Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives today unveiled their policy agenda if they regain control of the chamber in the November elections. Under the plan, they pledge to establish a hard cap on discretionary spending and to cut government spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels. If the Republicans win back the House and the policies are enacted, that could mean significant cuts in spending on education and research.

The U.S. Department of Education will announce on Friday a new "timetable" for the release of rules aimed at the for-profit higher-education industry, a spokesman said today. The announcement came in response to rumors that the department would postpone the release of its controversial "gainful employment" rule, which would penalize programs whose students have the highest debt burdens and lowest loan-repayment rates. The department was scheduled to release that rule, and several others, on November 1. News of the possible delay has caused a bump in the stocks of for-profit companies.

Education Sector, a higher-education think tank, has released an analysis of the effect of the Education Department's proposal to cut off federal student aid to programs whose students have high debt burdens and low loan-repayment rates. Its findings are similar to the department's own analysis of the plan, known as the gainful-employment rule, though it projects that slightly fewer programs would become ineligible for aid, and many more would be required to warn students that they may have difficulty repaying their loans. The Career College Association has issued a statement questioning the report's methodology, and the authors have acknowledged its limits.

Federal legislation that would restore bankruptcy protections to private student loans cleared a first hurdle today, passing 6 to 3 in a vote by a panel of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. The bill, which has been offered in several previous congressional sessions, still faces long odds, however. Many Republicans oppose the measure, warning that it would drive up interest rates and further shrink the market for private loans, and the congressional legislative session is winding down. Only four weeks remain before the House's target date to adjourn.

An audit by the inspector general of the U.S. Education Department has found gaps and errors in Baker College's attendance records for distance-education students that could have allowed Baker, a nine-campus system in Michigan, to keep more federal student aid than it was entitled to. The audit recommends that the college, a nonprofit institution that serves more than 35,000 students, be required to develop policies for its automated attendance system and return at least $9,760 in federal student aid to the department. In its response, the college disagreed with all of the audit's findings.

The Education Department will release on Friday the data it used to model the impact of its proposed "gainful employment rule." The release will include data from the department's Ipeds database as well as data about graduates' earnings from Missouri's longitudinal data system. The department will also provide an analysis of four-year loan-repayment rates, by institution, calculated using its National Student Loan Data System. The department has estimated that 5 percent of programs would become ineligible for student aid under the proposed rule, which would penalize institutions whose students carry high debt burdens and have low loan-repayment rates.

Responding to reports that some for-profit colleges are aggressively recruiting veterans and members of the military, a pair of Democratic U.S. senators are asking the secretaries of defense and veterans affairs for more information on the institutions' receipt of tuition assistance. The letter, which was sent on Wednesday by Sens. Jim Webb, of Virginia, and Richard J. Durbin, of Illinois, asks for the amount of veteran and military tuition assistance that has gone to for-profits over the last 10 years, along with information on the criteria used in awarding the aid. Mr. Webb was the sponsor of the Post 9/11 GI Bill, which dramatically expanded tuition assistance for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the last academic year, seven of the top 10 recipients of the aid were for-profit colleges.

The federal government has blocked California's attempt to sell its student-loan guarantor, EdFund, and will no longer allow the agency to service federal loans, according to letters obtained by the Sacramento Bee. The cash-strapped state had been trying to sell EdFund for $1-billion to help plug its budget deficit, and had been counting on the profits to finance $100-million in student aid under its Cal Grant program this year. But the U.S. Education Department concluded that the authority to service loans is not an asset that can be sold. The department is expected to transfer the loans to another servicer, according to the Sacramento Business Journal. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office told a local CBS affiliate that students would continue to receive Cal Grants.

The U.S. House of Representatives gave final approval on Tuesday to a war-spending bill that does not contain additional money for Pell Grants. The House was forced to strip $4.95-billion for Pell Grants from the legislation after Republican senators voiced concerns about the growing budget deficit. The money, which would have met growing demand for the grants while preserving the maximum award of $5,550, is now likely to be provided through the annual appropriations bills, reducing the funds available for other student-aid programs.

The Education Department has posted its proposed "gainful employment" rule. The draft rule, released last night, would cut off aid to programs at for-profit colleges whose students have the highest debt burdens and lowest loan-repayment rates.