Are cuts to higher education funding on the horizon?

In their “Pledge to America” released in September of this year, Congressional Republicans vowed to return non-defense discretionary spending to 2008 levels, which they claim will reduce federal spending by $100 billion. However, what those Republicans haven’t done is name specific programs that they’d cut, leaving many to opine that cuts to federal education aid programs – such as the Pell Grant program – would face cuts in funding. A return to 2008 levels of federal spending for the Pell Grant program means the program would be cut by just over $9 billion, from $25.3 billion spent in 2009 back to the 2008 level of $16 billion. A return to 2008 spending levels for non-defense discretionary spending would also likely cancel plans for another round of Race to the Top, President Barack Obama’s signature education-reform grant competition.

It’s also worth mentioning that Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District, the incoming Chair of the House Budget Committee, could play a key role in cutting education funding during the next session of Congress:

A senior Republican Senate staffer echoed that view. When it comes to finding ways to cut federal student aid spending, said the Republican Senate staffer, “if John Kline doesn’t fire the first volley, Paul Ryan in the budget committee is going to.”.

At a time when more and more Americans are going back to school as a means of bettering their chances of getting a good job in a very competitive job market, it seems counterintuitive to cut funding for the very programs that make a higher education more accessible for millions of Americans.

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