This Week in Washington ...
 This week in Washington, D.C., was BIG. The economic stimulus bill was debated and ultimately passed. Final elements of the stimulus bill continue to trickle out but, overall, the results are positive for our colleges and students. Additional details about the stimulus bill can be found in the following Inside Higher Ed story.
Trustee Kitty Boyle, Chancellor Wright Lassiter and several DCCCD students attended the Association of Community College Trustees/American Association of Community Colleges’ National Legislative Summit. We were right there, in the mix and amidst the excitement, as the stimulus bill continued to move through the legislative process in the Senate.
Jennifer Channell from El Centro, Godofredo Ortiz from Eastfield, Carlos Manuel from Mountain View and Ji-Eun Pyun from Brookhaven represented DCCCD as they met with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Sen. John Cornyn, Congressman Sam Johnson, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson and staff members from the offices of Congressmen Kenny Marchant, Pete Sessions and Jeb Hensarling. Our students were able to articulate the significance of community colleges in a personal and direct way with policymakers. DCCCD was privileged to have truly outstanding students represent our interests in Washington, D.C.
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House Committee Appointments
Yesterday, Speaker Straus released the House committee assignments. The make-up of the new committees is significantly different than the last session. Many Dallas-area delegation members received important committee posts. Among the assignments are: Rep. Dan Branch (Dallas), chairman of the Higher Education Committee; Rep. Jim Pitts (Waxahachie), chairman of the Appropriations Committee; Rep. Burt Solomons (Carrollton), chairman of the State Affairs Committee; and Rep. Brian McCall (Plano), chairman of the Calendars Committee. View a complete list of committee assignments.
Additional details about committee assignments also can be found in this Dallas Morning News story.
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Senate Committee on Higher Education
The new stand-alone Senate Higher Education Committee held its first meeting this past Wednesday, and members used that opportunity to organize and adopt committee rules. Additionally, Sen. Judith Zaffirini, who serves as chairwoman, outlined the committee’s priorities for this session: community college benefits and proportionality; tuition deregulation; financial aid and affordability in higher education; transitions from two-year to four-year colleges; and the creation of an additional national research university.
Because each of these topics is significant in its own right, Sen. Zaffirini said it makes sense to take legislation from the committee straight to the Senate floor. She also noted that higher education already accounts for a record-setting 10 percent of all bills already filed for this session. Bills should be referred to the committee and be heard next week.
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