For Immediate Release
Thursday, July 3, 2025
media@edtrust.org

EdTrust Statement: This Bill Isn’t Beautiful — It’s a Heist: Congressional Budget Plan Guts Education, Punishes Communities, Families, and Students

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressional passage of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” marks a devastating moment for students, working families, and the future of public education and economic mobility in this country.

Beneath the flashy name lies a cruel agenda: this bill strips millions of Americans of access to vital supports like Medicaid and SNAP, slashes billions of dollars from the U.S. Department of Education, steers billions of dollars in public money to private schools, and eliminates key student loan repayment programs that provided lower monthly payments for millions of Americans.

“This bill isn’t beautiful — it’s brutal,” said Denise Forte, president and CEO of EdTrust. “It raises costs for students, snatches away financial aid, and punishes families just trying to make ends meet. It’s not reform. It’s a full-scale assault on educational opportunity and economic fairness.”

Key provisions of the bill include:

• Deep cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, leaving tens of millions of families without healthcare or food while trying to raise children or pursue education. The bill also shifts more of the financial burden of these critical programs to the states, which is likely to trigger cuts to educational budgets to make the numbers work.
• The creation of an extremely costly federal voucher program that will spend billions in public money to subsidize wealthy families accessing private schools and operates with little oversight.
• The elimination of more generous income-based student loan repayment plans, which forces millions of former, current, and future students into plans with higher monthly payments and longer repayment timeframes.
• Eliminates federal loans that help graduate students pay for school and adds strict borrowing limits, making it harder to afford advanced degrees and forcing students to rely on private banks.

EdTrust has dubbed this budget plan the “Great American Heist,” warning that it would dismantle the very programs that make education and economic advancement possible for students of color, first-generation college students, and low- and middle-income families.

“We are sounding the alarm because this bill doesn’t just take away resources — it takes away futures,” added Forte. “It is the Great American Heist — robbing students and families of financial aid, healthcare, food, and the promise of a better life. It puts the American Dream out of reach for those working hardest to achieve it.”

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.