Colleges: Financial Toll Of Coronavirus Is Worse Than Expected

Inside Higher Ed, Colleges: Financial Toll of Coronavirus Worse Than Anticipated:

The coronavirus pandemic has taken an even deeper financial toll on colleges and universities than expected, said associations representing two- and four-year institutions. In a letter to House of Representatives leaders, the groups nearly tripled the amount of help they say is needed from Congress in another aid package, to at least $120 billion.

The letter sent by the American Council on Education and 45 other higher education groups to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican House minority leader Kevin McCarthy comes as House Democrats are planning to vote, possibly this week, on another bid to try to dislodge the stalemate over additional aid.

Democrats are expected to propose a $2.3 trillion package, which would be $1 trillion less than the $3.3 trillion proposal they made for another aid bill in passing the HEROES Act in May. However, the White House has said it would not go along with another package above $1.5 trillion, and a deal is still considered unlikely. House Democrats, though, late on Monday unveiled a package that proposes only about $39 billion for postsecondary education.

In the letter, the groups say that far more is needed than the $27 billion contained in the HEROES Act or the $46.6 billion the groups had previously sought.