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Tri-Caucus Releases Higher Education Act Reauthorization Priorities

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The Chairs of the Congressional Tri-Caucus –Congressional Black (CBC) Caucus Chair Karen Bass (CA-37), Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chair Joaquin Castro (TX-20), and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair Judy Chu (CA-27) – released their Tri-Caucus Higher Education Priorities for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

Published

6 years ago

October 7, 2019

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Karen Bass (File Photo)

By Sentinel News Service

The Chairs of the Congressional Tri-Caucus –Congressional Black (CBC) Caucus Chair Karen Bass (CA-37), Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chair Joaquin Castro (TX-20), and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair Judy Chu (CA-27) – released their Tri-Caucus Higher Education Priorities for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

These Tri-Caucus Priorities identify the best way to address educational inequities for students of color. They include strengthening the capacity of Minority Serving Institutions, the quality of education offered at all institutions of higher education, and resources that help students of every income level and background succeed. Finally, they include priorities most important to our communities, like support for undocumented youth and programs that ensure the recruitment and retention of teachers of color.

The priorities were also endorsed by the Tri-Caucus education chairs: CHC Education and Labor Task Force Chair Raúl Grijalva (AZ-3), CAPAC Education Task Force Chair Mark Takano (CA-41), and CBC Education and Labor Task Force Co-Chairs Danny Davis (IL-7), Frederica Wilson (FL-24), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12).

“Higher education is the pathway to financial security and professional success for many in our communities of color. The Congressional Tri-Caucus is proud to introduce our Higher Education Priorities and take a stand for students of color across the country,” said the Tri-Caucus Chairs. “Our communities have unique education needs, and we have a proud heritage in our Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions. As we strive for the success of these schools and students of color everywhere, our priorities outline the keys to their success, including supporting their financial needs, strengthening the education they receive, and ensuring they are competitive in the workforce. These priorities will open doors of opportunity for students of every background, from first generation college students to undocumented youth and every community from urban to rural. We hope that, with these guidelines to our federal policy, we will help every student of color attain success and fulfill the promise of the American dream.”

The Tri-Caucus Higher Education Principles are as follows:

Tri-Caucus Priorities for the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act

in the 116th Congress

Improve College Affordability

Federal Pell Grants and Work Study

Increase the maximum award level of Pell Grants so they better align with the rising cost of higher education.
Index Pell Grants to inflation.
Revise the formula used to allocate work study funds based on student need and Pell Grant aid.
Provide tuition-free and debt-free colleges and universities by investing in federal-state partnerships to make a four-year college degree possible to achieve without debt.
Increase funding for Federal Work Study at institutions that enroll high levels of Pell Grant recipients.
Improve access to work study opportunities aligned with academic study and career interests, including those in community service-learning programs for low-income students.
Establish additional funding for students that complement Pell Grants. This funding would cover costs of living (food, housing, transportation, etc.) and non-tuition educational costs (books, fees, etc.).
Restore Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated people.
Extend Federal Financial aid eligibility to undocumented students and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients.
Maintain year-round Pell Grant availability.
Provide new Pell Grant eligibility for short term training programs offered at community colleges.
Include language assistance for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and any other documents related to financial aid.
Simplify FAFSA by allowing data from other federal agencies (such as IRS) to be used in the application to reduce the number of questions and in addition the following –

- Deem students eligible for a zero expected family contribution (EFC) determination if the student or the student’s parents are recipients of a means tested program.
- Increase the income threshold to qualify for zero EFC to $50,000.
- Eliminate the Selective Service registration and prior drug conviction question from the student eligibility criteria for federal student aid.
- Simplify the determination process for homeless and foster care youth.

Improve information tools, financial literacy and require the Department of Education to partner with institutions to standardize financial aid award letters and terminology.
Provide small-dollar emergency grants for students to help students continue their education rather than dropping out due to financial concerns.

