House Vote To End The Government Shutdown Tops List of Key Updates Today

Overview
On day forty-three of the longest government shutdown in history there is a chance that it will end today. Following Sunday night’s Senate procedural vote to end the Democratic filibuster, the Senate returned on Monday to hold debate on a revised Continuing Resolution (CR) and eventually passed an agreement to reopen the federal government. Yesterday the bill moved to the U.S. House of Representatives for reconsideration of the CR which will enable the government to operate until January 30, 2026. The bill was reviewed and approved by the House Rules Committee in the early hours of this morning and is slated to be brought to the House floor for debate and a vote later this afternoon/evening. If all goes according to plan, the CR will pass the House and be sent to President Trump who is expected to sign the CR into law.

In other important news, the U.S. Department of Education is moving forward with the selection of individuals nominated to participate as Non-Federal Negotiators in the second of the two negotiation to develop and modify regulations implementing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025. The second round of negotiations, entitled the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee, will consider changes to institutional and programmatic accountability, the Pell Grant Program, and other changes to the Title IV, HEA programs.

Late last week and this week the Department began to reach out to individuals nominated to serve as primary and alternate negotiators representing the following constituencies.

* Students who are currently enrolled and receiving assistance from the Title IV, HEA programs.
* Students who are veterans, U.S. military service members or groups representing them.
* Employers and groups representing the business community, including small, medium, and large businesses.
* Legal assistance organizations that represent students, consumer advocates, and civil rights groups that represent students.
* Public institutions of higher education, including institutions eligible to receive Federal assistance under Title III and Title V of the HEA, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
* Private nonprofit institutions of higher education including institutions eligible to receive Federal assistance under Title III and Title V of the HEA, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
* Proprietary institutions of higher education, as defined in34 CFR 600.5.
* State workforce agencies and workforce development boards.
* State grant agencies, and other state and non-profit higher education financing organizations.
* State higher education executive officers, State authorizing agencies, and other State regulators.
* Accrediting agencies recognized by the Secretary of Education.
* Organizations representing taxpayers and the public interest.

The nominees selected by the Department have until early next week to accept invitations to participate and a full official list will probably not be available until after Thanksgiving. However, CSPEN is starting to gain information regarding the individuals selected to represent each of the twelve groups.

As the names of individuals start to come out it has been reported that Jeff Arthur, ECPI has been invited to serve as the Proprietary institutions of higher education constituents primary negotiator. Aaron Lacey of Thompson Coburn has been invited to serve as the primary negotiator representing the Private nonprofit institutions of higher education including institutions eligible to receive Federal assistance under Title III and Title V of the HEA, Tribal Colleges and Universities and Universities, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities with a senior official from Liberty University being invited to serve as the alternate. And finally, we have learned that the nominee put forward by Veterans Education Project has been invited to serve as the primary negotiator representing Veterans, U.S. military service members or groups representing them.