This week’s Federal Update covers Congressional and Executive activities of interest in Washington, D.C.
Congressional Branch activities of interest
Floor Activity
The Senate is in session this week. The partial government shutdown continues. A compilation of agency contingency plans for the shutdown may be found here.
FY 2026 Appropriations
As the government shutdown wraps up its fourth week, Democrats are holding firm on their demand to pair stopgap funding with an extension of healthcare subsidies while Republicans are set on passing a “clean” Continuing Resolution (CR). Republicans in both chambers have begun acknowledging that they may soon need to replace the CR that the Senate has repeatedly voted on with a new one that keeps the government open past the House-passed CR’s current end date of November 21.
Bills Introduced
The Boosting University Investments in Low-Income Districts (BUILD) Act (H.R. 5796). Rep. Jim Costa has reintroduced the BUILD Act, which would establish a designation for regional public universities located in distressed communities, making those universities eligible for federal grants to spur economic and community development projects. This legislation would create a two-part grant program. Universities would be eligible for grants between $25-50 million over the course of five years to pay for community development projects. Read the bill text here.
The American Workforce Act (H.R. 5779) has been introduced by Rep. Max Miller (R-OH). The bill would establish a workforce development program as an alternative to college. Read the bill text here.
Executive Branch Activities of Interest
USCIS Provides Guidance on Application of $100K H1-B Visa Fee
On October 20, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued new guidance on President Trump’s September 19 proclamation restricting entry for H-1B visa holders whose petitions are not accompanied by a $100,000 fee. The guidance clarifies that employers filing change-of-status petitions for current F-1 students to an H-1B visa should be exempt from the new fee. USCIS also clarified how and when to pay the fee and the process and standard for seeking an exception to the payment for individual workers.
White House Invites Universities to Provide Feedback on Higher Education Compact
According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, on October 17, the White House met with universities that it had invited to join its “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” So far, seven of the nine universities that received the initial invitation have declined to join the compact: Brown University, Dartmouth, MIT, the University of Arizona, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, and the University of Virginia. Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier announcedthat the university intends to “provide feedback and comments as part of an ongoing dialogue.” The University of Texas at Austin has not yet responded. The same reporting noted that Washington University in St. Louis, Arizona State University, and the University of Kansas were also invited to join the compact.