Federal Student Loans

Reduce the student loan debt burden for borrower’s past, present, and future.
Protect the Grad Plus Loans and Parent Plus Loans programs.
Protect the Income Based Repayment Program.
Protect the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and the Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (TEPSLF) programs. Ensure individual borrowers receive clear information about the status of their loans, correct loan repayment plans, and all qualifying PSLF payments. As well as require the ability to seamlessly enroll in PSLF and TEPSLF electronically.
Improve student loan counseling to help students borrow wisely and manage debt repayment.
Restructure the Federal Student Aid office to serve students better. Automate recertification of borrowers’ incomes while they are enrolled in income-driven repayment plans using information on file at the Department of Treasury.
Automate enrollment into income driven plans for borrowers who are severely delinquent on their loans.
Automatic verification of totally and permanently disabled borrowers’ continued eligibility for a loan discharge during the three-year monitoring period.
Automatic enrollment of defaulted borrowers in an income-driven repayment plan upon completion of loan rehabilitation.
Protect students from institutions that engage in predatory practices by codifying the borrowers defense to repayment rule.
Protect students from low-quality programs by holding institutions accountable and codifying the gainful employment rule.
Require post-secondary institutions to use language in financial aid offers that clearly indicate which components of the package are loans.

II. Strengthen the Capacity of HBCUs and Minority-Serving Institutions

Authorize permanent mandatory funding for HCBUs and all MSIs as currently defined in HEA.
Protect current investments and statutory programs and increase federal funding for MSIs and HBCUs.
Provide increased and sustainable support and funding for the AANAPISI Program to help underserved students overcome barriers to a college degree, by increasing funding authorization for the AANAPISI Program to $60 million.
Establish a post-baccalaureate grant program for AANAPISIs that already exists for other MSIs.
Provide robust and sustainable support and funding for the Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions Program by authorizing an increased level of funding.
Increase Funding for teacher preparation programs at MSIs.
Make permanent HSI STEM Articulation Program under Title III, Part F which is scheduled to expire at the end of Fiscal Year 2019.
Increase Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics (STEAM) resources directed to communities of color.
Ensure that HBCUs & MSIs have funding for students of color to enter technology fields that will better prepare them for the future of work.
Update the Strengthening Institutions – Tribal College Program at the Department of Education (HEA Title III Part A &F)
Ensure funding for the Tribal College & University and American Indian & Alaska Native Language Revitalization and Training Program.

III. Improve Education Quality and Student Success

Encourage and expand access for low-income students to dual enrollment, early college, and similar programs in high schools.
Promote improved coordination of community colleges and four-year institutions to ensure ability to transfer credits between institutions.
Increased funds for K-12 and higher education mentorship programs.
Consider developing an incentive program within Title IV to reward institutions that increase graduation rates of Pell students, ensuring no penalty to institutions that educate low-income students.
Increase federal support for first year student retention and success programs.
Increase college access and improve college completion for service members and veterans.
Support workforce training programs including those offered at community colleges.
Maintain provisions that prohibit institutions from engaging in agreements with financial institutions that predatorily market financial products to students.
Develop accountability metrics that protect students from predatory for-profit educational institutions.
Address the 90/10 loophole to protect Veterans from predatory for-profit educational institutions by moving the ratio to 85/15.
Incentivize institutions to create support programs to ensure students graduate on time.
Encourage institutions to establish an accessibility office to support mental health services for students.
Allow students with disabilities to use their existing documentation of a disability (IEP, 504 plans) to access accommodations at institutions of higher education.
Create a program modeled on the federally-funded DC Tuition Assistance Grant providing tuition assistance for graduates of Northern Marianas College and American Samoa Community College who want to pursue a four-year degree at any public university in other parts of the United States.
Maintain integrity and accountability of gatekeeping system for Federal accreditation and State licensure policies.
Increase funding for federal Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program to meet student-parents’ need for affordable childcare.
Authorize the creation of Native American language revitalization program that awards grants for Native American language programs appropriate for the population served at institutions that serve American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians or Native American Pacific Islanders.
Increase resources to Institutes of Higher Education (IHEs) to increase graduation rates.
Support a $40 million competitive grant to provide funding for school districts across the country to support STEM education for girls, students of color, LGBTQ students, and students with disabilities.
Improve civil rights enforcement to protect college students from harassment and discrimination: Any HEA reauthorization must strengthen protections from discrimination and harassment through additional reporting under the Clery Act and stronger enforcement penalties for colleges aiming to skirt reporting and accountability.
Ensure university officials are held accountable for hate crimes and hate-based incidents that occur on their campuses by requiring accreditors to asses’ institutions of higher education campus safety programs during the accreditation process, including the annual dissemination of certain information to students and faculty.
Protect students from incidents of hazing through educational programs and bolstering reporting requirements.
Improve access to student voting on college campuses –

