Midterm elections are now in the rearview mirror and Learning Forward advocates can begin to plan for the 2020 policy agenda and appropriations process. With the Democrats gaining control of the House, current House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA) will assume the Chair come January. He replaces Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), who is expected to return as Ranking Member in the new Congress. The Committee will look very different next year with at least 7 to 8 Republicans and 2 Democrats not returning and Democrats occupying a majority of the seats.  In the Senate, HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) will likely return to his post next year as will Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA). The only Committee member definitely not returning is Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), who is retiring.

The new split in Congressional control may produce gridlock on education authorization legislation but could still allow for some collaboration on workforce initiatives. Much of the energy may be located in the House, where Bobby Scott is expected to lead a number of oversight hearings and investigations on hot-button topics including ESSA implementation, school violence and college sexual assault standards.  On the legislative front, Scott plans to re-introduce the Aim Higher Act, the bill he crafted and introduced this year to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA).

One area where there may be bipartisan interest (as well as interest from the White House) and real passage potential is in the workforce area. Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA), who is in line to chair the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and the Workforce, expressed interest last year in working with her Republican counterpart on the Subcommittee, Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), on reinvigorating the Department of Labor’s Registered Apprenticeship program. The White House’s 2017 Executive Order on apprenticeships suggests that this could be something that moves.

Appropriations: Long-serving Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) becomes chair of the full House committee in the new year. While the Subcommittee Chairs and Ranking Members will not be decided for a few weeks, it is very likely that Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) will chair the Labor HHS Education Subcommittee. On the Senate side, Chair Richard Shelby (R-AL) will remain in charge. Beyond Shelby, positions are not yet known.

The federal budget will be an immediate issue for the new Congress and the President as the current spending caps deal will sunset at the end of this fiscal year. Without a new deal, across-the-board spending cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act would kick-in. If a new deal can be reached, which will be a heavy lift given the growing federal budget deficit and the President’s interest in 5% spending cuts for all federal agencies, the outlook for k-12 spending is positive.