03.26.15

Scott Statement on the House Republican Budget

 

WASHINGTON – Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) issued the following statement today after the House voted 219-208 on the Republican Fiscal Year 2016 Budget:

 

“The Majority’s budget would devastate our economy by trying to balancing the budget on the backs of students, workers, seniors, the disabled, and most vulnerable communities across the nation. It assumes that sequestration cuts will be enacted, and then adds an additional $759 billion in nondefense discretionary spending cuts on top of that. This is the part of the budget that is supposed to invest in education, workforce training, scientific research, transportation, and infrastructure. With those cuts, the budget would be funded at 40 percent below the lowest level in the last 50 years as a percentage of GDP.

 

“As the ranking member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, I am particularly concerned about the budget’s harmful cuts to education. Education funding would be cut by $103 billion over 10 years. That is a 22 percent cut in federal aid to teachers, principals, school districts, colleges, and universities. This includes significant cuts in Title I funding, resources that go to high poverty school districts. It would reduce support for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which supports educational services and resources for students with disabilities. This budget also means 35,000 fewer children in Head Start, with cuts doubling in the following year and worsening after that.

 

“It puts higher education further out of reach for low-income students by eliminating mandatory funding for Pell Grants and freezes the program at its current levels for the next decade, even as the cost of education continues to rise.

 

“This budget could result in 2 million fewer workers job training and help finding a new job as compared to the President’s Request, including $500 million less in evidence-based programs for veterans seeking jobs and those at-risk of long term unemployment. And, adding insult to injury, this budget again tries to repeal the Affordable Care Act, despite clear proof that it is helping millions of American families and saving them money.

 

“This budget is clearly the wrong direction for this nation. We need a strong budget that reflects the values of all Americans and makes the necessary investments in programs that we know will expand the economy for all.”

 

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