Statement by ACE President Molly Corbett Broad on President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2018 Budget
May 23, 2017

“President Trump's proposed FY 2018 budget envisions drastic cuts to federal student aid and research funding of a magnitude not seen in nearly four decades. If enacted, these reductions would have a devastating impact on the United States’ long-term economic growth and seriously undermine economic opportunity for many low- and middle-income Americans.

This budget would result in a dramatic reduction in college affordability and, if approved by Congress, put college out of reach for millions of students. It would cut grants to many low-income students; make student loans far more expensive; make it more difficult for students to work their way through college; and even take away childcare from low-income students with families. More than 7 million students with family incomes below $40,000 get federal student aid to help them pay for college. There should be no mistake: Deep cuts to student aid will have a modest impact on upper-income families, but it will crush the personal and economic aspirations of low-income and working-class Americans for whom enrolling in college is an opportunity for better jobs and a brighter economic future.

In addition, the proposals to slash the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, among many other research agencies, would slow or even stop life-saving advances in medical and scientific research. 

Thankfully, Congress has the ultimate responsibility for setting funding levels, and with the FY 2017 spending bills, it showed a willingness to reject similarly damaging proposals. Colleges and universities and their students will work with Congress to continue the historic, bipartisan support for federal student aid and research funding.”

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Jon Riskind
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