House & Senate Education Committee Hearings Take “Center Stage” While Budget Reconciliation Negotiations Continue “Behind the Curtain”
Overview
During last Thursday’s CSPEN Federal Legislative & Regulatory Update webinar we highlighted the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee posting of a hearing entitled “The State of Higher Education (www.help.senate.gov/hearings/the-state-of-higher-education-2025)” which will be held this Wednesday, May 21st beginning at 10 AM EDT. As part of our presentation, we noted that the witnesses had not yet been made public, but that we would be seeking additional details from the Committee staff and monitoring the website for additional information. CSPEN can now share that Wednesday’s hearing will include witness testimony from:
* Dr. Andrew Gillen, Research Fellow, Cato Institute
* Dr. Michael Linday, President, Taylor University
* Dr. Mark Brown, President Tuskegee University
* Mr. Mike Pierce, Executive Director, Student Borrower Protection Center
* Dr. Russell Lowery-Hary, Chancellor, Austin Community College District
In advance of Wednesday’s hearing, CSPEN will be doing some research regarding the political positions taken by the five witnesses’ organizations, and plan to share this information with the community in an email blast in advance of the hearing on Wednesday morning.
But wait, there is more!
Following our webinar, the House Committee on Education & Workforce posted the details of two Subcommittee hearings they intend to host this week as well. They include a Subcommittee on Workforce Protections hearing tomorrow, Tuesday, May 20th at 10:15 AM EDT entitled “Empowering the Modern Worker (edworkforce.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=412450)” and a Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development hearing on Wednesday, May 21st at 10:15 AM EDT entitled “Restoring Excellence: The Case Against DEI (edworkforce.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=412451) .”
Witnesses presenting at the Workforce hearing include:
* Mr. Nathan Mehrens, Vice President, Workforce Policy, American Trucking Associations
* Ms. Kim Kavin, Freelance Writer and Editor
* Ms. Laura Padin, Director of Work Structures, National Employment Law Project
* Dr. Liya Palagashvili, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
While witnesses for the DEI hearing have yet to be made public.
CSPEN will be monitoring tomorrow’s hearing and providing a quick summary at the end of the day tomorrow. As for the DEI hearing, given the scheduling conflict with the Senate HELP Committee hearing, CSPEN will have to review a taped version of the DEI hearing and provide a summary later in the week.
What’s Next
As noted in this email, the community can anticipate several email updates this week, and you can get further details on this Thursday’s CSPEN Federal Legislative & Regulatory Update webinar.
