MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Alma Adams (12th District of North Carolina)

Washington, D.C. — Tuesday, April 14, 2026, Representatives Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12), French Hill (AR-02), Richard McCormick (GA-06), and Shomari Figures (AL-02) introduced the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Research Capacity Act to creates a federal clearinghouse to ensure HBCUs can see what grants they are eligible for.

This legislation is a companion of S. 4167, led by Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Katie Britt (D-LA). 

“HBCUs have always punched above their weight. HBCUs contribute nearly $16.5 billion to the economy every year despite receiving less than 1% of federal research funding. That gap isn’t a reflection of merit, it’s a reflection of decades of systemic underfunding,” said Rep. Alma Adams, Founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus.  “The HBCU Research Capacity Act will help by giving our institutions a clear path to federal grant opportunities. I’m proud to champion this House companion with Representatives Hill, McCormick, and Figures and alongside Senators Warnock and Britt to ensure HBCUs receive the funding they have earned.”

“Historically Black Colleges and Universities, including the four we are blessed to have here in Arkansas, have been a source of opportunity and innovation for generations,” said Rep. Hill, Co-Chair of the Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus. “Despite their outsized contributions, HBCUs receive a fraction of the federal research funding available to them. The HBCU Research Capacity Act takes a practical step toward changing that by ensuring these institutions have the information and tools they need to compete for federal dollars and continue fulfilling their vital mission for generations to come.”

“The time to act is now if we want to keep America leading in the world of STEM. Our nation’s HBCUs are producing some of the brightest minds in science and technology, even as they face real funding challenges,” said Congressman Richard McCormick. “I’m proud to co-sponsor the HBCU Research Capacity Act that ensures these students can stay ahead in the global technology race, which starts with investing in our own talent.”

“HBCUs have a long-standing track record of making significant contributions to our nation’s economy and workforce despite being consistently underfunded,” said Rep. Shomari C. Figures. “With Alabama being home to the most HBCUs in the nation, this bill is a game-changer for the institutions in my state at the forefront of research and development because it creates a one-stop shop for all federal research funding opportunities. I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan legislation, and I will continue fighting for HBCUs to receive the resources they need to continue training and educating the next generation of leaders, researchers, and scholars.”

Background

The HBCU Research Capacity Act would:

• Establish a federal clearinghouse to provide a centralized source of information on federal grant opportunities available to HBCUs.
• Ensure HBCUs receive consistent and timely updates on research and development funding opportunities across federal agencies.
• Provide best practices and guidance to help institutions strengthen research capacity and improve competitiveness for federal grants.
• Encourage coordination across key federal agencies to better align funding opportunities and reduce barriers to access.
• Promote transparency and accountability through regular reporting to Congress and participating institutions.
• Direct agencies to review grant programs and identify gaps in support for HBCU participation.

The text of the bill can be found here.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Aumua Amata (Western Samoa)

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata took part in a Veterans town hall meeting on Wednesday at the Veterans Center, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3391, that included Chief Whitmore, VFW, and Department of Hawaii Commander Jason Seal. Representatives from AMVETS, and the enrollment team from VHA Pacific were there to assist with inquiries. The meeting was made possible through the work of Office of Veterans and Military Affairs Director Igafo Maria B. Togia and Deputy Director Arianna Auva’a, and included the panel listening to Veterans, as well as Amata’s legislative update of ongoing work as part of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee (HVAC), where she is Vice Chairman. 

Speaking with Veterans

The assembled Veterans spoke of their challenges and experiences with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA), and Vice Chairman Amata passed along news of legislative packages to reform and update the bureaucracy, including programs that haven’t been legislatively updated in 30 years. 

“Thank you to our Veterans for your service, and your leadership and wisdom in our communities. Your service to our country made a difference and should be a lifelong source of pride and honor to you and your families,” said Aumua Amata. “Thank you to VFW Post 3391, Chief Whitmore, and Commander Seal, and with much appreciation to Office of Veterans and Military Affairs Director Igafo Maria B. Togia and Deputy Director Arianna Auva’a for all the good work they do for our Veterans.”

