Congress passes COVID relief bill and omnibus spending package

Earlier this week, Congress passed the next COVID relief bill and omnibus spending package. The key provisions related to higher education include:

• Simplification of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that will reduce the number of questions on the form from 108 to 36;
• Expansion of the Pell Grant eligibility that will enable an additional 555,000 students to qualify for Pell Grants, including incarcerated prisoners and students convicted of a drug offense, who were previously ineligible, as well as allowing more students to receive the maximum award each year;
• $20 billion from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund to be distributed to all public and private non-profit institutions of higher education for emergency student financial aid and institutional emergency relief; and
• An additional $1 billion in spending on medical research.

Click here for a full section-by-section summary from the House Appropriations Committee.