President Trump’s proposed budget would remove all federal funding for a program that helps D.C. residents cover the cost of college.
The budget would cut out funding entirely for the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant over “a lack of a clear federal role for supporting the cost of higher education specifically for District residents,” The Washington Post reported.
The program has helped about 26,000 students from D.C. go to and graduate from college. District residents do not have access to the in-state university systems that students from other states do, which offer lower tuition rates for students who are from those states.
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Students in the program can receive up to $10,000 a year to attend public universities or $2,500 for private institutions. D.C. is home to three public universities, two of which are special focus institutions.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) ripped the decision in a statement Monday.
“DCTAG is a successful program that has worked for years to expand educational opportunities for our young people, and it is unfathomable that any leader working to build a safer, stronger and more competitive country would choose to cut a program like this rather than expanding it,” she said.
Bowser said students should continue to apply for the grants and that those receiving the funds during this current academic year will still get those payments.
Her office has also launched a social media campaign opposing the proposed cut, using the hashtag #SaveDCTAG on Twitter.
D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) said in a statement that she believes she’ll be able to maintain funding for the program, but slammed the proposed cut.
“DCTAG has been funded every year by Republican and Democratic Congresses alike and, unlike Trump this year, Republican presidents as well, since its creation,” she said. “This draconian and backward budget shows how out of touch this administration is with reality.”