US House committee subpoenas Harvard over tuition costs
The US House Judiciary Committee sent a subpoena to Harvard University on Thursday (Jun 26) seeking documents and communications for its probe into tuition costs and financial aid for Ivy League students.
A letter to Harvard President Alan Garber, signed by committee chairman Jim Jordan and US Representative Scott Fitzgerald, both Republicans, described Harvard's response to previous requests for documents as inadequate and said the committee needs the documents "to fulfil its oversight and legislative responsibilities".
A spokesperson for Harvard said in a statement: "We are disappointed that the Committee has chosen to issue a subpoena and believe it is unwarranted, unfair and unnecessary."
It added: "There is no basis for an allegation of collusion in Harvard's setting of tuition and financial aid."
The investigation into tuition is part of a larger fight between Harvard and the White House and Congress, including over cuts to federal funding and efforts to block foreign students from attending the university.
President Donald Trump has said he is trying to force change at Harvard - and other top-level universities across the US - because in his view they have been captured by leftist "woke" thought and become bastions of antisemitism.
The subpoena comes as part of an investigation by the Republican-controlled US House Judiciary Committee into whether Harvard and other Ivy League schools broke antitrust laws by raising tuition costs.
"We are concerned that Ivy League member institutions appear to be collectively raising tuition prices while engaging in perfect price discrimination by offering selective financial aid packages to maximise profits," the letter to Harvard's Garber said.
US Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee, called the investigation "plainly ridiculous" and "based on pathetically weak allegations".
The Harvard spokesperson said the school has produced thousands of pages of documents on its tuition-setting process and financial aid.
While the Judiciary Committee said it had received hundreds of requested documents, it added that some of them contained publicly available facts and lacked specific information that was desired.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
US reshoring spurs opportunities for Singapore in semiconductor, med-tech, other high tech sectors: RHB
[SINGAPORE] US reshoring efforts present strategic opportunities for Singapore to deepen its role as a high-value manufacturing hub and a crucial partner in global supply chain diversification, a RHB Research report released on Wednesday (Jun 25) indicated. US President Donald Trump has made US reshoring, or a shifting of manufacturing back to the country, one of his priorities. Earlier this year, as he slapped tariffs on the country's trading partners, he declared that tariffs will accelerate reshoring. These efforts are set to reshape global supply chains, and present a mixed landscape of challenges and opportunities for highly open, trade-reliant economies like Singapore, said RHB. 'As a key player in international manufacturing and a hub for high-tech production, Singapore faces mounting pressures from shifting investment flows, evolving trade patterns, and rising geopolitical uncertainty,' the bank said. 'The potential redirection of global capital and production back to the US challenges this positioning, especially in sectors where Singapore has built strong capabilities, such as electronics and precision engineering, it added. Singapore's manufacturing is focused on high-tech sectors such as semiconductors, precision engineering, med-tech, as well as pharmaceuticals and chemicals. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up The city-state is a key player in global semiconductor supply chains, accounting for about 10 per cent of worldwide chip production and 20 per cent of semiconductor manufacturing equipment output. Manufacturing accounts for approximately 20.6 per cent of Singapore's gross domestic product as of 2024, RHB noted. Nevertheless, US reshoring will still spur promising opportunities for Singapore to 'thrive' amid these global economic uncertainties, RHB said. 'On the other hand, we believe that the US' reshoring efforts could also present strategic opportunities for Singapore, both as a high-value manufacturing hub and as a key partner in global supply chain diversification over the long term,' it said. 'We see immense potential for progress in high-value segments, such as semiconductor manufacturing, advanced electronics (including artificial intelligence), medical and pharmaceutical-related technologies, and renewable energy technologies, RHB added. Singapore could benefit, the bank explained. While the 'China Plus One' strategy encourages companies to diversify manufacturing bases beyond China, Singapore is increasingly favoured for its political stability, strong governance, robust intellectual property protection. Growth in high-value, knowledge-intensive manufacturing: as firms move routine, labour-intensive activities back to the US or to lower-cost regional alternatives, Singapore is well-positioned to capture the more sophisticated, technology-driven segments of the value chain. Recent investment trends highlighted Singapore's growing role in knowledge-intensive manufacturing. In 2024, manufacturing fixed asset investments reached S$11.1 billion, largely focused on semiconductors and biomedical sectors. 'While routine and lower-cost production may return to the US, American firms are likely to continue relying on Singapore for advanced, niche processes that require precision engineering, automation, and regulatory compliance,' said RHB. Singapore's strategic focus on regional integration and digital trade: It's anchoring itself within a more interconnected and diversified Asean, and leveraging initiatives such as the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone and the Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement. Singapore complements lower-cost Asean manufacturing hubs by offering centralised research and development, testing, logistics management and regional headquarters functions, report indicated. This allows Singapore to serve regional production networks and reshoring-driven firms.