- Define “good faith effort” to distribute voter registration forms in the Higher Education Act to mean sending correspondence at least twice a year and no less than 30 days before voter registration deadlines for federal and state elections, with links to voter registration information.
- Designate a staff member or office as the “Campus Vote Coordinator” to answer student questions about voter registration.
- Provide a right of action against those institutions that engage in patterns of violating this law.

IV. Promote College Readiness for Students of Color, First Generation Students and Disadvantaged Students

Increase funding and strengthen GEAR-UP, TRIO, HEP-CAMP as needed and other federal funded college access programs to help minority students, low-income students, students who would be first-generation college students, and students who are English language learners access and complete college.
Ensure that GEAR-UP, TRIO, HEP/CAMP and other federal funded college access programs are reaching schools predominantly attended by low-income students, minority students, students who would be first-generation college students, and students who are English language learners.
Maintain GEAR-UP, TRIO, and HEP/CAMP as separate federal programs.
Reform and streamline the Department of Education’s (ED) grants appeals process to ensure institutions of higher education and other qualified organizations with long-standing, high-quality programs can appeal ED’s decisions with technical assistance and a peer-review process to ensure a continuation of funds that service vulnerable student populations.
Continue to provide information to low-income high school students through existing federal college access program on how to navigate the financial aid process and estimate actual cost of attendance.
Continue to support programs that provide financial literacy and financial aid counseling to low-income, minority, first generation, and English Learner students.
Establish funding that supports English Learner Educators.
Promote applied experiences for students and support experiential learning.
Require institutions to provide students with information about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to ensure students have the information they need to access benefits for which they may be eligible.

V. Increase the Recruitment and Retention of Teachers of Color

Expand high-quality outreach and recruitment programs for minority teachers at both the undergraduate and graduate levels through financial assistance, including loan forgiveness, and technical support while improving and expanding retention efforts for educators of color.
Increase support for teacher education and professional development, including special education, teacher quality grants, and teacher residence programs.
Include language that prioritizes teacher preparation programs that recruit and retain students of color, and programs that recruit students to teach into high-need shortage fields such as English Learner or bilingual teachers.
Establish grants to fund development of teacher preparation programs to train teachers on evidence-based English Learners instruction
Require teacher preparation programs to report the pass rate and average score of students taking state teacher performance assessments, and the number of students in the program, by race, ethnicity, and gender.

VI. Support Graduate Student Access, Affordability, Quality, and Student Success

Support increased funding and strengthen graduate programs at HBCUs, MSIs and Tribal Colleges and Universities.
Expand eligibility for the Subsidized Stafford Loan Program to students enrolled in graduate programs and allow Pell Grants to be used for graduate programs.
Reauthorize and strengthen Title III and Title V HBCU and MSI graduate programs and the Patsy Mink Fellowship Program.

VII. Support Access, Participation, and Success for Undocumented Youth

Allow Dreamers, TPS recipients, otherwise undocumented students to apply for financial aid under FAFSA to protect them from loan servicer and fraud abuse.
Permit Dreamers , TPS recipients, and otherwise undocumented students to be eligible for Pell Grants, federal student loans, work study and federally funded college access programs.
Require post-secondary institutions to give in-state tuition to Dreamers, TPS recipients, and otherwise undocumented students who reside in the state of the institution.
Allow Dreamers, TPS recipients, and otherwise undocumented students to participate in GEAR UP and TRIO programs.
Strengthen grant programs that assist institutions of higher education (IHEs) in establishing or developing minority student support centers, specifically for undocumented students.