“The House Appropriations Committee just released the text of the 2027 Veterans Affairs Appropriations, so we’ll be thoroughly examining that funding,” continued Amata. “I take every opportunity to listen to our Veterans, and keep our people informed about developments in Washington.”

The 2027 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill, which is just beginning the legislative process, currently includes a three percent total increase, and a $2 billion in capital improvements for VA medical facilities and national cemeteries. 

Amata updated Veterans that there are packages of dozens of bills moving through the Committee, focused on better oversight, infrastructure, modernizing delivery of benefits, and updating VA programs. 

Veterans asked questions and expressed concerns about ongoing logistical and travel issues, due to the need to go back and forth to Honolulu, along with comments about the healthcare limitations and facilities, access to services and working with the VA, scheduling issues and various matters.  

“I appreciate our Veterans and often see some of them on my trips through Honolulu. These conversations are always helpful and important, as they shape my future statements and questions to witnesses in Committee hearings, or meetings with VA leaders, Tripler Clinic, or LBJ,” Amata concluded. “Our nation has a commitment to our Veterans, who deserve every benefit they are due, including the highest possible attention to their needs for travel and care standards.” 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mark Takano (D-Calif)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steny H Hoyer (MD-05)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), Ranking Member of the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered opening remarks at the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee Markup of the FY 2027 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) bill. Below are a video and transcript of his remarks:

Click here to watch a video of his remarks.

“Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. This is an unusual process, to say the least. We have had essentially two hearings, and only one department had – other than GAO – to testify, and that was Mr. Kupor of the OMB – excuse me, OPM. This bill cuts from the previous fiscal year revenue. [In] this bill, we have no 302B allocations at this point in time. I’m not sure, Mr. Chairman, where the – our number came from, but, we have not adopted a 302B allocation, although I understand there is some plan to do so and that this bill is within the suggested. But we haven’t passed it. So, I’m going to be offering an amendment later today which funds an increase in the IRS enforcement. 

“The IRS budget in 2010 was $10.2 billion. If it were to be funded at the rate that it was funded in 2010, it would be $18.3 billion. Obviously, a lot of progress has been made in terms of mechanization. And that figure is probably not an accurate figure, but it’s clearly indicative of how robustly the IRS enforcement and other aspects of taxpayer service were funded during the course of 16 years ago. So, we believe that this budget substantially underfunds many of the objects which are critically important. Now, we don’t know because we have not had Secretary Bessent, which is the one large department that we fund. We fund a lot of other very important enterprises, including GSA, and OPM, and OMB, and the White House, none of whom have testified before our committee. So, we had no opportunity to ask questions, to determine what the priorities should be, to determine what is not being done by the cuts that have been suggested. And so, to some degree, we’re flying in the blind. Now, this is our bill, and I know all of us have read this and have taken it to heart. This is the report, the bill, and the – I’m not sure exactly what this is. What’s this? That’s a section-by-section analysis, which – just for me, apparently, the Chairman says.

“What is the point I’m making? The point I’m making is this process is backwards. What, theoretically, this subcommittee does – and I know our Chairman is here, and our Ranking Member said numerous times during the course of the passage of the budget for last year – which still hasn’t been completed, obviously – that they relied on the work of the subcommittee and the expertise of the subcommittee. Mr. Chairman, respect – the big Chairman – respectfully, this subcommittee, if its experts have not been given the information [they] need at this point in time, and I think you probably – well, I don’t want to speak for you, but we’re flying blind, because we have not had the overwhelming majority – 90 plus percent of the agencies we fund – testify before us to justify the expenditures that they’re asking for and tell us what the trade-offs are. As a result, this is essentially a pro forma session. And I raise that issue because I think it impacts the result, the substance. Yes, it’s process, but the substance is affected because we have not had the opportunity to question, to learn, to make a decision on what the tradeoffs are, what the alternatives are. And again, we have not adopted the 302B. 

