Trump Proposes Slashes to Financial Aid for College Students
Trump’s budget was released Tuesday and there are some huge budget cuts to education. Included in the education portion of Trump’s budget is a huge cut to federal financial aid for college students. UNC’s former President Molly Broad came out and spoke on the budget cuts, stating that these huge cuts to financial aid will negatively impact working class and low-income families trying to send their children to college. There are over 7 million Americans on financial aid, and Trump’s budget will significantly decrease the funds allotted to financial aid.
“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,” Broad added. “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.”
Broad pointed out that Congress has the ultimate responsibility for setting the United States’ funding levels, and that the 2017 spending bills showed a willingness to reject the president’s proposals. She said colleges and universities will work with Congress on bipartisan support for federal student aid and research funding.
Broad has led the nation’s largest higher education lobbying organization since 2008. In January, she announced that she would retire in October. She was president of the UNC system from 1997 to 2006.
