Statement From John B. King Jr., President and CEO of The Education Trust, On the House Budget Resolution

WASHINGTON (07/19/17) – Today, John B. King Jr., president and CEO of The Education Trust, issued the following statement.

“The budget resolution being considered in the House Budget Committee today is an attack on college access and affordability.

“To come up with the requested $20 billion in cuts, the House Education and Workforce Committee would have to restrict student aid programs and make college more expensive for low-income students and students of color. The Pell Grant program — an essential tool for increasing access to higher education — will most certainly be a target. This threat, combined with the House’s move today to freeze the maximum Pell Grant and raid $3.3 billion from the program, shows that Pell is truly under attack.

“The House of Representatives should reject this budget. It would shortchange our students, jeopardize the Pell Grant program, and make college out of reach for the very students for whom college is the surest path to upward mobility.”