Senator Kennedy's Statement on Education Budget Cuts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Laura Capps/Melissa Wagoner (202) 224-2633
Washington, DC.

Today, Senator Kennedy issued a statement following the House --Senate conferees budget resolution photo-op. The conferees eliminated funding for Kennedy's amendment, which had passed in the Senate, to help middle class families pay for college and help all Americans by ensuring that our citizens are equipped for the jobs of the global economy. Kennedy's $5.4 billion amendment would have been paid for by closure of corporate tax loopholes. Senator Kennedy's statement:

"This morning, the House-Senate conferees on the budget resolution held their first, only, and nothing more than a photo-op conference negotiation. The deal was struck long before this morning's photo- op conference negotiation. Before today and behind closed doors, the Republicans decided to cut education.

This Republican Congress wants to rubber-stamp this Republican President's cut to education. It's the first cut to education in a decade.

A majority in the Senate rejected the President's cut to education and increased Pell scholarships. But the Congressional Republican leadership wants to roll over for the President. It wants Congress effectively to endorse the President's cuts to student aid, his cuts to TRIO and GEAR Up, his cuts to adult literacy, his cuts to vocational education, and his cuts to safe and drug-free schools. This budget's education cuts weaken America and are a disaster for American families. The White House and Republican leaders in Congress seem to care more about getting a handful of right wing judges on the courts than about helping a generation of young Americans afford a college education. Americans simply cannot compete in the global economy if we fail to invest in their education."