Matsui Statement on Education Cuts in Republican Budget Plan

Statement

Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) released the following statement today in response to the cuts to education programs contained in the House Republican's 2012 Budget Proposal released this week:

"The Republican Budget Plan would make significant cuts that would hurt Sacramento families, seniors and students. In this proposed plan, Pell Grants would be cut for 9.4 million eligible students next year, and as many as 1 million students would be kicked out of the program altogether. In Sacramento, over 28,000 students are benefitting from Pell Grants this school year alone; cutting this vital, effective program would mean significantly less students would be able to afford college next year, and in the years to come.

"The Republican cuts do not stop at higher education. Nationwide, 218,000 low-income children and families would be removed from the Head Start program, and 55,000 Head Start teachers and staff would lose their jobs. Head Start is a program supported by the federal government that gives families basic healthcare and childcare services when they have nowhere else to turn.

"What is most concerning to me is that the Republican budget calls for cuts to the programs that support our children, our students, and our seniors, just so they can reward the Big Oil companies with continued subsidies, lower the tax rate for corporations who are making record profits -- including those who are shipping jobs overseas -- and make the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans permanent. This is not a deficit reduction plan -- this is a radical shift away from our national priorities.

"Cutting education, at a time when the United States is already falling behind other countries, is shortsighted, irresponsible, and reckless. It makes it difficult for both the students themselves and their families when they don't know the status of the Pell Grants they have been receiving. There is no way that our economy can fully recover and remain competitive, if we make drastic cuts to our education. In order to remain a leader on the global stage, our nation's education cannot be an afterthought. Simply said: the Republican plan is rolling the dice for future generations; and we can't afford for them to lose."

Source