“The problem without adopting 302B [with] this subcommittee in particular – and I’ve been on it for a very long time, as all of you know and Mr. Womack chaired this – okay, we get a very low – we’re on the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to resources necessary. And I’ll make this – when we have the real markup in the full committee – I’ll make this point that we are substantially underfunded in terms of what we expect the agencies under our jurisdiction to do. Now, the Chairman has gone through and given us the information and digest what this bill will do. And obviously we do fund the agencies at some level, but we don’t know whether that level is sufficient, and we haven’t asked questions of the people who we’ve assigned to run those agencies whether it is or not.  

“So, Mr. Chairman, as you know, as I’ve told you, at the end of the discussions that we’re having, I will offer an amendment to increase IRS enforcement so that whether it’s the Big, Bad Bill [or] Good Bill, depending upon your perspective, that we’ll know that people are, in fact, at least paying that which they owe under law, not any increases. But we have so decimated IRS enforcement, frankly, to some degree, on both sides of the aisle. We want to fund an enforcement that, as I’ve told you in the last year, 6/10 of a percent of the returns over $1 million are audited. 6/10. Which means if I have a return over $1 million, I am 99.4% sure that nobody’s going to look at it, because of the lack of personnel to affect that end. If that is true – and I believe it to be true – then I have no incentive to be very worried about paying what I owe, and particularly at that level. And we’re all concerned about the debt. I’m concerned about the debt. I think we look at a small percentage of the expenditures, and the Chairman has said that, Mr. Womack has said it, who chairs the Budget Committee. If that is true, we’re looking at 15% to solve a $38 trillion problem or $39 trillion problem. That’s unfair to the appropriators and it is dishonest with the American people. 

“So, Mr. Chairman, I’m concerned about a – and you and I have discussed this. We haven’t had the opportunity to have the hearings that we need to do the work that the Chairman and the Ranking Member talked about the subcommittee doing. I don’t think we’ve done that. I don’t think we’ve had the opportunity to do it. I don’t think it’s anybody’s – let me put it this way, I think it’s [somebody’s] fault, but not here. And I think, frankly, it is intentional. It is intentional to marginalize the work of the Congress generally and the Appropriations Committee specifically. So, Mr. Chairman, we’ll have this markup, we’ll report it out, and we’ll consider other amendments in the big committee. But I think it’s unfortunate that we’ve been put in this position. Thank you.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

WASHINGTON — Throughout this tax season, industry groups and advocacy organizations across the spectrum have highlighted in their own words what the Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts means for working families, small and large business owners, children, workers, and seniors. These groups and organizations represent millions of American workers and businesses and have played an essential role in both educating tax filers and highlighting the many transformational benefits Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts offer.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, over 53 million Americans have claimed at least one of Republicans’ tax cuts, including: over 6 million who have claimed No Tax on Tips with an average deduction of over $7,100; over 25 million who have claimed No Tax on Overtime with an average deduction of over $3,100; over 30 million seniors who have claimed the Enhanced Deduction for Seniors with an average deduction of over $7,500; over 5 million Trump accounts have been opened; and over 34 million families who have claimed the enhanced Child Tax Credit. And as a reminder, every single Congressional Democrat voted against these historic tax cuts. If Democrats had it their way, American families would have experienced one of the biggest tax hikes in American history.

Tax Relief for Working Families:

Tax Filing Made Easy:

Trump Accounts:

No Tax on Tips:

No Tax on Overtime:

Childcare Relief for Working Families:

Tax Relief for America’s Small Businesses:

Tax Relief for Seniors:

Tax Relief for Rural America:

No Tax on Auto Loans for Cars Made in America:

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose)

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Today, Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) released a Minority Staff Report detailing how the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) illegally implemented President Trump’s FY2026 budget request without Congressional approval. Upon release of the President’s budget request, under pressure from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NASA immediately began shutting down and defunding programs targeted in the budget proposal, with no direction from Congress.

“A Presidential budget request means nothing until Congress acts on it,” said Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren. “And in 2025, NASA implemented Trump’s budget proposal illegally, without any approval from Congress. The agency violated the basic separation-of-powers framework set forth in the Constitution. NASA’s actions derailed critical projects, demoralized its employees, and broke its trust with the scientific community and the private sector. NASA repeatedly denied what it was doing, but the facts prove otherwise. This staff report provides an overview of the evidence my team has gathered and highlights the damage NASA inflicted upon itself by yielding to pressure from OMB instead of following the law.” 

