ADVOCACY & POLICY UPDATE - June 29, 2026

Bonamici Introduces Resolution to Impeach ED Secretary​

Appropriations

Senate appropriators scrapped their first fiscal 2027 markup, which was originally scheduled for Thursday, June 25, when Senator Mitch McConnell indicated last week that he would not return to the Senate following hospitalization earlier this month. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (ME) has not yet finalized a deal on overall spending totals with Ranking Member Patty Murray (WA), nor reached agreement to forgo amendments that could jeopardize passage of spending measures. 

Despite the current impasse, Collins maintains that a shutdown is not under consideration. 

Meanwhile, on Friday, June 26, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) sent a letter to leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the subcommittee overseeing funding for education and job training programs outlining that funding to cover the Pell Grant shortfall is their top priority. They also asked Senate appropriators to reject the House’s deep education and workforce cuts and program eliminations, and to provide at least level funding for programs such as Adult Basic Education, Strengthening Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Work Study, and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) formula programs.

Click here to access the letter.

Education Secretary Resolution 

On Thursday, June 25, the Education Department cancelled its Friday biweekly briefing with House and Senate appropriations committee members after Representative Suzanne Bonamici (OR), ranking member of the House Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee, officially introduced a resolution to impeach Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon. 

This is the first formal impeachment effort and reflects mounting Democratic concerns over efforts by the current administration to close the Department. Bonamici criticized McMahon on the House floor for dismantling the Education Department without congressional approval, slamming the administration’s move to transfer programs and offices from ED to other agencies while slashing staff nearly in half. 

In response to the resolution, the department referred to McMahon’s social media post criticizing House Democrats for a lack of concern over what Republicans consider a failed education system that has cost taxpayers trillions of dollars.

Click here to access the resolution.

U.S. Department of Education

On Tuesday, June 23, the Department of Education’s (ED’s) Office of Inspector General released a report examining staffing, contract, and grant reductions implemented at the agency between January and March 2025, finding that the changes may have affected the Department’s ability to carry out certain statutorily required functions.

The report found that 15 of the 17 offices eliminated during the review period appeared to perform legal or oversight responsibilities, including functions related to federal student aid oversight and education research and data collection. The Inspector General also reported that Department staffing declined from 3,902 employees to 1,579 during the period reviewed. 

In addition, the report found that the ED terminated 129 contracts valued at approximately $1.3 billion and 90 grants totaling $504 million. Many of the canceled contracts were associated with research and evaluation activities at the Institute of Education Sciences, while terminated grants primarily supported teacher preparation and mental health programs. During the same period, the department awarded 77 new contracts valued at $610.4 million and 15 new grants totaling $22 million. 

The Inspector General noted that its review of the agency was limited because it did not receive full access to requested documents and staff interviews, preventing definitive conclusions in some areas. Department officials disputed aspects of the report’s methodology and findings and stated that the review did not fully account for subsequent staffing and operational changes.

Although the report outlines how the current administration has rattled the agency, it can’t close the Department without Congressional approval, an effort that would face opposition on the Hill, particularly in the Senate where bipartisanship is required to pass the legislation required to shutter it.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (LA), in particular, opposes the department’s plan to move the Office of Special Education to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), indicating that  he thinks it would be better managed by the Department of Labor. Accordingly, at a committee hearing last week Cassidy pledged to work with Senator Tim Kaine (VA) to introduce legislation blocking the transfer — a measure Kaine says he’s confident would get bipartisan support.

Click here to access the full report.

SKILL Act

On Monday, June 22, Congressman Sam Liccardo (CA) announced the Supporting Knowledge Through Industry-Led Learning (SKILL) Act, which aims to encourage private-sector investment in workforce training programs at community colleges, public colleges, and universities. It would provide tax incentives to employers that partner with higher education institutions to develop degree, certification, apprenticeship, internship, and other work-based learning programs aligned with workforce needs.

The bill would authorize $500 million annually in tax credits, allocated to states on a per-capita basis. Eligible investments would include curriculum development, skills assessments, internships, registered apprenticeships, laboratory facilities, and donations of cash, equipment, or professional services. Employers would be eligible for a $2,500 tax credit for each student who completes a qualifying program and an additional $2,500 for each program graduate they hire. 

The legislation aims to strengthen workforce development partnerships and help prepare workers for labor market change associated with emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. 

Click here to access a press release, full text of the bill and one-pager on the SKILL Act.

The Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2026

On Tuesday, June 23, House Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA), along with Congressman Mark Pocan (WI) and Senators Mazie Hirono (HI), Patty Murray (WA), Jack Reed (RI), and Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) introduced the Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2026. The legislation would strengthen and expand the federal Pell Grant program by increasing the maximum award from $7,395 to $15,000 over six years, indexing future award levels to inflation, and providing mandatory funding to help ensure the program’s long-term stability. It would also expand eligibility for Pell Grants, including extending access to DREAMers and restoring lifetime eligibility to 18 semesters. 

Click here to access the full text, fact sheet and press release on the legislation.

House Education and Workforce Subcommittee Hearing

On Wednesday, June 24, at 10:15 a.m. ET, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held the hearing “Workforce Rewired: Modern Apprenticeships for a Modern Economy.” Witnesses for the hearing included Jamie Angell, Senior Director of Apprenticeships and Transitional Programs, Caliber; Joe Ross, President, Reach University; John Ladd, Senior Advisor, Center for Apprenticeship & Work-Based Learning, Jobs of the Future; and Natasha Sherwood, Director, Chapter & Workforce Development, Independent Electrical Contractors.

Click here to learn more and access a link to livestream the hearing.

AI Jobs Initiative

On Thursday, June 25, a bipartisan group launched a new nonprofit called RAISE US to help American workers adapt to artificial intelligence — one of the largest private efforts to address AI’s potential to trigger widespread job losses. Supported by $500 million in funding from tech and other interests, the effort is led by two former governors, Democrat Gina Raimondo and Republican Eric Holcomb, who raised the funds from AI companies, major corporations and philanthropies. To kick off the work, the funding will seed pilot programs in a number of states in an effort to ease the economic impact on workers displaced by the AI boom.

RAISE US will work with corporate donors including Anthropic, OpenAI, Amazon, Microsoft, Bank of America, General Motors and Eli Lilly to develop and implement programs to retrain workers for new roles as a means to avoid widespread layoffs.

Partners for the group are bipartisan with broad political reach and include Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R) and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont (D) are also on board.

In its first year, the effort will expand "service year" opportunities for young people in healthcare or education and update unemployment insurance programs to help laid-off workers start businesses with AI. The pilots will be funded with money from RAISE US and the participating states.

The organization’s board of directors includes AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, along with Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman; Silicon Valley philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs; former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker; and former House Speaker Paul Ryan, among others. Former Deloitte executive Janet Foutty is joining as president of corporate partnerships.

The former governors maintain that key U.S. institutions and programs require reform for a workforce facing rapid technological change. According to Raimondo and Holcomb, the nation’s schools are not producing enough workers to meet employer needs, and unemployment insurance was not designed to serve people who need to switch careers repeatedly.

RAISE US intends to draw down its $500 million over the next three to four years while continuing to raise funds with a target of $1 billion in total donations. The group is also standing up an internal policy lab, which won’t take private funding, to examine other solutions.