal Actions

August 1, 2025

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Senate Appropriations Committee Markup

On July 31, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a markup of the Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Acts. You can watch the archived markup at the preceding link and review the FY26 LHHS Bill Summary. The legislative text and committee report will also be posted on this site for further review.

As described in Chairwoman Collins Press Release, the bill includes the following provisions of interest:

  • National Institutes of Health (NIH): $48.7 billion for NIH, an increase of $400 million.
  • NIH Indirect Costs: Maintains language prohibiting changes to indirect cost rates.
  • TRIO: $1.2 billion to support low-income individuals and first-generation college students.
  • Pell Maximum Award: Maintains the maximum Pell award for a total of $7,395 for the 2026-2027 school year.

The House Committee on Appropriations has not yet marked up their FY26 Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations Bill. As such, legislative activity will continue in this space in advance of the end of the Federal Fiscal Year, September 30th.

Litigation Tracker Update

The Universities of Wisconsin Litigation Update page has been updated to reflect recent activity in this space. If interested, feel free to review to see updates across a variety of cases. They include a multi-state case seeking a ruling that a change in “agency priorities” is not a sufficient basis under the Uniform Guidance to terminate grants, and a multi-state case challenging Department of Education’s non-continuation of MHSP and SBMH grants. 

Recent Federal Actions

Universities of Wisconsin Litigation Update – Updated 8/1/25

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Since the beginning of the year, the Universities of Wisconsin has been reviewing federal legislative actions, regulatory changes, and Presidential executive orders. Some of our work has been to coordinate outreach and action on those issues affecting our UW universities. Here’s an update to the work the Universities of Wisconsin has been doing specifically on federally funded projects and litigation. Go to our Federal Updates website for additional information.

Litigation Action on Federal Directives

To date, Wisconsin has joined the following multi-state lawsuits to fight unlawful impacts to the Universities of Wisconsin, and in some cases, submitted declarations in suits brought by partners in higher education. Some lawsuits have resulted in court orders that block the federal government from executing these directives until further legal judgement can be reached:

  • New York v. Trump (District of Rhode Island Case No. 25-cv-00039) – filed 1/28/25
    • Multi-state case challenging the OMB “funding freeze”
  • Mass. v. NIH (District of Massachusetts Case No. 25-cv-10338) – filed 2/10/25
    • Multi-state case challenging NIH’s proposal to reduce indirect cost rate to 15%
  • AAU v. NIH (District of Massachusetts Case No. 25-cv-10346) – filed 2/10/25
    • AAU case challenging NIH’s proposal to reduce indirect cost rate to 15%
  • California v. Dept. of Education (District of Massachusetts Case No. 25-cv-10548) – filed 3/6/25
    • Multi-state case challenging U.S. Dept. of Education termination of TQP and SEED grants
  • New York v. McMahon (District of Massachusetts Case No. 1:25-cv-10601) – filed 3/13/25
    • Multi-state case challenging the dismantling of the Department of Education
  • Colorado v. HHS (District of Rhode Island Case No. 25-cv-00121) – filed 4/1/25
    • Multi-state case challenging HHS terminations of COVID-19 related grants
  • Rhode Island v. Trump (District of Rhode Island Case No. 1:25-cv-00128) – filed 4/4/25
    • Multi-state case challenging the dismantling of Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), and Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services (FMCS)
  • Mass. v. HHS (District of Massachusetts Case No. 25-cv-10814) – filed 4/4/25
    • Multi-state case challenging NIH grant terminations and NIH delays in the grant-awarding process
  • AAU v. Dept. of Energy (District of Massachusetts Case No. 1:25-cv-10912-ADB) – filed 4/14/25
    • AAU-led case challenging DOE’s 15% cap on indirect cost recovery
  • Maryland v. Corporation for National and Community Service, operating as AmeriCorps (District of Maryland Case No. 1:25-cv-01363) – filed 4/29/24
    • Multi-state case challenging the dismantling of AmeriCorps
  • ACLS, et. al. v. McDonald (Southern District of New York Case No: 1:25-cv-03657) – filed 5/1/2025
    • Association-led case to stop the dismantling of the National Endowment for the Humanities
  • New York v. Kennedy (District of Rhode Island Case No. 1:25-cv-00196) – filed 5/5/25
    • Multi-state case challenging the dismantling of HHS
  • AAU v. National Science Foundation (District of Massachusetts Case No. 1:25-cv-11231) – filed 5/5/25
    • Association-led case challenging NSF’s cap on indirect cost recovery
  • New York v. National Science Foundation (Southern District of New York Case No. 1:25-cv-04452) – filed 5/28/25
    • Multi-state case challenging NSF’s cap on indirect cost recovery and award terminations
  • AAU, et al. v. Department of Defense (District of Massachusetts, Case No. 1:25-cv-11740) – filed 6/16/25 
    • Association-led case challenging DOD’s cap on indirect cost recovery 
  •  New Jersey v. OMB (District of Massachusetts, Case No. 1:25-CV-11816) – filed 6/24/25  
    • Multi-state case seeking a ruling that a change in “agency priorities” is not a sufficient basis under the Uniform Guidance to terminate grants
  •  Washington, et al. v. Department of Education (Western District of Washington, Case No. 2:25-cv-01228) – filed 6/30/25
    • Multi-state case challenging Department of Education’s non-continuation of MHSP and SBMH grants 

July 25, 2025

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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.

Recent Federal Actions

July 18, 2025

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This has been a light week legislatively on issues we are monitoring, so we do not have any updates to share this week.

Recent Federal Actions

July 11, 2025

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Reconciliation Update

On July 1, the Senate passed H.R.1, which provides for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H.Con.Res. 14 with an amendment via a vote of 51-50. Vice President Vance cast the tiebreaking vote. Following further consideration, on July 3, the House of Representatives agreed to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1 via a vote of 218-214.  The bill was signed into law by President Trump on July 4 becoming Public Law No: 119-21.

For more, you can review the full bill text and read an article from the White House titled, “President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Is Now the Law.” Additionally, the American Council on Education provided a comprehensive summary and state of play on July 3, 2025.

With H.R. 1 signed into law, both the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee will turn to FY26 appropriations. As appropriations bills are released, you can review them on the House Committee on Appropriations website and the Senate Committee on Appropriations website. As bills are released, relevant information will continue to be shared with designated campus legislative liaisons.

Rescheduled House Education and Workforce Committee Hearing

On July 15 beginning at 9:15 a.m. Central Time, the House Committee on Education and Workforce will hold a hearing titled, “Antisemitism in Higher Education: Examining the Role of Faculty, Funding, and Ideology.”

Invited witnesses include:

  • Dr. Robert M. Groves, Interim President, Georgetown University
  • Dr. Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, Chancellor, The City University of New York
  • Dr. Rich Lyons, Chancellor, University of California, Berkeley

The hearing will be live-streamed on the Committee’s YouTube page.

Recent Federal Actions

July 2, 2025

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Reconciliation Updates

On July 1, the Senate passed H.R.1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act with an amendment via a vote of 51-50. Vice President Vance cast the tiebreaking vote. The legislation was sent back to the House of Representatives where debate is ongoing. As of mid-morning July 2nd, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on final passage of the legislation this week. Additional details will be shared as appropriate.

New! FAQ for International Students

A new FAQ addressing the changes to the student visa vetting process was added to the International Student, Faculty & Staff Resources page.

Recent Federal Actions