House Passes Tax Bill with Vouchers and Cuts to Student Loan Programs

On Thursday, the House of Representatives narrowly passed H.R. 1, the budget reconciliation bill that has been the focus of debate for weeks, by a vote of 214 to 215. The multitrillion-dollar tax and spending package, which exceeds 1,000 pages, would deliver on President Trump’s campaign promises to extend the tax cuts enacted in 2017 and steer more funding to the military and border security. Its many provisions include a version of the Educational Choice for Children Act, a new federal education voucher provision—$20 billion over 4 years—with no protections for students with disabilities.

CEC has consistently and actively opposed this provision. To pay for the package, the bill cuts a combined $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (formerly food stamps), altering eligibility requirements for both programs and hindering the way states fund these programs more broadly. These changes could have a ripple effect on early intervention and school programs that receive Medicaid funding, P-12.

The bill also cuts $350 million via education programs by changing Pell Grant eligibility, eliminating federally subsidized school loans, and ending loan repayment deferment for unemployment and/or economic hardship. The legislation now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to face an amendment process that could potentially alter the bill.