Freezing Funding for Schools

Dear John,

As a former teacher, I know that for most educators July is usually reserved for resting and recharging ahead of the new school year, some professional development and even teaching summer school. With most kids out for the summer and budgets for the following school year nearly finalized, teachers, administrators, and other school staff can normally reconnect with family and friends, travel, or pursue personal passions. Not this year. Right now, school districts across our community, Commonwealth, and country are scrambling because the Trump Administration is illegally withholding nearly $7 billion of Department of Education funding. This is funding that was bipartisanally appropriated in the 118th Congress before President Trump's term started, spending that is the authority of Congress per the Constitution.

On June 30, Departments of Education across the country were notified that five essential federal grants would not be distributed, as promised, on July 1. The U.S. Department of Education, they were told, was withholding the grants, which support homework clubs, afterschool programs, ESL classes, professional development, and more for the 2025-2026 academic year, pending a "review" by the Administration. These grants were already included in annual budget calculations for school districts across the country, and schools are counting on this money for the upcoming academic year. Administrators now face the almost impossible choice: come up with thousands of dollars to bridge the gap in their budgets or cut vital personnel and programs before school starts again in one month.

To be clear, ALL students will suffer from these cuts. Our public schools do not have a budget surplus to fall back on and frequently, the one area that can be cut is school personnel. Fewer dollars means fewer teachers which translates to larger class sizes. Fewer programs translates to less opportunity for kids to learn.

Our Commonwealth of Pennsylvania stands to lose $230 million, with more than $7 million dollars stripped away from Chester and Berks Counties schools. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Phoenixville alone is losing $193,000 in funding for English language learners, arts, music, health and wellness programs, and professional development.

The Administration’s actions are not only devastating for thousands of schools across the country that will struggle to educate, transport, feed, and supply their students without this funding, but they are also illegal. Congress controls the power of the purse, and money that was approved by Congress and signed into law cannot be unilaterally cancelled or withheld by the President. I proudly joined 150 of my colleagues in Congress in sending a letter to the Department of Education demanding that Secretary Linda McMahon and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought release these funds.

I’m grateful that Governor Shapiro has also taken action, and joined 25 other governors and the Mayor of Washington, D.C. in suing the Trump Administration to release the money owed to their school districts. Governors and Attorneys General have the legal standing to sue, and I will continue to do everything in my power to support Governor Shapiro’s efforts and to push back against the Trump Administration’s illegal and unconstitutional actions. I also encourage you to call Senator Fetterman and Senator McCormick and ask them to stand up to President Trump’s overreach.

Heading Home

You are probably aware that the annual August recess in Congress is starting a couple days early. Two things to know about this:

First, Speaker Johnson alone decides what bills get to the House floor for a vote. Because neither he nor President Trump are willing to deliver what the majority of Americans are demanding--transparency and accountability with regard to the Jeffrey Epstein files--the Speaker simply shut down the House ahead of schedule so no additional voting could happen, not on Epstein or anything else.

Second, recess is not the same as vacation. I will be back in PA-06 for most of this recess period and look forward to being with community members at a lot of events and meetings. One of those is my 100th Town Hall!

I am excited to welcome author and scholar Jeffrey Rosen, the President and CEO of the National Constitution Center, to the Kennett Library for a discussion on the grand experiment in self-governing enshrined in our Constitution.

I'll also be taking questions and hope you can make it, especially if you've never been to a town hall. Join us July 30th. We'll start at 6:30pm, and doors open at 6:00pm. Seating is first come, first served.

If you can't make it to Kennett Square, you can livestream the town hall at youtube.com/rephoulahan at 6:30pm on July 30th.

Hot Topics

Here's what our neighbors are thinking about this week, based on the calls and emails we've received in our offices:

The conditions at Alligator Alcatraz
Cuts to public broadcasting
Cryptocurrency regulation

Serving as our community’s representative in Congress is the honor and privilege of my lifetime and I hope you will reach out about the issues you care about.

As always, please contact my office if you need assistance.

Sincerely,

Chrissy Houlahan

U.S. Member of Congress

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