The changes that send the fixes bill back to the House have to do with the future funding of Pell grants. As one Senate staffer put it to me this morning (or is it still last night if you’re of the Senate?): “Democrats tried to keep their spending number down and take credit for increased future Pell grants. But it was a gimmick — like so much else in the bill.”
Republicans in the Senate couldn’t stop a reconciliation bill with 41 votes yesterday, of course. But they searched for every possible way to try. The real takeaway from last night is that the Senate got to vote on more Republican ideas yesterday “than during the entire debate in December.” Republicans consider that as much of an accomplishment as they could have achieved last night.