Earlier this week, Congress passed the next COVID relief bill and omnibus spending package. The key provisions related to higher education include:

• Simplification of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that will reduce the number of questions on the form from 108 to 36;
• Expansion of the Pell Grant eligibility that will enable an additional 555,000 students to qualify for Pell Grants, including incarcerated prisoners and students convicted of a drug offense, who were previously ineligible, as well as allowing more students to receive the maximum award each year;
• $20 billion from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund to be distributed to all public and private non-profit institutions of higher education for emergency student financial aid and institutional emergency relief; and
• An additional $1 billion in spending on medical research.

Click here for a full section-by-section summary from the House Appropriations Committee.