Office of Personnel Management Pathways Programs: Request for Comments (10/4/11)
CGS commented on the new Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Pathways Programs. The comments highlight the inclusion of graduate students and recent graduates in the Pathways programs.

Letter to House Appropriations Committee Leadership (9/30/11)
Draft legislation released by the House Appropriations Committee's Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee leadership would eliminate funding for the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship program at the Department of Education in FY 12. CGS sent a letter highlighting the importance of the program and urging that funding be maintained.

Letter to Joint Select Committee (9/29/11)
CGS sent a letter to the Joint Select Committee (or Super Committee) urging them to maintain support for graduate education programs as they work to draft a deficit reduction package for Congressional consideration by November 23.

Statement on S.365, the Budget Control Act of 2011 (8/3/11)
CGS issued a statement in response to the passage of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (S. 365). The statement highlights the added burden needy graduate and professional students will now face due to the elimination of the in-school interest subsidy on federal Stafford loans. CGS urges Congress and the Administration to recognize and support graduate education as a strategic national asset.

Statement on the proposed elimination of the in-school interest subsidy for graduate and professional students (7/28/11)
CGS and a number of other higher education stakeholders sent a statement to Congressional members highlighting the importance of retaining the in-school interest subsidy on federal Stafford loans for graduate and professional students. The subsidy's elimination is included in the debt ceiling increase measures proposed by both House Speaker Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Reid. The statement urges Congress to retain the subsidy.

Letter to Deficit Reduction Group Members (6/22/11)
CGS continues to work with a coalition of organizations to urge retention of the in-school interest subsidy on federal Stafford loans for needy graduate and professional students. The coalition sent a letter to the six Congressional Members of the deficit reduction group led by Vice President Biden.

Letter to Senate HELP Committee and House Education and The Workforce Committee Leadership (6/13/11)
A coalition of organizations, of which CGS is a member, sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and the leaders of the House Education and The Workforce Committee urging them to retain the in-school interest subsidy on Federal Stafford loans for graduate and professional students as they negotiate FY 2012 funding legislation.

Letter to Senate and House Leadership (4/14/11)
A coalition of organizations, of which CGS is a member, sent a letter to House and Senate leaders urging them to retain the in-school interest subsidy on Federal Stafford loans for graduate and professional students as they negotiate FY 2011 and FY 2012 funding legislation.

Letter to Senate and House Leaders re. Fiscal Year 2011 Appropriations (2/24/11)
CGS sent a letter to House and Senate leaders urging them to consider the important federal role in supporting graduate education as they work to complete final Fiscal Year 2011 appropriations legislation.

Statement on the Reauthorization of H.R. 5116, the “America COMPETES Act” (1/12/11)
CGS issued a statement applauding Congress and the President for their work in reauthorizing the America COMPETES Act. The bill, which contains several provisions that recognize the role that graduate education plays in our nation's ability to maintain a highly-skilled workforce, was signed into law on January 4, 2011.

Selected letters and statements from the 111th Congress

Letter to House Leadership re. America COMPETES Act Reauthorization (12/20/10)
CGS sent a letter to House leadership urging support for passage of the America COMPETES bill this week. The Senate passed an amended version of the bill last week.

Letter from the Higher Education Community re. Gainful Employment (9/9/10)
Letter from the higher education community responding to Dept. of Education's 7-26-10 set of proposed rules on "gainful employment" provisions.

Joint CGS-ETS Statement on Administration Goal re. College Completion (8/11/10)
CGS issued a joint statement with ETS applauding President Obama's call for the U.S. to have the highest proportion of college graduates by 2020, noting that pursuing this goal would greatly increase the number of Americans on a potential pathway to graduate school.

Letter from the Higher Education Community re. Program Integrity (8/2/10)
Letter from the higher education community responding to Dept. of Education's proposed rules on "program integrity" issues.

Office of Science and Technology Policy Grand Challenges of the 21st Century: Request for Information (4/13/10)
Response to the Office of Science and Technology Policy's Request for Information on responding to "grand challenges" of the 21st century.

Letter from the Higher Education Community re. Budget Reconciliation Bill (3/19/10)
Letter from the higher education community expressing support for the higher education provisions in the budget reconciliation bill under House consideration.

Letter from the Higher Education Community re. Income-Based Repayment (2/24/10)
Letter from the higher education community expressing support for the Administration's proposal to expand the Income-Based Repayment option for student loans.

CGS Statement on the President’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposal (2/4/10)
Statement on the President's Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposal.

Letter to House Education & Labor Committee Leadership re. Stafford Loan Subsidy (7/16/09)
Letter to leadership of House Education & Labor Committee, expressing concern about a legislative proposal to eliminate subsidized federal loans for graduate students.

Letter to Members of Congress re. National Academies Study (6/25/09)
Letter to four Members of Congress thanking them for requesting the National Academies undertake a study of research universities.

Letter to Senate Energy & Water Appropriators re. Re-ENERGYSE program (6/24/09)
Letter to Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee leaders urging them to provide Fiscal Year 2010 funding for the Deparment of Energy's proposed Re-ENERGYSE program. A similar letter was sent to the House.

Letter from Higher Education Community re. MSIs (6/19/09)
CGS signed onto a letter from the higher education community requesting continued funding for federal programs that support Minority-Serving Institutions. Letters were sent to Senate and House education and appropriations committee leadership.

Statement from Higher Education Community re. Visa concerns (6/10/09)
CGS was a signatory of a statement from the higher education, scientific, and medical communities on "Visa Problems Harming America’s Scientific, Economic, and Security Interests."

Letter to Senate and House Appropriators re. McNair Program funding (5/29/09)
Letter to Senate and House Appropriations LHHS Subcommittees urging them to increase Fiscal Year 2010 funding for the McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program.

Letter to Appropriators re. FY 10 GAANN and Javits funding (5/19/09)
Letter to Senate and House Appropriations leaders urging them to increase Fiscal Year 2010 funding for the GAANN and Javits Fellowships programs.

Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research Requirement: Request for Comment (3/31/09)
Comments submitted to the National Science Foundation on its new Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research requirement for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows supported by NSF grants.

Letter from stakeholders re. Roosevelt Scholars Act (2/18/09)
CGS signed onto a letter supporting the reintroduction of the Roosevelt Scholars Act, which would create scholarships for graduate students who commit to working for the federal government.

Letter to House and Senate conferees re. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2/11/09)
Letter to House and Senate conferees on the economic recovery legislation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.