Heidi Alexander: “I know this Senate is a deliberative body, but we have been working on higher education for 5 years in our committee…”

“I know this Senate is a deliberative body, but we have been working on higher education for 5 years in our committee, and suddenly, out of the blue, comes a bill out of the House which says that we have an emergency in one provision of the Higher Education Act; don't take it through committee. That is the way we usually do things. The distinguished Senator from Louisiana is a member of this committee, and the Senator from Pennsylvania is a valued member of the committee. We have a pretty good reputation for working together, despite our differences, in fixing No Child Left Behind, 21st Century Cures, opioid legislation. Healthcare is a contentious issue, but by a vote of 20 to 3, we brought out a bill to lower healthcare costs. Yet the suggestion is that we take this bill to the Senate floor without any consideration by the committee. That is not the way we usually do things. Let me reemphasize that the U.S. Department of Education has told every one of the historically Black colleges and minority-serving institutions that there is sufficient Federal funding between now and October 1 of next year. There is no reason to cut anybody's pay and no reason to stop planning. That is what the Federal Government has told those institutions.…”