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Editorials

One big, ugly bill

New York Teacher

President Donald Trump’s so-called “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” which the U.S. House of Representatives passed on May 22 and is now under consideration in the Senate, would spell disaster for public education and critical social services including Medicaid and food stamps, all in service of a whopping $4.5 trillion in tax cuts.

The bill represents a straight transfer from Americans who cannot afford food and medical care to those who can afford second homes. The bill has $1.1 trillion in tax cuts for people who make more than $500,000 a year and $1.1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and food assistance.

The Congressional Budget Office projects that nearly 11 million people would lose health insurance and 3.2 million households, including 800,000 parents of school-aged children, would lose all access to food assistance if the bill becomes law.

The legislation would set aside $5 billion a year to pay for private school tuition, home-schooling materials and for-profit virtual learning. In a brazen effort to privatize education in every state, this national school voucher program would allow donors to reduce their tax bill by $1 for every $1 they give to nonprofits that grant scholarships to families opting out of public schools.

The budget bill also slashes funding for programs for English language learners, teacher training and education research. It would harm needy students’ ability to go to college by placing more restrictions on student loans, requiring higher payments and reducing maximum Pell grants.

All this while adding $2.4 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Far from being beautiful, this bill is dangerous and must be stopped.

Related Topics: Education Funding