Inside Higher Ed

Kerry Murakami

July 14, 2020

Democrats on a key House committee on Monday approved an education spending bill that would reject hundreds of millions in cuts for colleges and universities, as well as more than a billion in cuts to college student aid, that have been sought by President Trump.

The spending measure approved by the House appropriations committee, along partisan lines, would also increase spending on career and technical education by $25 million, $738 million less than the major boost Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos want.

The Democrat-controlled House must still work out a deal with the Republican Senate and the Trump administration as part of a budget deal later this year.

The spending package is separate from discussions around the next coronavirus relief package, expected to begin in earnest when the Senate returns from its July 4 break next week, and does little to deal with huge financial losses higher education institutions are taking from the pandemic.

The House proposal would provide a modest $716 million increase to the Education Department’s budget, to $73.5 billion.

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