Legislation approved by the House of Representatives would cut funding for minority-serving colleges and universities by $250 million this year while reducing the maximum Pell Grant by more than $800 for the neediest students.
Prior to its passage of an emergency, two-week funding bill on Tuesday, the Republican-led House voted to chop government spending by $61 billion this year, including education cuts of at least $5 billion. Senate Democrats oppose the measure and President Obama has indicated he likely would veto such a plan. However, lawmakers view the GOP bill, H.R. 1, as a critical negotiating stance for Republican leaders as Congress seeks to avert a government shutdown this weekend.
Representatives of minority-serving colleges and universities say the cuts are potentially devastating.
“These proposed cuts represent not only a refusal to invest in thousands of deserving students, but a refusal to invest in the future of our economy,” said Dr. Michael Lomax, United Negro College Fund president and chief executive officer.
Support for historically Black colleges would drop by $85 million under the bill, while predominantly Black colleges would lose $11 million.
“We recognize the need to cut the deficit, but this disinvestment in our most precious resource, our next generation, is short-sighted,” said Lezli Baskerville, president and chief executive officer of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.
If enacted into law, H.R. 1 would reduce support for Hispanic-serving institutions by $100 million, while tribal colleges would lose $30 million and Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian institutions would see a decline by $15 million. As a result, the total loss for MSIs would approach $250 million.
