The FY24 Omnibus Deal Is Released
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
media@edtrust.org
202-731-9582
Statement from Augustus Mays, Vice President of Partnerships and Engagement at EdTrust on the Fiscal Year 2024 Labor-HHS-Ed Appropriations Bill
WASHINGTON (March 21, 2024) — “After several months of delays, a final FY24 Labor-HHS-Education bill has been released by congressional appropriators. Unfortunately, the agreement made last summer that imposed arbitrary budget caps has resulted in the inability to increase investments in several essential programs — including those designed to strengthen and diversify the nation’s educator workforce, increase access to student supports, and respond to students’ mental health and technological needs. The failure to increase investments in those programs is particularly damaging for Black, Latino, and Native students and students from low-income backgrounds, who continue to struggle due to systemic inequities that were only exacerbated by the pandemic. Most troubling is that the deal freezes the maximum Pell Grant, halting several years of much-needed increases.
“We applaud appropriators for avoiding harmful cuts to many of vital programs in this constrained environment, and the omnibus does provide slight increases for HBCUs, HSIs, and TCUs, alongside a small increase to Title I. EdTrust urges Congress and the President to act on behalf of underserved students and reject the imposition of budget caps in Fiscal Year 2025 to enable the necessary investments in the future.”
###
