FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: media@edtrust.org

Congress Should Reject “Great American Heist” Budget Plan
Statement from Denise Forte, president and CEO of EdTrust, on budget reconciliation

WASHINGTON – “The budget reconciliation package currently under consideration in Congress is a full-scale attack on the public programs that millions of families rely on. From slashing Medicaid and SNAP to undermining Pell Grants and siphoning billions toward private school vouchers — this proposal is not about fiscal responsibility. It’s about systematically dismantling the infrastructure that supports opportunity, equity, and the middle class in America.

“Let’s be clear: This package is not a plan to eliminate waste — it’s the Great American Heist. Under the false pretense of efficiency, it steals resources away from families in need and redirects them to private interests, creating an American caste system where only the ultra-wealthy survive.

• Medicaid, which covers more than one in three schoolchildren and provides mental health services, vision and hearing screenings, and other critical care, is under threat. This proposal would result in hundreds of billions in cuts to the program, leaving an additional 13.7 million Americans uninsured.
• SNAP helps keep families at or below the poverty line from starvation, yet faces more than $230 billion in cuts under the current proposal.
• Pell Grants make higher education possible for millions of low-income students. Proposed changes would make thousands of student parents, working students, and first-generation students ineligible for this aid.
• National voucher scheme would divert over $5 billion annually in federal funds away from public schools, which serve 90% of students, and into unregulated, discriminatory private institutions.

“Voucher schemes don’t improve student outcomes — they undermine opportunities for students, especially those from rural communities, students with disabilities, and students of color.

“For students living in poverty these cuts are catastrophic. Forty percent of America’s children rely on SNAP, similarly 1 in 4 college students face food insecurity. Advancing cuts to anti-hunger programs meanwhile limiting access to healthcare is a targeted assault on the survival of low-income families—forcing millions to choose between food, medicine, and education, and pushing the most vulnerable to the brink of crisis. This reconciliation package destabilizes the safety net, accelerates privatization, and raises costs for working class Americans. This is not a budget — it’s a blueprint for disinvestment and division that would leave millions of Americans destitute and locked out of the American Dream, meanwhile creating a caste system where only the wealthy benefit.

“Congress should see this legislative maneuver as it really is: The Great American Heist. If we care about our children’s future, our economy, and our democracy, we must invest in public education, accessible healthcare, hunger prevention, and college affordability — not abandon them in favor of billionaires and corporate interests.”

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About EdTrust

EdTrust is committed to advancing policies and practices to dismantle the racial and economic barriers embedded in the American education system. Through our research and advocacy, EdTrust improves equity in education from preschool through college, engages diverse communities dedicated to education equity and justice, and increases political and public will to build an education system where students will thrive.