AsiaOne
4 hours ago
- AsiaOne
US says deal with Beijing will expedite rare earth exports from China, World News
WASHINGTON — The United States has reached an agreement with China on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the US, a White House official said on Thursday (June 26), amid efforts to end a trade war between the world's biggest economies. President Donald Trump earlier said the United States had signed a deal with China on Wednesday, without providing additional details, and that there might be a separate deal coming up that would "open up" India. During US-China trade talks in May in Geneva, Beijing committed to removing non-tariff countermeasures imposed against the United States since April 2, although it was unclear how some of those measures would be walked back. As part of its retaliation against new US tariffs, China suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets, upending the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. "The administration and China agreed to an additional understanding for a framework to implement the Geneva agreement," a White House official said on Thursday. The understanding is "about how we can implement expediting rare earths shipments to the US again," the official said. A separate administration official said the US-China agreement took place earlier this week. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was quoted as saying by Bloomberg: "They're going to deliver rare earths to us" and once they do that "we'll take down our countermeasures." China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. While the agreement shows potential progress following months of trade uncertainty and disruption since Trump took office in January, it also underscores the long road ahead to a final, definitive trade deal between the two economic rivals. China has been taking its dual-use restrictions on rare earths "very seriously" and has been vetting buyers to ensure that materials are not diverted to US military uses, according to an industry source. This has slowed down the licensing process. The Geneva deal had faltered over China's curbs on critical minerals exports, prompting the Trump administration to respond with export controls of its own preventing shipments of semiconductor design software, aircraft and other goods to China. In early June, Reuters reported China had granted temporary export licenses to rare-earth suppliers of the top three US automakers, according to two sources familiar with the matter, as supply chain disruptions began to surface from export curbs on those materials. Later in the month, Trump said there was a deal with China in which Beijing would supply magnets and rare earth minerals while the US would allow Chinese students in its colleges and universities. [[nid:690565]]
AsiaOne
4 hours ago
- AsiaOne
US House committee subpoenas Harvard over tuition costs, World News
The US House Judiciary Committee sent a subpoena to Harvard University on Thursday (June 26) seeking documents and communications for its probe into tuition costs and financial aid for Ivy League students. A letter to Harvard President Alan Garber, signed by committee chairman Jim Jordan and US Representative Scott Fitzgerald, both Republicans, described Harvard's response to previous requests for documents as inadequate and said the committee needs the documents "to fulfil its oversight and legislative responsibilities". A spokesperson for Harvard said in a statement: "We are disappointed that the Committee has chosen to issue a subpoena and believe it is unwarranted, unfair and unnecessary." It added: "There is no basis for an allegation of collusion in Harvard's setting of tuition and financial aid." The investigation into tuition is part of a larger fight between Harvard and the White House and Congress, including over cuts to federal funding and efforts to block foreign students from attending the university. President Donald Trump has said he is trying to force change at Harvard — and other top-level universities across the US — because in his view they have been captured by leftist "woke" thought and become bastions of antisemitism. The subpoena comes as part of an investigation by the Republican-controlled US House Judiciary Committee into whether Harvard and other Ivy League schools broke antitrust laws by raising tuition costs. "We are concerned that Ivy League member institutions appear to be collectively raising tuition prices while engaging in perfect price discrimination by offering selective financial aid packages to maximise profits," the letter to Harvard's Garber said. US Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee, called the investigation "plainly ridiculous" and "based on pathetically weak allegations". The Harvard spokesperson said the school has produced thousands of pages of documents on its tuition-setting process and financial aid. While the Judiciary Committee said it had received hundreds of requested documents, it added that some of them contained publicly available facts and lacked specific information that was desired. [[nid:719405]]
