House Launches New Attack on College Access and Affordability

“The House Budget Committee’s fiscal year 2019 Budget Resolution, expected to pass out of committee this evening, calls for astonishing cuts to student financial aid as part of a package that exceeds $200 billion over the next decade. The simultaneous cuts to student loans and Pell Grants would be a devastating one-two punch to students already struggling to afford college.

“The House budget slashes funding for education and related programs by $251 billion, including $20 billion in cuts through the fast-track reconciliation process that cannot be filibustered. The Budget Committee made clear that it would eliminate all of the nearly $80 billion in mandatory funding for Pell Grants, imposing crippling cuts on the foundation of federal support for higher education and forcing further cuts in future annual spending decisions. And while the committee has not named the specific rollbacks they envision for student loans, the cuts are of the same magnitude as those proposed in previous budgets that would have forced millions of students to borrow more at the same time as increasing the cost of loans and making it harder to repay.

“The House Budget Committee’s plan comes on the heels of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s continuing efforts to overhaul the Higher Education Act in ways that would lead to more debt and higher risk for students and taxpayers. Together, these pieces of legislation are a clear statement of the House’s dangerous priorities and would take the country in the exact wrong direction.”