NEA EdAction June 4 2023

The product of divided government—like the U.S. Congress since January—the bill is replete with compromises. 

The debt ceiling is suspended until January 2025, preventing another MAGA-manufactured default crisis before the next election. Education and other nondefense discretionary funding will be close to flat for two years, which was a likely outcome in this Congress anyway given the sharp differences among the majorities in each chamber. The pause in student loan payments will end in September, as the administration planned. While unspent COVID funds are being rescinded, the impact on public schools will be minimal—99 percent of education funding has already been obligated.

The bill also tightens work requirements for some SNAP beneficiaries—a disturbing change—but loosens them for others, including veterans. The nonpartisan CBO estimates that in their entirety, the changes will add 78,000 beneficiaries and increase spending by $2 billion. 

Overall, CBO estimates, the bill will lower the national debt by $1.5 trillion over a decade. That’s half the savings produced by President Biden’s proposed budget, which called for corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share in taxes. 

Meanwhile, President Biden prepared to veto a Congressional Review Act resolution that would block his plan to cancel student loan debt for people of modest means—90 percent of those who would benefit earn less than $75,000 a year. 

In solidarity, 

Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association