Today, Rep. Pete Aguilar (CA-31) joined members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) for a press conference to highlight the dangers of the GOP House Budget that was unveiled last week, which include massive cuts to funding for education. The proposed budget would drastically reduce investments in higher education, including Pell Grants, which help more than one million students in California attend college.

“Today, I stand with my colleagues to bring attention to the dangerous and reckless House Republican budget. Their proposed budget would punish working families across the nation by balancing America’s checkbook on the backs of the middle class. One of the groups most devastated by these cuts will be our students. Higher education would be slashed by more than $220 billion over the next ten years. Specifically, $89 billion for Pell Grant increases — that Congress has already enacted and paid for — would be eliminated.” said Rep. Aguilar

He continued, “Fifty-one percent of Latino undergrads receive Pell Grant funding. I should know— I was one of them. I put myself through college with Pell Grants and part-time jobs. We cannot balance the budget on the backs of students and the middle class.”

Rep. Aguilar was a Pell Grant recipient when he was a student at the University of Redlands. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Linda Sanchez and Reps. Becerra, Castro, Torres, Lujan Grisham, and Gallego also participated in the press event earlier today. 

 

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