VIII. Improving Data Systems in Postsecondary Education

Create a student level data network with all racial groups, racial subgroups, and ethnicities as recognized in the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to ensure schools are being held accountable to relevant and useful measures.
Increase data collection, while safeguarding student’s personal information, of student transfers and graduation outcomes by the Department of Education to improve understanding of student completion rates.
Disaggregate undergraduate, graduate, and professional school enrollment data by all racial groups, racial subgroups, and ethnicities as recognized in the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Adjust the criteria of students tracked through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) so that it captures more community college students and includes part time students, non-first-time students, and students with an intent other than seeking a degree.

This article originally appeared in The Los Angeles Sentinel.

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A Nation in Freefall While the Powerful Feast: Trump Calls Affordability a ‘Con Job’

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — There are seasons in this country when the struggle of ordinary Americans is not merely a condition but a kind of weather that settles over everything.

Published

4 weeks ago

December 3, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

There are seasons in this country when the struggle of ordinary Americans is not merely a condition but a kind of weather that settles over everything. It enters the grocery aisle, the overdue bill, the rent notice, and the long nights spent calculating how to get through the next week. The latest numbers show that this season has not passed. It has deepened.

Private employers cut 32,000 jobs in November, according to ADP. Because the nation has been hemorrhaging jobs since President Trump took office, the administration has halted publishing the traditional monthly report. The ADP report revealed that small businesses suffered the heaviest losses. Establishments with fewer than 50 workers shed 120,000 positions, including 74,000 from companies with 20 to 49 workers. Larger firms added 90,000 jobs, widening the split between those rising and those falling.

Meanwhile, wealth continues to climb for the few who already possess most of it. Federal Reserve data shows the top 1 percent now holds $52 trillion. The top 10 percent added $5 trillion in the second quarter alone. The bottom half gained only 6 percent over the past year, a number so small it fades beside the towering fortunes above it.

“Less educated and poorer people tend to make worse mistakes,” John Campbell said to CBS News, while noting that the complexity of the system leaves many families lost before they even begin. Campbell, a Harvard University economist and coauthor of a book examining the country’s broken personal finance structure, pointed to a system built to confuse and punish those who lack time, training, or access.

“Creditors are just breathing down their necks,” Carol Fox told Bloomberg News, while noting that rising borrowing costs, shrinking consumer spending, and trade battles under the current administration have left owners desperate. Fox serves as a court-appointed Subchapter V trustee in Southern Florida and has watched the crisis unfold case by case.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump told those present that affordability “doesn’t mean anything to anybody.” He added that Democrats created a “con job” to mislead the public.

However, more than $30 million in taxpayer funds reportedly have supported his golf travel. Reports show Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel have also made extensive use of private jets through government and political networks. The administration approved a $40 billion bailout of Argentina. The president’s wealthy donors recently gathered for a dinner celebrating his planned $300 million White House ballroom.

During an appearance on CNBC, Mark Zandi, an economist, warned that the country could face serious economic threats. “We have learned that people make many mistakes,” Campbell added. “And particularly, sadly, less educated and poorer people tend to make worse mistakes.”

Stacy M. Brown

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The Numbers Behind the Myth of the Hundred Million Dollar Contract

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Odell Beckham Jr. did not spark controversy on purpose. He sat on The Pivot Podcast and tried to explain the math behind a deal that looks limitless from the outside but shrinks fast once the system takes its cut.

Published

4 weeks ago

December 3, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Odell Beckham Jr. did not spark controversy on purpose. He sat on The Pivot Podcast and tried to explain the math behind a deal that looks limitless from the outside but shrinks fast once the system takes its cut. He looked into the camera and tried to offer a truth most fans never hear. “You give somebody a five-year $100 million contract, right? What is it really? It is five years for sixty. You are getting taxed. Do the math. That is twelve million a year that you have to spend, use, save, invest, flaunt,” said Beckham. He added that buying a car, buying his mother a house, and covering the costs of life all chip away at what people assume lasts forever.

