Opportunity is Not a Relic: Protect TRIO and the American Dream

Opportunity is Not a Relic: Protect TRIO and the American Dream I am a voting constituent writing to urge you to take immediate action to protect TRIO programs from the administration’s reckless budget cuts. Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s recent testimony—dismissing these sixty-year-old pillars of opportunity as a "relic of the past"—is an insult to the millions of students they have empowered. Secretary McMahon must be held accountable for her attempt to dismantle programs that provide a proven 2-to-1 advantage in college completion for our most vulnerable youth. Her claim that "access is no longer an obstacle" is a gross detachment from the reality faced by low-income and first-generation families. By unilaterally canceling grants and labeling success as "failure," she is systematically closing doors to the middle class. TRIO has enjoyed decades of bipartisan support because it works. It turns disadvantaged students into tax-paying, successful professionals. I ask you to stand with your colleagues across the aisle to reject these cuts and take Secretary McMahon to task for her disregard of student success and attempts to close this program. Please ensure that the ladder of opportunity remains intact by fully funding TRIO.