In reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the CARES Act on March 27, 2020, which allocated $17 billion to higher education. Since then, Congress has been pressed by students, states, institutions, and higher education advocates to send additional funds to offset the detrimental effects of the pandemic on state and institutional budgets. But while lawmakers have included additional higher education funding in subsequent legislative proposals, no new legislation has been enacted.

The table below organizes the major proposals from Congress by comparing each piece of legislation. As Congress continues to deliberate how to aid states and higher education institutions, it is critical that the next package meet the severity of the moment.

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act Coronavirus Child Care and Education Relief Act (CCCERA) Delivering Immediate Relief to America’s Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act
Status Enacted. Passed the House. Proposed by Senate Democrats. Lacked the 60 votes to advance.
Total Funds $17,000,000,000 $37,000,000,000 $132,000,000,000 $34,000,000,000
State Funding Governor’s relief fund: $3 billion; can be used for higher education or K–12. State stabilization fund: $27 billion for higher education. Governor’s relief fund: $33 billion; can be used for higher education or K–12. Governor’s relief fund: $5 billion; can be used for higher education or K–12.
Institutional Funding Higher education emergency relief fund: $14 billion sent directly to institutions, half of which must be used on emergency grants for students. Higher education relief fund: $10 billion sent to institutions, including $7 billion for private, nonprofit institutions and $1.4 billion for public or private nonprofit institutions. Education stabilization fund: 90 percent of the funds ($119 billion) sent directly to institutions. Half of this amount would be only for use on emergency grants for students. Higher education relief fund: $29 billion sent to institutions; institutions are not required to send any financial aid grants to students, but they can. $1.4 billion reserved for institutions with the most unmet need, based on the U.S. secretary of education’s discretion.
Use of Funds Funds sent to each institution of higher education to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19, and for emergency grants to students. Funds sent to institutions for education and general expenditures, for grants to students for expenses directly related to COVID-19 and the disruption of campus operations, and for technology and services related to distance education and the training of faculty and staff to use technology and services. Funds sent to institutions to help colleges and universities, broadly for quality education, to implement public health protocols, and provide emergency financial aid to students. Funds sent to defray expenses associated with COVID-19 and for financial aid grants to students (including students exclusively enrolled in distance education).
Qualifying Institutions Publics, nonprofits, and for-profits; formula excludes students who were enrolled in exclusively online programs. State stabilization fund sends funding to public schools; higher education relief fund sends dollars to private nonprofits and vocational institutions. Publics and nonprofits receive 90 percent of the funding; 1 percent is set aside for for-profit colleges, vocational institutions, and schools outside of the United States for emergency financial aid grants; another 1.5 percent is distributed to for-profit colleges for emergency grants to “prevent, prepare for, and respond to the qualifying emergency.” Main portion of the $29 billion fund is available to nonprofits and publics; $1.5 billion is set aside for secretarial discretion, and is broadly available in possible use; governors have wide discretion in how to allocate their funds.
Maintenance of Effort States must not cut their FY 2020 or FY 2021 investments in higher education institutions or need-based financial aid below the state’s average of the prior three fiscal years. The U.S. secretary of education has waiver authority to “relieve fiscal burden on States.” State funding must be at least the average of the preceding three fiscal years of spending, and states must return their per FTE funding in FY 2022 to what it was in FY 2019. States must maintain funding at levels at least as high as they were in FY 2019 or FY 2020 (whichever is greater) in FY 2021 and FY 2022. State spending in FY 2020 must be maintained at the same level as, or higher than, it was in FY 2019. N/A
HBCUs, MSIs (Minority-Serving Institutions), and Other Institutions $1.05 billion for MSIs & HBCUs; U.S. Department of Education will make payments and pay interest for HBCU Capital Finance loans. $1.7 billion to MSIs as part of the institution line item; changes capital financing in CARES Act total, from $62 million to “such sums as may be necessary;” sends $20 million to Howard University. Changes capital financing in CARES act total from $62 million to “such sums as may be necessary.” $2.9 billion of the $29 billion in institutional aid fund would go to HBCUs and MSIs, in addition to funds available in the larger HEERF pool.
Distribution Formula Institutional formula: 75 percent to go to institutions based on relative share of FTE enrollment of Pell students;
25 percent to institutions based on relative share of FTE enrollment of non-Pell students. Excludes online enrollment.		 State stabilization fund: Sent to states based on a formula of 61 percent for the relative population of people ages 5–24 in the state, and 39 percent based on the relative population of children counted under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. States send funds to institutions based on the following: 75 percent apportioned to the state’s relative to share of Pell grant holders not enrolled in distance education prior to COVID-19; 25 percent to relative share of total enrollment of students.

Higher education relief fund: For nonprofits, 75 percent Pell, 25 percent non-Pell (all excluding exclusively online students; specific formulas for MSIs).

 Institutional formula: Same as HEROES institution formula. Institutional formula: 90 percent according to the relative share of FTE enrollment of Pell Grant recipients who were not exclusively enrolled in distance education prior to the pandemic; 10 percent according to the relative share of FTE enrollment of students who were not Pell Grant recipients and who were not exclusively enrolled in distance education courses prior to the pandemic.
Student Eligibility Has been interpreted to exclude students not able to participate in Title IV, including undocumented students. Prohibits the U.S. Department of Education from limiting which students are able to receive grants; undocumented students qualify. Prohibits the U.S. Department of Education from limiting which students are able to receive grants; undocumented students qualify. N/A
Student Loan Repayment Relief Suspended interest for six months (until September 30) and halted payments during this period for federally held student loans; non-payments during this time period still count toward forgiveness. Payment pause until September 2021 with no interest accrual; forbearance (retroactive forbearance for loans not previously covered under CARES) extended through September 2021; non-payments during this time period count toward forgiveness. N/A N/A
Immediate Student Loan Cancellation N/A Provides up to $10,000 in forgiveness for “economically distressed borrowers.” N/A N/A
Private Student Loans N/A Provides up to $10,000 in forgiveness and stops capitalization of interest until September 2021 for “economically distressed borrowers.” N/A N/A
Career and Technical Education (CTE), Community College, and Adult Education Funding N/A $1 billion for CTE;
$2 billion for community college and industry partnerships; $2 billion for community college and industry partnerships.		 $1 billion for CTE; $1 billion for adult education and training; $2 billion for competitive grants to community colleges. N/A

 

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