Looming Federal Actions Could Exacerbate Basic Needs Insecurity

Recent federal proposals for reconciliation and Trump Administration executive orders could decimate higher education spending and basic needs programs, making it harder for people to access and complete a college credential. These actions compound long-standing challenges in our higher education system for serving students who face greater barriers such as adult students, parenting students, and students with low incomes.  

These cuts would relegate millions of people to low-wage, low-mobility jobs, and imperil economic growth at a time when demand for workers with a postsecondary education is predicted to grow. Currently, almost 37 million people have attempted college but have not completed a credential or degree, and basic needs insecurity, which affects an estimated 60 percent of students, threatens their ability to complete.  

Each level of education achieved is correlated with higher wages and lower unemployment, as well as myriad social and health benefits. As education levels increase, participation in public programs declines, which is a longstanding goal for conservative policymakers.  

Federal Action Overview 

We reviewed the Trump Administration’s actions and Congressional proposals to date to assess their impact on basic needs programs and risks posed to postsecondary access and completion, including the: 

• Executive Order Expanding Educational Freedom & Opportunity for Families (EO) instructing federal agencies to submit plans to repurpose funds to “expand educational choice and support families who choose educational alternatives to governmental entities, including private and faith-based options.” Among other programs, the EO targets discretionary grants administered by the Department of Education and block grants administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, including but not limited to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG).  

• House and Senate reconciliation frameworks (RF) that direct committees to make massive mandatory spending cuts (up to $2 trillion dollars in the House). At the time of publication, Congressional committees have not released an official list of which programs they intend to cut via the budget reconciliation process, but a list of options from the House Ways and Means Committee offers insight into what is on the table to meet spending cut targets: cuts to benefits, stricter eligibility requirements and less state flexibility. 

• Office of Management and Budget (OMB) funding freeze memo instructing federal agencies to pause federal grants and loans that initially encompassed around $3 trillion in federal assistance programs. OMB later rescinded the memo, but the White House confirmed the freeze would continue to move forward. Legal action on the freeze of federal funds is making its way through the courts, and a judicial block on the funding freeze was recently extended, citing that the Trump Administration failed to follow federal law. Additional attempts to cut discretionary federal spending by DOGE and OMB are well underway.  

TICAS recently wrote about broader threats to higher education, including harm from cuts to data collection contracts. Together, these efforts will have a devastating effect on students and Americans with lower incomes who are not currently pursuing a college credential. Below we detail each of the program areas we anticipate could be affected by some or all the actions above. 

Food Assistance 

Nutrition programs are vital to stabilizing households and supporting people’s ability to work and enroll in classes. Cuts to these programs would affect food benefits, employment and training supports, resources for food pantries, and nutrition supports for pregnant and parenting women. 

• The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is vital for the 47.4  million people who reported being food insecure in 2023. Similarly, national estimates report that 23 percent of undergraduate students experience food insecurity, while independent research studies report around 45 percent.¹Different data collection methods likely result in some overlap with household food insecurity and student food insecurity. The reported food insecurity of all households includes those in which students are living at home while student food insecurity surveys capture the self-reported food insecurity among enrolled students, which may include those living in a food insecure household, in addition to independent students or students living on campus. (in RF, OMB) 

• The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Employment & Training Program (SNAP E&T) provides additional resources for eligible SNAP participants to improve their ability to participate in education and training activities, which some state community college systems and institutions have used to great effect. (RF, OMB) 

• The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) provides resources to community food banks, which serve an estimated 50 million people. Some campuses also benefit, and a recent study found that among almost 350 campuses, over 700,000 students were served by campus food pantries. (RF, OMB) 

• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides critical support for 6 million pregnant women or households with children under the age of six, with infants under the age of one comprising the largest share of participants. (RF, OMB) 

Child Care  

Access to child care is a core economic and family stabilizer, improving the wellbeing of households across virtually every facet of their lives. One in five (nearly 4 million) college students are parents striving to earn a degree or certificate to improve their financial security. Similarly, child care access could improve the ability of the 52 percent of families living in poverty with a high school diploma and no credential to enroll, improving their ability to achieve economic mobility.  

• The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the primary funding source for child care subsidies for families with low incomes. CCDBG serves approximately 1.49 million children from more than 900,000 families monthly but still only reaches about 16 percent of eligible families, highlighting the need to expand, not cut, this vital program. (EO, RF, OMB) 

• Child Care Access Means Parents In Schools (CCAMPIS) is a competitive grant awarded to institutions to support parenting students with low incomes. According to a 2019 GAO report, CCAMPIS helped about 3,300 students pay for childcare, and more than 4,000 children were on waiting lists. (EO, RF, OMB) 

• Head Start/Early Head Start (HS/EHS) provides comprehensive early childhood education and development services for children from households with low incomes. Some colleges have existing HS/EHS programs and in recognition of the mutual benefit, recent efforts have tried to expand these partnerships. (RF, OMB) 

Income Support 

The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program is the only program that provides cash assistance to families with dependents that meet certain very low-income requirements. States have significant flexibility to design their programs, and some include postsecondary pathways to help families reach financial independence. (EO, RF, OMB) 

Health Care  

Medicaid is a major source of funding for hospitals, health centers, doctors, and nursing homes and provided health care support for around 82 million people with low incomes in 2022. Research shows that students’ access to affordable insurance increased after the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), especially in Medicaid expansion states. Cuts to Medicaid would harm access to health services and education, including the outsized proportion of students experiencing anxiety and depression and the 64 percent of students who have considered stopping out due to mental health concerns. (RF, OMB) 

Institutional Supports 

There are several programs that provide resources for institutions to improve their ability to better meet the needs of students who are experiencing non-academic barriers. These programs improve access to wraparound services and are critical to student success:  

• The Basic Needs for Postsecondary Education Grants are awarded to institutions to address the basic needs of students that improve outcomes. (EO, RF) 

• The Postsecondary Student Success Grant (PSSG) program helps eligible entities to improve student outcomes, retention, and upward transfer rates. (EO, RF) 

• The Federal TRIO programs focus on outreach and student support services for on average around 800,000 first-generation students and students with low incomes per year. (EO, RF, OMB) 

Housing Assistance 

Federal housing assistance programs provide rental assistance for people experiencing housing issues as well as resources for state and local governments and homeowners. Housing insecurity is also a major issue among college students. In the fall of 2023, 42 percent of students reported experiencing housing insecurity and 14 percent experienced homelessness, with much higher rates reported by parenting students. (RF, OMB) 

Conclusion 

Cutting education and basic needs programs will undermine the growing demand from employers for a more educated workforce. It will relegate more people to jobs with poverty-sustaining wages and stymy our economy. Protecting and investing in higher education and basic needs supports better reflects evidence that completing a credential or degree produces better economic outcomes, results in less use of public programs, and strengthens our economy.