Senate committees are now releasing their portions of the reconciliation bill as the upper chamber works through their version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. As in the House, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was the first to release their text, and it included several changes from the House version.
The impact of advocacy explaining the impact the House bill would have on students and campuses was evident as several of the provisions were adjusted, replaced, or removed from the bill. Most important among these for community college campuses was the elimination of the Pell eligibility changes related to enrollment intensity. Additionally, the risk-sharing provisions were replaced with an earnings-based accountability metric.
In the coming days, other Senate committees will release their draft text with the goal of passing a complete legislative package by the July 4th recess. Once the Senate accomplishes this, then the two chambers will have to resolve the differences between their two proposals. Below is a table that compares the higher education elements of two packages as of the date listed below. Additional topics related to higher education are added as other committees that touch on topics relevant to higher education release their bills.
Last Updated: June 12, 2025
Comparison of House and Senate Reconciliation Proposals
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For full fact sheets of both the House and Senate education committee proposals, please visit https://acct.org/advocacy/fact-sheets.
ACCT thanks its members for the continued advocacy on all issues impacting community college campuses. As this process moves forward, please continue messages to your Congressional delegations that the Senate provisions best allow community colleges to continue their missions to support students and their regions.
Carrie Warick-Smith is the Vice President of Public Policy at ACCT
José Miranda is the Director of Government Relations at ACCT
Genesis Santiago is the Senior Government Relations Associate at ACCT
Photo Credit: Getty Images