Ranking Member Lofgren continued, “A President’s Budget Request is not law. It cannot supersede the laws enacted by Congress. NASA must heed the warning of this report and prevent what happened in 2025 from happening again.” 

The staff report, Mission Aborted: How NASA Illegally Implemented the President’s Budget Request Without Congressional Approval, brings to light NASA’s blatant disregard for the laws enacted by Congress and the severe consequences of this recklessness for the agency and the country. 

The report has six key findings:

1. In 2025, NASA acted in concrete and formal ways to implement the proposals of the President’s Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26 PBR).
2. Senior political appointees, including then-Chief of Staff Brian Hughes and then-Senior Advisor to the Administrator Ryan Whitley, ordered staff to implement the FY26 PBR.
3. Numerous whistleblowers throughout the agency disclosed firsthand accounts to Committee Staff about the FY26 PBR being implemented.
4. NASA ordered the cancelation of the Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project on the day that the full FY26 PBR was released.
5. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center fatally undermined the Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS) proposal after its mission class was zeroed out in the FY26 PBR.
6. NASA eliminated the Joint Agency Satellite Division (JASD) after the FY26 PBR proposed to end NASA’s role as the acquisition agent for NOAA’s satellite programs. 

The report is informed by whistleblower testimonies, documents, and emails, obtained from the Committee’s investigation, to confirm that NASA illegally implemented President Trump’s FY2026 budget request.

The Democratic Staff Report can be found here. 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Haley Stevens (MI-11)

“You should be ashamed. You should resign. And if you refuse, Congress should remove you from office.” – Rep. Stevens

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens confronted Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a House Committee hearing, blasting his handling of surging measles cases and renewing calls for his impeachment.

Stevens pointed to a surge of infections: over 2,200 cases in 2025, the highest in more than 30 years. She warned that his failures have put lives at risk and warrant removal from office. Additionally, Stevens accused Kennedy of undermining public health through vaccine skepticism and efforts to roll back the federal childhood vaccine schedule.

Watch the full clip HERE

“Americans today are less safe under your watch. Children are dying of diseases we thought we had eradicated,” said Rep. Stevens. “You should be ashamed. You should resign. And if you refuse, Congress should remove you from office.”

Stevens’ questioning reaffirmed her commitment to science-based public health, protecting the safety of Michiganders, and holding elected officials accountable. In December 2025, Stevens introduced Articles of Impeachment against Secretary Kennedy after calling on him to resign earlier in the year.

 

 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi Representing the 12th District of California

Washington D.C. – Yesterday, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi joined 145 Members of the House Democratic Caucus in sending a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson urging him to restore the longstanding, bipartisan version of H.R. 1329, the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act, which would solidify plans for the museum. In their letter, Members make clear their support for passage of the bill depends on Republicans reinstating the bill’s bipartisan foundation and commitment to pair it with H.R. 1330, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino Act.

This letter follows a March 18 House Administration Committee hearing in which House Republicans introduced and adopted a hyperpartisan version of the bill that abruptly derailed the years-long, bipartisan effort to advance the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum and National Museum of the American Latino. The bill as reported out of Committee gives unprecedented and undue control over the museum to President Trump. It also threatens the inclusion of transgender women and girls from the museum while opening the door to broader exclusion of other women. Before this last minute amendment, the work to establish the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum had been a bipartisan effort rooted in the joint conviction that women’s history and women’s stories are central to the identity of our nation. 

In the letter, the Members emphasized that the design and location of a museum about women, fought for and supported by women, should not be controlled by one man.

“The buildings that house museums are interpretative objects themselves. Their design and location frame how visitors understand the content inside. The design and location of a museum about women, fought for and supported by women, should not be controlled by one man and his loyalists—particularly not a man who has been found liable for sexual assault, and regularly denigrates women based on physical appearance, among other repulsive behaviors. American women deserve better. The American people deserve better.”

The Members also explain that a provision in the Republican-amended version threatens the inclusion of transgender women and girls while opening the door to broader exclusion of other women.

