Dear Colleagues,

Please find a federal government update from our teams. 

Federal Shutdown Ends
The federal government has reopened. How quickly federal agencies resume operations and clear backlogs following the 43-day shutdown is unknown. The President signed H.R. 5371 [3] into law on Nov. 12, following House passage that evening and Senate passage on Nov. 10.

The legislation funds most federal agencies at current levels through Jan. 30, 2026. It also reverses layoffs implemented during the shutdown and prohibits reductions in force while effective. It extends several authorizations until Jan. 30 for programs that expired on Sept. 30, including Medicare telehealth flexibilities and E-Verify immigration programs. The bill does not extend Affordable Care Act premium health insurance subsidies, which expire Dec. 31.  

The package also includes full year appropriations for three of twelve funding bills, or about 10 percent of the annual federal budget, reports [4] Politico. As a result, the Department of Agriculture, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), military construction programs and the legislative branch are funded through Sept. 30, 2026. Here are some funding highlights: 

• Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies: Provides topline funding of $26.65 billion, or roughly flat funding from last year, including $3.8 billion for agricultural research programs, $7 billion for the FDA, $107 billion for SNAP, $850 million for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, $4.1 billion for rural development programs and more.
• Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: Provides topline funding of $153.3 billion, a $6.2 billion increase from last year, including $19.7 billion for the Department of Defense military construction program and $133.2 billion for the VA, of which $115.1 billion will support veterans' medical care.  
• Legislative Branch: Provides topline funding of $7 billion, a $350 million increase from last year, to support the Library of Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Government Accountability Office, Capitol Police, the U.S. House and Senate and other legislative operations.

Additional funding details from the Senate Appropriations Committee are available here [5].

The Senate may soon move to consider a second minibus of up to five bills that includes the Defense; Labor, Health and Human Services; Education; Commerce, Justice, Science; Transportation; and Housing and Urban Development bills, reports [4] Politico. These bills fund numerous priority programs for CU, including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of Defense research programs and the U.S. Department of Education. 

CU Leadership and the Office of Government Relations will monitor government actions as agencies resume operations and communicate our funding priorities as appropriations legislation is considered. 

Education Department Updates Proposal on Enhanced Data Collection 
The U.S. Department of Education announced [6] on Nov. 13 updates to proposed changes to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Only four-year institutions will be required to report “applications and admissions data disaggregated by race and sex” under the revised plan, reports [7] Higher ED Dive. 

The proposal, first announced [8] in August, creates a new Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) survey as directed by an Aug. 7 presidential memorandum entitled, Ensuring Transparency in Higher Education Admissions [8]. The Department originally sought public input on which institutions should be subject to the new reporting requirements. There were nearly 3,500 public comments submitted, including from ACE [9], APLU [10] and AAU [11]. “Based upon our initial thinking and public comment, we propose [to] limit eligibility of ACTS to the four-year sector,” explains [6] the Department in the Federal Register. 

The Department is accepting public comments on the revised plan until Dec. 15. 

RISE Committee Reaches Consensus on Student Loans  
The U.S. Department of Education announced [12] on Nov. 6 the Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee [13] reached consensus on how to implement federal student loan changes required by H.R. 1 [14], the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. These include eliminating Grad PLUS loans, capping Parent PLUS loans, creating a new Repayment Assistance Plan, and restricting lifetime borrowing to $100,000 for graduate students and $200,000 for professional students. 

Negotiators agreed to 17 regulatory provisions, including changes to the definition of a professional student. Only “11 primary programs and a handful of other doctorate degrees” will be defined as professional programs eligible for the higher borrowing level, reports [15] Inside Higher Ed. Eligible programs for professional degree borrowing levels include degrees in Medicine (MD and DO), Pharmacy (PharmD), Dentistry (DDS or DMD), Optometry (OD), Law (LLB or JD), Veterinary medicine (DVM), Podiatry (DPM, DP or PodD), Chiropractic (DC or DCM), Theology (MDiv or MHL) and Clinical psychology (PsyD or PhD). 

The American Council on Education led comments [16] to the Department in advance of the negotiated rulemaking. The Department will publish regulatory language in the Federal Register for public comment by early next year. Final rules will be published thereafter and take effect in July 2026.  

DOE Renews Quantum Research Centers   
The U.S. Department of Energy announced [17] on Nov. 4 that it will renew all five National Quantum Information Science (QIS) Research Centers funding, totaling $625 million over five years. CU Boulder participates in the Quantum Systems Accelerator [18] (QSA), led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories.  

The QSA will use $125 million over five years to “accelerate progress toward practical quantum computers, ultra-precise sensors and powerful new tools for science,” according to a release [19]. Researchers from JILA, CU Boulder's joint institute with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, are contributing expertise in quantum sensing, quantum transduction and quantum computer simulation. 

The Federal Relations and General Counsel teams are actively monitoring developments at the federal level. We are working closely with the President and Chancellors, as well as the Colorado congressional delegation, to champion CU priorities. We are committed to keeping you informed. Please visit the CU System Federal Updates and Actions page [20] for up-to-date communications and federal memos.     

Danielle Radovich Piper, Sr. VP External Relations and Strategy
Kerry Tipper, Vice President, University Counsel