The reaction was instant. Many heard entitlement. Many heard a millionaire complaining. What they missed was a glimpse into a professional world built on big numbers up front and a quiet erasing of those numbers behind the scenes.

The tax data in Beckham’s world is not speculation. SmartAsset’s research shows that top NFL players often lose close to half their income to federal taxes, state taxes, and local taxes. The analysis explains that athletes in California face a state rate of 13.3 percent and that players are also taxed in every state where they play road games, a structure widely known as the jock tax. For many players, that means filing up to ten separate returns and facing a combined tax burden that reaches or exceeds 50 percent.

A look across the league paints the same picture. The research lists star players in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland, all giving up between 43 and 47 percent of their football income before they ever touch a dollar. Star quarterback Phillip Rivers, at one point, was projected to lose half of his playing income to taxes alone.

A second financial breakdown from MGO CPA shows that the problem does not only affect the highest earners. A $1 million salary falls to about $529,000 after federal taxes, state and city taxes, an agent fee, and a contract deduction. According to that analysis, professional athletes typically take home around half of their contract value, and that is before rent, meals, training, travel, and support obligations are counted.

The structure of professional sports contracts adds another layer. A study of major deals across MLB, the NBA, and the NFL notes that long-term agreements lose value over time because the dollar today has more power than the dollar paid in the future. Even the largest deals shrink once adjusted for time. The study explains that contract size alone does not guarantee financial success and that structure and timing play a crucial role in a player’s long-term outcomes.

Beckham has also faced headlines claiming he is “on the brink of bankruptcy despite earning over one hundred million” in his career. Those reports repeated his statement that “after taxes, it is only sixty million” and captured the disbelief from fans who could not understand how money at that level could ever tighten.

Other reactions lacked nuance. One article wrote that no one could relate to any struggle on eight million dollars a year. Another described his approach as “the definition of a new-money move” and argued that it signaled poor financial choices and inflated spending.

But the underlying truth reaches far beyond Beckham. Professional athletes enter sudden wealth without preparation. They carry the weight of family support. They navigate teams, agents, advisors, and expectations from every direction. Their earning window is brief. Their career can end in a moment. Their income is fragmented, taxed, and carved up before the public ever sees the real number.

The math is unflinching. Twenty million dollars becomes something closer to $8 million after federal taxes, state taxes, jock taxes, agent fees, training costs, and family responsibilities. Over five years, that is about $40 million of real, spendable income. It is transformative money, but not infinite. Not guaranteed. Not protected.

Beckham offered a question at the heart of this entire debate. “Can you make that last forever?”

Stacy M. Brown

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FBI Report Warns of Fear, Paralysis, And Political Turmoil Under Director Kash Patel

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Six months into Kash Patel’s tenure as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a newly compiled internal report from a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI agents and analysts delivers a stark warning about what the Bureau has become under his leadership.

Published

4 weeks ago

December 2, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown

Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Six months into Kash Patel’s tenure as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a newly compiled internal report from a national alliance of retired and active-duty FBI agents and analysts delivers a stark warning about what the Bureau has become under his leadership. The 115-page document, submitted to Congress this month, is built entirely on verified reporting from inside field offices across the country and paints a picture of an agency gripped by fear, divided by ideology, and drifting without direction.

The report’s authors write that they launched their inquiry after receiving troubling accounts from inside the Bureau only four months into Patel’s tenure. They describe their goal as a pulse check on whether the ninth FBI director was reforming the Bureau or destabilizing it. Their conclusion: the preliminary findings were discouraging.

