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TOP DEMOCRAT ACCUSES HOUSE GOP OF ‘FULL-SCALE ATTEMPT TO ELIMINATE
PUBLIC EDUCATION’  
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Jake Johnson
June 26, 2024
Common Dreams
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_ Rep. Rosa DeLauro said Republicans' newly proposed funding cuts
threaten "the future of an entire generation." _

, Freepik

 

The top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday
accused her Republican colleagues of working to completely decimate
U.S. public education by proposing steep cuts to key programs in a
newly released funding bill
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Republicans on the appropriations panel, chaired by Rep. Tom Cole
(R-Okla.), weren't shy about the expansive spending cuts they're
pursuing: In a statement
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the committee's GOP majority noted that its fiscal year 2025 funding
legislation for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education, and other related agencies would fully eliminate 57
programs, slash 48 more, and reduce spending on K-12 education grants.

An appropriations subcommittee is scheduled to mark up the bill
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Thursday morning.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the ranking member of the House
Appropriations Committee, said
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response to the majority's legislation that "Republicans are in the
midst of a full-scale attempt to eliminate public education that makes
the American Dream possible," noting that the proposal gashes "support
for children in K-12 elementary schools, threatening the future of an
entire generation."

According to a fact sheet
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by Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee, the proposed GOP
funding levels would cut the Department of Education by $11 billion,
or 14% below 2024 levels. Specifically, the measure would slash Title
I Grants
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local educational agencies by roughly $5 billion, reducing assistance
for school districts with a large number of students from low-income
families.

Additionally, Democrats on the committee warned the bill would cut
"mental health support in schools while children struggle to access
the services they need" and eliminate "funding for English Language
Acquisition and teacher training opportunities used to increase the
number and improve the quality and effectiveness of teachers and
school leader," while also targeting programs aimed at helping
students access higher education.

On top of its education cuts, the bill would zero out "funding for
Title X Family planning," "block funding for Planned Parenthood health
centers," slash the Social Security Administration's operating budget,
and curb spending on worker protections, according to the Democratic
lawmakers' summary.

"This bill is dangerous and threatens programs and services that
Americans depend on at every stage of their life," DeLauro said
Wednesday.

Republicans' proposed cuts offer a glimpse of the GOP's plans for
federal education funding should the party win full control of
Congress and the presidency in November.

During a rally in Philadelphia this past weekend, presumptive
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said
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would attempt to cut federal education funding in half if he's elected
to another White House term.

Trump claimed such a cut would result in "much better education in
some of the states."

"Some won't do as well," added the former president, who has
also expressed support
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eliminating the Department of Education altogether—a
position aligned with that of Project 2025
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Trump's comments and congressional Republicans' latest push for deep
funding cuts came as billionaire-funded organizations across the
United States continued their effort to privatize U.S. public
education by promoting voucher programs that subsidize private schools
with taxpayer dollars.

As _Common Dreams_reported
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analysis released by Sen. Bernie Sanders
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highlighted the role that Betsy DeVos—who served as Trump's
education secretary—and other billionaires in working to "undermine,
dismantle, and sabotage our nation's public schools and to privatize
our education system."

"We can no longer tolerate billionaires and multinational corporations
receiving massive tax breaks and subsidies while children in America
are forced to go to understaffed, underresourced, and underfunded
public schools," Sanders said Tuesday.

_Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams._

* Public Education
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* School privatization
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* House GOP
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* budget cuts
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