Fund public schools NOW!

As a constituent, I urge you to oppose the House budget bill that “pays for” extending and expanding tax breaks to wealthy corporations, and other big businesses by shredding the social safety net and adding nearly $5 trillion to the federal debt. At a time when support is being slashed for the public schools that educate 9 out of 10 students—and the administration has proposed billions more in cuts—this bill creates a tax-credit voucher scheme to provide $20 billion for private schools with no public accountability. Simultaneously, higher education would become less affordable and accessible. The bill eliminates affordable student loan repayment options, ends programs that provide federal student loans to graduate and professional schools, and imposes new taxes on scholarships and fellowships. Additionally, it slashes Pell Grants where 1 in 7 recipients may lose their award all together. Nearly 14 million Americans could lose access to health care due to new limits on eligibility for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. The fourth-largest source of support for K-12 public schools, Medicaid covers 38 million children and 1 in 10 education support professionals. Millions of students could go hungry due to $290 billion in cuts and new restrictions on eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). When families lose eligibility for SNAP, children’s access to school meals is also at risk. Lastly, the bill imposes steep fees that would turn legal immigration into a luxury only the wealthy can afford—among other things, a $3,500 sponsorship fee for unaccompanied children and a $550 fee for each work permit. Ramped-up immigration enforcement is already traumatizing students all across America. Every day, educators at all levels from pre-K to postgraduate encounter students terrified by threats of mass deportation. All told, the package represents a massive transfer of wealth from working families to the ultra rich. Entire communities would suffer, especially in rural areas where public schools are also economic centers. Please oppose the House’s budget bill and be the vanguard for students and working-class families.