Reports Describe Widespread Internal Distrust and Open Hostility Toward President Trump

Sources across the country told investigators that a large number of FBI employees openly express hostility toward President Donald Trump. One source reported seeing an “increasing number of FBI Special Agents who dislike the President,” adding that these employees were exhibiting what they called “TDS” and had lost “their ability to think critically about an issue and distinguish fact from fiction.” Another source described employees making off-color comments about the administration during office conversations.

The sentiment reportedly extends beyond domestic lines. Law enforcement and intelligence partners in allied countries have privately expressed fear that the Trump administration could damage long-term international cooperation according to a sub-source who reported those concerns directly to investigators.

Pardon Backlash and Fear of Retaliation

The President’s January 20 pardons of individuals convicted for their roles in the January 6 attack ignited what the report calls demoralization inside the Bureau. One FBI employee said they were “demoralized” that individuals “rightfully convicted” were pardoned and feared that some of those individuals or their supporters might target them or their family for carrying out their duties. Another source described widespread anger that lists of personnel who worked on January 6 investigations had been provided to the Justice Department for review, noting that agents “were just following orders” and now worry those lists could leak publicly.

Morale In Decline

Morale among FBI employees appears to be sinking fast. There were a few scattered positive notes, but the weight of the reporting describes morale as low, bad, or terrible. Agents with more than a decade of service told investigators they feel marginalized or ignored. Some are counting the days until they can retire. One even uses a countdown app on their phone.

Culture Of Fear

Layered over that unhappiness is something far more corrosive. A culture of fear. Sources say Patel, though personable, created mistrust from the start because of harsh remarks he made about the FBI before taking office. Agents took those comments personally. They now work in an atmosphere where employees keep their heads down and speak carefully. Managers wait for directions because they are afraid a wrong move could cost them their jobs. One source said agents dread coming to work because nobody knows who will be reassigned or fired next.

Leadership Concerns

The report also paints a picture of leaders unprepared for the jobs they hold. Multiple sources said Patel is in over his head and lacks the breadth of experience required to understand the Bureau’s complex programs. Some said Deputy Director Dan Bongino should never have been appointed because the role requires deep institutional knowledge of FBI operations. A sub-source recounted Bongino telling employees during a field office visit that “the truth is for chumps.” Employees who heard it were stunned and offended.

Social Media and Communication Breakdowns

Communication inside the Bureau has become another source of frustration. Sources said Patel and Bongino spend too much time posting on social media and not enough time communicating with employees in clear and official ways. Several told investigators they learn more about FBI operations from tweets than from internal channels.

ICE Assignments Raise Alarm

Nothing has sparked more frustration inside the FBI than the orders requiring agents to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The reporting shows widespread resentment and fear over these assignments. Agents say they have little training in immigration law and were ordered into operations without proper planning. Some said they were put in tactically unsafe positions. They also warned that being pulled away from counterterrorism and counterintelligence investigations threatens national security. One sub-source asked, “If we’re not working CT and CI, then who is?”

DEI Program Removal

Even the future of diversity programs became a point of division. Some agents praised Patel’s removal of DEI initiatives. Others said the old system left them afraid to speak honestly because they worried about being labeled racist. The reporting shows a deep and unresolved conflict over whether DEI strengthened the organization or weakened it.

Notable Incidents

The document also details several incidents that have become part of FBI lore. Patel ordered all employees to remove pronouns and personal messages from their email signatures yet used the number nine in his own. Agents laughed at what they saw as hypocrisy. In another episode, FBI employees who discussed Patel’s request for an FBI-issued firearm were ordered to take polygraph examinations, which one respected source described as punitive. And in Utah, Patel refused to exit a plane without a medium-sized FBI raid jacket. A team scrambled to find one and finally secured a female agent’s jacket. Patel still refused to step out until patches were added. SWAT members removed patches from their own uniforms to satisfy the demand.

A Bureau at a Crossroad

The Alliance warns that the Bureau stands at a difficult crossroads. They write that the FBI faces some of the most daunting challenges in its history. But even in despair, a few voices say something different. One veteran source said “It is early, but most can see the mission is now the priority. Case work and threats are the focus again. Reform is headed in the right direction.”