{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.burr.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.PressReleases&Type=Press Release&ContentRecord_id=6ccbb9f9-0b61-c546-141a-e7bffce57c70", "Senate Education Committee Members Announce Task Force to Review Higher Ed Regulations and Reporting Requirements", "2013-11-18", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "NC", "Richard Burr", "B001135", "www.burr.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.18.13\n\t\t\t Senate Education Committee Members Announce Task Force to Review Higher Ed Regulations and Reporting Requirements \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t Task force of higher ed officials and experts will identify ways to reduce and streamline confusing or costly regulations\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t \r\nSenate education committee Ranking\r\nMember Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and members Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.),\r\nRichard Burr (R-N.C.), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) today announced the\r\nformation of a task force to examine burdens on institutions of higher\r\neducation.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe Task Force on Government\r\nRegulation of Higher Education will conduct a comprehensive review of federal\r\nregulations and reporting requirements affecting colleges and universities and\r\nmake recommendations to reduce and streamline regulations, while protecting\r\nstudents, institutions and taxpayers.\r\n\r\n\r\nAlexander said: \"Let's face it: the federal government has become one of\r\nthe greatest obstacles to innovation in higher education. The stack of federal\r\nregulations on colleges and universities today is not the result of evil doers,\r\nit is simply the piling up of well-intentioned laws and regulations without\r\nanyone spending an equal amount of time weeding the garden first. This task\r\nforce will help Congress weed the garden.\"\r\n\r\n\r\nMikulski said: \"In order for America to out-build and out-innovate the\r\nrest of the world, we must first out-educate. And part of out-educating\r\nis making sure that we are supporting our institutions of higher education -\r\nhelping them be them as they work to educate our next generation. Over the\r\nyears, I have heard concerns from these institutions regarding federal\r\nrequirements that, while well-intentioned, often end up being duplicative and\r\nburdensome.I have committed to seeing what can be done. We need to\r\nregulate, not strangulate. As this Task Force works on a path forward, it will\r\nbe well-served through the leadership of the University System of Maryland's\r\nown Dr. William 'Brit' Kirwan, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge and\r\nexperience.\" \r\n\r\n\r\nBurr said: \"The tidal wave of regulations and reporting requirements\r\nfaced by colleges and universities today is stifling innovation and, worse,\r\nraising college tuition price tags as schools pass on these compliance costs to\r\nstudents. This task force will assemble experts and stakeholders to help\r\nstreamline regulations and reduce the unnecessary burdens on institutions of\r\nhigher education.\r\n\r\n\r\nBennet said: \"We must create an environment where our colleges and\r\nuniversities are focused on doing what they do best, and that's educating\r\nstudents to succeed in the 21st century economy. To do that, we must\r\nto take a step back and consider how the current requirements are helping or\r\naffecting that goal. This task force offers the opportunity to take a broad\r\nlook at federal regulations and requirements in order to inform our\r\nreauthorization of the Higher Education Act. What we need is a system that\r\nmakes sense for students and for colleges and universities.\"\r\n\r\n\r\nThe task force is co-chaired by\r\nNicholas Zeppos, chancellor of Vanderbilt University, and William Kirwan,\r\nchancellor of the University System of Maryland. It will comprise 14 college\r\nand university presidents and higher education experts. The American Council on\r\nEducation will provide organizational assistance.\r\n\r\n\r\nIn letters to request\r\nparticipation in the task force, the senators wrote: \"Our higher education\r\nsystem remains the best in the world and is often credited for its breadth of\r\nchoice and commitment to institutional autonomy. Over the past decade, however,\r\nCongress and the U.S. Department of Education have added more mandates,\r\nreporting requirements and regulations with which institutions must comply.\r\nThis Task Force creates an opportunity to conduct a comprehensive review of\r\nfederal regulations and reporting requirements affecting colleges and\r\nuniversities and make recommendations to Congress and the Administration to\r\nstreamline and reduce federal regulations, while at the same time maintaining\r\nstudent and taxpayer protections.\"\r\n\r\n\r\nSenator Alexander earlier this\r\nyear discussed the creation of the task force with Health, Education, Labor and\r\nPensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin as a means to provide the HELP Committee\r\nand Chairman Harkin with information and recommendations as part of the ongoing\r\nhearings and discussions about the 10th reauthorization of the Higher Education\r\nAct.\r\n\r\n\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.burr.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.PressReleases&Type=Press Release&ContentRecord_id=6ccbb9f9-0b61-c546-141a-e7bffce57c70"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8269739337265491, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}