S.Amdt. 626

Mr. Merkley submitted SA 626, which is an amendment meant to hold schools accountable if they want to receive federal student aid funding. Common sense tells us that fairness matters, and this amendment targets unfair college admissions.

The Main Purpose

The purpose of this amendment is to create a point of order against legislation that provides federal student aid funding to higher education institutions. Specifically, it stops funding for schools that give preferential treatment in admissions to applicants based on their relationships to donors or alumni (legacy admissions).

How it Works in the Senate

Under this amendment, it will not be in order in the Senate to consider any bill, joint resolution, motion, amendment, amendment between the Houses, or conference report that gives federal student aid to schools using these legacy or donor admission practices.

To bypass this rule, the amendment states that it may only be waived or suspended in the Senate by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. It also takes that same three-fifths vote to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under this rule.