The House approved a Republican-backed budget Wednesday night, which the Democratic National Committee says will hurt college students and recent graduates.
“A Balanced Budget for a Stronger America” aims to balance the budget within 10 years by cutting $5.5 trillion in government spending. It also calls for a repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
The DNC held a conference call for college media to discuss the budget and its effect on millennials Wednesday afternoon. DNC Chair and Florida Rep. Debbie Schultz, Future Forum Chair and California Rep. Eric Swalwell and College Democrats of America President Natasha McKenzie each refuted the budget during the call — all citing health insurance coverage and federal grant funding as two main concerns.
The budget freezes Pell Grant awards, meaning the maximum amount awarded will not change as the cost of living increases, Swalwell said. Almost all of the more than 8 million students who rely on Pell Grants to afford college would see a reduction in their financial aid packages over time, according to apress release.
“They’re tearing apart the American dream that anyone can go to college and make a difference and find a job,” said Jenna Goldman, vice president of UF College Democrats.
Richard El-Rassy, UF College Republicans secretary, said there are positives to the budget.
“Personally, I do like that it’s really cutting government spending,” El-Rassy said. “That helps out with a larger deficit that we’re facing.”
The Affordable Care Act gave2.3 million young adults coverage between 2010 and the start of open enrollment in 2013 due to a provision allowing them to remain on a parent’s plan until age 26. Repealing it would save $2 trillion and halt certain tax increases, according to the House Budget Committee.
McKenzie, who is a senior at Trinity Washington University in Washington, D.C., said the repeal would financially burden recent graduates. She said it would severely limit their ability to take risks and pursue their dream careers.
“GOP wants to take health insurance and the opportunity away,” she said.
Schultz referred to the budget as a “moral document.”
“It means that a document really lays out where your priorities are,” she said. “It is abundantly clear where GOP laid theirs.”
The House budget will now go up against the Senate budget, where the two chambers will reach a compromise and send it to the president.
