U.S. House Committees Unveil Spending and Tax Plans for the $3.5 Trillion Build Back Better Package

On September 10, lawmakers on the House Education and Labor Committee voted along party lines to advance their comprehensive education spending plan. The legislation is part of a $3.5 trillion spending framework that outlines various domestic policy priorities in President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.

Key provisions in the committee’s portion of the spending framework include:

• $450 billion to lower the cost of childcare and secure universal pre-K for three-and four-year-olds
• $111 billion to lower the cost of higher education by providing two years of tuition-free community college, increasing the value of the Pell Grants, and investing in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs)
• $82 billion to repair, modernize, and rebuild public school infrastructure
• $80 billion to invest in workforce development programs
• $35 billion to support child nutrition programs

The House Ways and Means Committee also unveiled their component of the $3.5 trillion spending plan, which provides a reduction to the investment income excise tax on private colleges and universities. Other education-related provisions include the creation of a new public university research infrastructure credit for qualified cash contributions made by a taxpayer to an educational institution  and the repeal of taxability for Pell Grants. Visit the Ways and Means and Education and Labor fact sheets to learn more about each portion of the $3.5 trillion spending plan.

As House and Senate committees consider their respective parts of the $3.5 trillion spending framework, moderates like Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) continue to voice their concerns over the size and cost of the package. Full party unity among Democrats will be needed to pass the legislation through special reconciliation rules, which allow bills to pass with a simple majority in the Senate.

As Congress considers legislation around the Build Back Better spending package, subscribe to the CASE Advocacy Network for the latest news and developments affecting educational advancement.

Reminder: Nominate Colleagues for the 2021 Service Awards in Government Relations

CASE is proud to partner with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) on the Service Awards in State Government Relations, which will be presented at the virtual Higher Education Government Relations Conference (HEGRC) on December 1-3, 2021.

The Service Awards in State Government Relations, including the Marvin D. "Swede" Johnson Achievement Award and the Edwin Crawford Award for Innovation, honor individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement, quality, and effectiveness of state relations on behalf of a U.S. higher education institution or state system. The nomination period closes on September 29, 2021.

For more information on award eligibility, nomination, and timeline, visit CASE’s Service Awards in State Government Relations page.