U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT, wants to provide additional aid for college students and their families.
DeLauro is calling on House Republicans, who currently hold the majority, to continue funding programs like the Pell Grant.
“Every young person in America should have the opportunity to get a good education without getting trapped into a lifetime of student loan debt,” DeLauro said. “We need to do everything we can to alleviate the burden.”
The Pell Grant supports more than 7 million undergraduates every year. That’s more than 30% of undergrads nationwide.
DeLauro warns that cutting discretionary spending, as Republicans have proposed, will deny lower and middle class Americans the opportunity to go to college.
“That could portend over $130 billion in cuts to programs, across the board, but understand that Pell is included in that litany,” DeLauro said.
DeLauro is calling on all federal agencies, including the Department of Education, to share the impact that proposed budget cuts would have on students and their families.
Nationwide student loan debt is currently at 1.7 trillion — and climbing.