“The amended bill also now vaguely states that only ‘biological women’ can be included in the museum. While the author’s intent is clearly to target transgender women and girls, the provision invites arbitrary enforcement and could be used to challenge the inclusion of any woman or girl a politician deems not ‘feminine’ enough. This is just another example of Republicans needlessly adding an anti-transgender provision to an unrelated bill that would impact not just transgender women and girls but all women and girls.”

The Members close by declaring that their support for the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum bill is contingent on the retention of the museum’s spirit and the bill’s bipartisan foundation.

“If Republicans truly want to celebrate women’s history, we call on you and your colleagues to restore the bipartisan version of this bill and move it forward with us. Our support for this bill is contingent on the retention of the museum’s spirit and the bill’s bipartisan foundation. Absent those conditions, we will be compelled to oppose the politicized version of H.R. 1329 on the House floor.”

Read the letter here.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH)

Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) and Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) led a group of 44 members in calling on the Department of Health and Human Services to release more than $400 million in undistributed Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding.

The members wrote, “Electricity costs have increased 13 percent over the past year, and crude oil prices have spiked more since the beginning of the year than in any quarter since 1988. With this past winter’s record-setting cold temperatures across the United States, households and families need more support, not less.”

“We urge you to do everything possible to distribute LIHEAP funds to states and families without delay. Families should not have to choose between staying warm and other essential items like food, medication, or rent,” they wrote. 

Pappas and his colleagues reiterated their concern over LIHEAP’s ability to operate since Secretary Kennedy fired all LIHEAP staff last April, writing, “We additionally continue to have serious concerns about LIHEAP’s capacity to operate effectively without dedicated staff. We urge you to ensure that necessary personnel and resources are in place to support LIHEAP’s continued success.”

LIHEAP assists low-income individuals and families with the costs of heating and cooling their homes and helps to mitigate the impacts of rising energy costs and extreme weather events. Across the nation, LIHEAP helps nearly 6 million households, including over 28,000 in New Hampshire, afford their energy bills. Today roughly 10% of the $4.45 billion allocated for LIHEAP for Fiscal Year 2026 remains undistributed. 

Last week Pappas led 73 of his colleagues in a letter to House Appropriations Committee leadership urging the rejection of President Trump’s budget proposal to eliminate LIHEAP.

Read the full letter here and below: 

Dear Secretary Kennedy,

We write with concern following recent reporting that more than $400 million in Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding has yet to be distributed to states. We appreciate the agency’s responsiveness following last year’s lapse in appropriations and all that was done to ensure LIHEAP funds were distributed expeditiously. We write once again to urge the agency to ensure all LIHEAP funds are delivered as quickly as possible to the nearly six million households that rely on this assistance.

The remaining undistributed LIHEAP funds represent roughly 10 percent of the $4.45 billion allocated for Fiscal Year 2026. While we understand that the majority of LIHEAP funds are distributed in late fall, with the remaining percentage, usually around 10 percent, distributed the following year in late winter and early spring, states usually receive the entirety of their funds by the end of March. We are concerned that without a prompt disbursement of the remaining funds, states will run out of funds and be forced to halt assistance to households in immediate need.

Electricity costs have increased 13 percent over the past year, and crude oil prices have spiked more since the beginning of the year than in any quarter since 1988. With this past winter’s record-setting cold temperatures across the United States, households and families need more support, not less.

While states do protect households with utility shutoff moratoriums throughout the coldest months of the year, these moratoriums typically end by late March or early April. In New Hampshire, the “winter period” ends on March 31st, while in New York, protections against shutoffs extend through April 15th.

We additionally continue to have serious concerns about LIHEAP’s capacity to operate effectively without dedicated staff. We urge you to ensure that necessary personnel and resources are in place to support LIHEAP’s continued success. 

We urge you to do everything possible to distribute LIHEAP funds to states and families without delay. Families should not have to choose between staying warm and other essential items like food, medication, or rent. We appreciate your attention on this urgent matter and stand ready to support the agency in assisting the American people. 

