NACAC’s Statement on Fiscal Year 2025 House Appropriations Proposal for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee
June 27, 2024
The House appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 released June 26 does not provide what students or institutions need as they navigate the effects of the pandemic and this year’s FAFSA rollout.
NACAC strongly opposes the deep cuts made to Title I programs, school-based mental health service grants, Federal Work Study (FWS), and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) programs because they ignore the realities students and schools are facing. Arriving on the heels of the FAFSA rollout and its potential to inhibit college access for hundreds of thousands of students, the House bill demonstrates a lack of awareness of how precarious access to postsecondary education is for many students. Reduced funds to Title I schools limit the capacity of these schools to meet the needs of low-income students and set them on a path to postsecondary education, which is unacceptable. Reducing the ability of students to get FWS, a lifeline for many while in college, means more students may have to take out loans to cover additional costs of attendance or drop out. For many, student loans can be a deterrent to college enrollment, and these often are the students who would benefit most from a college education.
NACAC also opposes the lack of support to increase Pell grants, which has steadily increased in recent funding cycles to ensure the grant improves postsecondary affordability for students from low-income backgrounds. For too long, federal support has not kept up with inflation.
NACAC opposes the bill’s attempts to thwart efforts to hold predatory institutions accountable for defrauding taxpayers and students. The bill will allow predatory, for-profit institutions to continue to flout rules that protect students (particularly those from low-income backgrounds) and taxpayers from predatory behavior.
NACAC will continue to advocate on these matters and communicate with members of Congress to ensure that any appropriations bill signed by the president will be a true investment in the future success of students.