On a Party-Line Vote, House Panel Approves HEA Reauthorization

Washington

Teachers and principals could get cash rewards based on performance, and colleges geared to minority students could apply for federal grants to create centers of excellence to train teachers, under a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act approved by a House committee late last week.

The bill would also close a loophole that costs the federal government billions of dollars in subsidies to student-aid lenders and increase the maximum authorization for Pell Grants.

The bill passed the House Education and the Workforce Committee on a 27-20 party-line vote on July 22. The panel had spent more than two days considering various provisions, including a bitter debate over...