Washington Insights & Highlights December 11th
U.S. Senators Call for Reversal of Interagency Agreements
On December 4, Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) issued a press release and sent a letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon urging the U.S. Department of Education to reverse recently executed Interagency Agreements (IAAs). The letter was cosigned by 36 Democratic Senators, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
The letter criticizes the Department of Education’s decision to enter IAAs that, in their view, unlawfully outsource core departmental functions relied upon by students and families. The letter contends that the actions “continue hollowing out the U.S. Department of Education,” and will “jeopardize the funding and support that tens of millions of students, teachers, and families across the country rely on.”
A coalition of states, local school districts, and other stakeholders have filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the Department’s effort to move its responsibilities to other agencies, arguing that federal law requires the Department to carry out its own programs.
OSTP Seeks Higher Education Input to Strengthen the Nation’s Scientific Enterprise
The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input on updates to federal policies that support and accelerate the nation’s scientific enterprise. OSTP seeks specific, detailed input on how federal policies, funding mechanisms, and institutional models can be updated to strengthen the science and technology ecosystem. The notice includes 13 questions requesting feedback on improving research support, accelerating translation of discoveries, expanding innovation capacity nationwide, and ensuring that the benefits of federally funded science reach all Americans.
Written responses from the academic community could shape future executive branch efforts to expand scientific knowledge and advance technological progress that benefits the nation. Interested individuals and organizations may submit comments through the Federal Rulemaking Portal. Submissions are due by December 26, 2025.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Duration of Status Proposed Rule
It is possible that the Department of Homeland Security will release the final rule on Duration of Status in mid-January 2026. CGS is encouraging the membership to spend the next few weeks engaging institutional leaders and your entire campus communities in the development of a comprehensive communication strategies for international students, scholars, and faculty. As mentioned in previous CGS publications, including the September 9th Washington Insights & Highlights Newsletter, the proposed rule would make significant changes to the current duration of status policy, including limiting the duration of status to a four-year period. The CGS Government Relations and Public Policy staff will remain abreast of this issue and notify the CGS membership as soon as the final rule is released.
The Administration Launches the Genesis Mission
On November 24, the White House issued an executive order announcing the launch of the Genesis Mission. According to the executive order, “the Genesis Mission will build an integrated AI platform to harness Federal scientific datasets—the world’s largest collection of such datasets, developed over decades of Federal investments—to train scientific foundation models and create AI agents to test new hypotheses, automate research workflows, and accelerate scientific breakthroughs.” This new initiative will be led by the U.S. Department of Energy and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Yesterday, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee held a hearing on the Genesis Mission, in which Chairman Brain Babin (R-TX) remarked that “the Genesis Mission brings together DOE’s 17 National Laboratories, America’s leading universities, and industry to create a national discovery platform that unites the world’s most powerful supercomputers, AI systems, and emerging quantum technologies with the nation’s premier scientific instruments—establishing an integrated infrastructure for groundbreaking exploration.”
For more information about the Genesis Mission, please visit the Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission webpage and read the House Science Committee Hearing Charter.
Department of Education to Focus on Graduate Earnings and Program Value in January Negotiated Rulemaking
The U.S. Department of Education continued this week to work through higher education provisions included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act during the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-Driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee. While most of the work this week does not affect graduate education, on Monday, Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent stated that the committee’s work in January will focus on provisions related to graduate education. See read more for the topics expected to be discussed during the January 5-9 session, according to Kent.
Department of Education to Update Accreditation Handbook
On December 11, the U.S. Department of Education issued a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register to solicit feedback from the public on how best to update the Accreditation Handbook. As noted in the Department’s press release and RFI, the purpose of updating the handbook is to “significantly reform the accreditation system by reducing unduly burdensome and bureaucratic requirements and increasing transparency and efficiency.
The RFI invites public comment on several questions, including: (1) What policies or standards are encouraging innovation or reducing college costs within the postsecondary education sector and should be retained in or added to the new version of the handbook; and (2) What methods should be incorporated in the handbook to determine appropriate assessment benchmarks, and what data sources or validation methods should be used to ensure those benchmarks reflect student competency. For a complete list of the questions, please read the RFI.
In the press release, Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education Dr. David Barker said, “Instead of driving high-quality programs that better serve students, the antiquated accreditation system has led to inflated tuition costs and fees, administrative bloat, and ideology-driven initiatives.”
Former U.S. Ambassadors and State Department Official Urge Secretary Rubio to End Crackdown on International Students
On November 17, a bipartisan group of more than 60 former senior State Department officials and U.S. ambassadors sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemning what they describe as the Trump administration’s targeting of international students, asserting that recent actions “side-step due process” and infringe upon free speech.
The former officials expressed concern over federal actions they say have resulted in the unjust scrutiny of international students and faculty. The letter cites the State Department’s policy of conducting “intensive reviews of protected speech on social media, with the express purpose of punishing visa applicants and holders for their lawfully expressed views,” and provides multiple examples of international students allegedly being denied due process by government officials.