Sincerely,

Background:

In 2025 Pappas led 90 of his Congressional colleagues in calling for the protection of LIHEAP and the rehiring of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) staff who manage the LIHEAP program that were fired, and he supports the bipartisan LIHEAP Staffing Support Act, which would set a minimum staffing level within HHS to administer LIHEAP. In the House-passed HHS appropriations funding package, Pappas helped secure language requiring HHS to report to Congress on their current staffing levels to ensure LIHEAP is properly staffed.

Pappas is a fierce advocate for efforts that lower energy costs for Granite Staters and programs that help low-income families pay their bills. He has repeatedly called on both Democratic and Republican administrations to stop the export of oil to foreign adversaries and protect and strengthen LIHEAP, including successfully pressing the Department of Health and Human Services last year to take all necessary steps to ensure that LIHEAP funds were distributed to states by November 30, 2025. He has also previously introduced, cosponsored, or called for the passage of the following legislation: his bipartisan Energy Burden Tax Credit Act, his bipartisan Transmission Facilitation Program Reauthorization, his Heroes Home Energy Savings Act, his bipartisan Bolstering Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve Act, the bipartisanBanning Oil Exports to Foreign Adversaries Act, theEnergy Independence and Affordability Act, the bipartisan Weatherization Enhancement and Readiness Act of 2025. He also helped launch the Congressional Lowering Utility Bills Caucus earlier this year. 

Fuel and electric assistance programs funded by LIHEAP are available through New Hampshire Community Action Agencies to help Granite Staters afford to heat and cool their homes. Granite Staters can apply through their CAP agency.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH)

Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01),  Senator Jeanne Shaheen (NH), Senator Maggie Hassan (NH), and Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (NH-02) are calling on the U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon to rescind the TRIO Talent Search and Educational Opportunity Center grant competition announcements and for current programs to receive a one-year extension. The push comes after changes were made to the applications that would threaten the future programs of organizations who receive these grants and the Granite State students and families they serve. In their letter, the NH Delegation notes that the Department’s changes to applications for both grant programs alters the scope from supporting postsecondary access for first-generation and disadvantaged students to a focus on workforce training.

The New Hampshire Delegation wrote, “as members of the New Hampshire Congressional delegation and as strong supporters of TRIO, we write with serious concern over the Trump Administration’s actions to weaken and divert the focus of the Federal TRIO programs away from college preparation, access, and success […] Congress established TRIO in the 1960s with the intent of helping students from disadvantaged backgrounds complete high school, access postsecondary education, and graduate from college. TRIO invests in the potential that all students have to succeed in college and helps students and their families realize that potential by breaking down barriers to access and support.” 

“The Department of Education’s March 17 grant competition announcement for the TRIO TS program and the March 30 grant competition announcement for the TRIO EOC program would significantly shift the purpose and structure of these programs from postsecondary access and success to a focus on workforce training. Extensive workforce training programs, which this delegation strongly supports, already exist […] TRIO serves an important complementary purpose to those workforce programs, especially for first-generation college students and students from low-income backgrounds, by supporting them in preparing for and succeeding in the postsecondary education of their choice as they pursue their goals. Your effort to change the TRIO program focus and funding from postsecondary education access and success risks diluting the programs’ effectiveness and potentially limits students’ options. Students from low-income and disadvantaged backgrounds need more, not less, support to achieve their college dreams,” they continued.

“We urge the Department of Education to rescind, revise and re-issue the March 2026 TS and EOC grant announcements to advance the mission of the TRIO programs as Congress intended. We request that you ensure there is no lapse in TRIO program operations during this competition revision process. We also request that current TRIO TS and EOC grantees in good standing receive a one-year extension of their grants to ensure uninterrupted service to the hundreds of thousands of students and families that rely on their services,” concluded the Congressional Delegation.

A copy of the letter is here.

The New Hampshire Delegation has been outspoken in standing up for Granite State students in the wake of the Trump administration’s cuts to programs that support New Hampshire’s schools and universities. In September, the delegation called on the U.S. Department of Education to restore Congressionally approved funding for the Education Alliance for New Hampshire’s Statewide Family Engagement Center grant, TRIO grants for the University of New Hampshire’s (UNH) Talent Search and McNair programs, and the state’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP).