NACUBO On Your Side: October 31–November 6, 2023
11/06/2023
As things move quickly in Washington, DC, NACUBO is your constant advocate in action. NACUBO On Your Side covers important legislative and agency activity NACUBO staff are tracking, what we’re currently advocating for, and how you can take action with us.
Here are the issues we are tracking and advocating for this week.
Agency Action
Reminder: Tuition Assistance Plans Can Help Pay Employees’ Student Loans
The IRS is reminding employers that Section 127 tuition assistance plans can be used to pay principal and interest on loans for an employee’s qualified education, as well as for tuition, books, and fees. Section 127 was expanded during the pandemic as part of the CARES Act to apply to loan payments made beginning March 27, 2020, through December 31, 2025. Payments made directly to the lender or to the employee qualify. Colleges and universities typically utilize 127 plans to provide graduate level education to employees, since undergraduate benefits are available under Section 117.
Administration Action
White House Issues Sweeping Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence
Last week, President Joe Biden shared an executive order to advance a coordinated federal government-wide approach to “governing the development and use of AI safely and responsibly.” Among numerous mandates, the order requires the secretary of state to consider expanding the categories of nonimmigrants who qualify for F-1 and J-1 visas and calls on the Department of Labor to consider ways to mitigate AI’s potential harms to employees while maximizing its benefits.
Association Updates
Tutorial Clarifies Perkins Closeout Entries and the FISAP
The expiration of the Perkins Loan Program impacts financial accounting and reporting at all participating institutions. The FISAP can be confusing because the Federal Capital Contribution must reflect paid-in-capital, but the general ledger should reflect loan activities over time. A new NACUBO accounting tutorial, Perkins Loan Program Closeout, explains how the FISAP relates to the balance sheet and net assets (or net position).
Advocacy
179D Coalition Calls for Changes to IRA Labor Requirements
The Coalition for Energy Efficient Jobs & Investment, a broad group of organizations committed to enhancing the Section 179D deduction for energy efficient commercial construction, recently commented to the IRS on proposed prevailing wage and apprenticeship rules for the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA changed Section 179D to make most of the deduction’s value contingent on meeting these requirements. The letter raises significant concerns with the way these requirements will interact with the allocation provision, the mechanism through which public and nonprofit organizations allocate the benefit to a project designer and arrange to recoup value. The coalition, which includes NACUBO, requests these new labor requirements not apply to any project requiring an allocated deduction.
Take Action
Register for NACUBO’s Next Washington Update
NACUBO’s next quarterly Washington Update will take place on Thursday, November 30, from 2:30–3 pm ET. The webinar is free for NACUBO members, and you can send questions in advance to advocacy@nacubo.org.
Advocacy Tool Enables Outreach on Proposed Overtime Rules
A tool shared by the Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity, a coalition of employers in almost every sector of the national economy, makes it simple to contact legislators and regulators regarding the Department of Labor’s recent proposal to expand the Fair Labor Standards Act’s salary-level threshold for overtime pay. The tool contains model language and can connect you with your elected representatives prior to the November 7 comment deadline.
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