[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 144 (Wednesday, September 3, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H3764]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         FY 2026 EDUCATION CUTS

  (Mr. Espaillat of New York was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, students across the country have started 
to head back to school this week.
  For many, school is so much more than just a place for learning. For 
13 million food insecure children, it is a place where they can rely on 
having a meal twice a day.
  Yes, even six decades after Michael Harrington published the great 
book, ``The Other America,'' which became a blueprint to fight poverty 
and hunger in America and was published by Michael Harrington during 
the Kennedy administration, hunger still exists in America.
  School is also a place that provides after-school programming that 
keeps students engaged and off the streets. It is a place where 
students are able to receive medical care during and through school-
based health clinics so that if a student gets an asthma attack those 
first critical minutes will be attended to at a school-based clinic. 
Schools are so much more than just a place for learning.
  Unfortunately, Republicans have introduced a Labor-HHS and Education 
bill that will cut the Department of Education funding by $66.7 
billion.
  These cuts will be devastating to the academic achievement of kids 
and students across the country. Republicans want to have it both ways. 
They want to eliminate title III English acquisition grants for English 
language learners. While the rest of the world is pushing to have their 
children and their students master and be proficient in more than one 
language so they can be competitive across the planet, these cuts are 
being implemented. They want English to be the only language, an 
English-only country, making it less competitive than other countries 
that want their children to be proficient in several languages.
  They want to lower crime, but they are cutting vital funding like the 
Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers which provide 
after-school funding that keeps kids off the streets and out of 
trouble.
  While the National Guard is being deployed right here in D.C., they 
are cutting these programs that will help young people stay off the 
corner. They want America to have a stronger economy with the most 
advanced workforce, but they are cutting title I funding that helps all 
kids, especially ones who come from low-income backgrounds, have the 
best chance for success.
  Student academic achievement is the cornerstone of national security, 
but fewer than one-third of our students nationwide can read at an 
appropriate grade level.
  These academic achievement gaps will only be exacerbated as 
Republicans and the Trump administration continue their campaign 
against the immigrant community as parents are afraid they will drop 
their kids in school and never see them again.
  We must continue to invest in education and educational programs that 
will help all students get back on track. We must bring back the 
investment and pride that at one point made America the envy of the 
world and the American public school system the great equalizer for 
kids all across the country.

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