As our students and members returned to their classrooms, Congress returned from its August recess to confront both new and familiar challenges.
Once again, lawmakers are struggling to exercise the power of the purse and fund the government beyond September 30. The House and the Senate are far apart in many areas, including funding for the Labor-HHS-Education bill—which is of most concern to educators and supporters of public education.
On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee will vote on slashing Department of Education funding by 15 percent—on top of the $350 million in cuts to student loan programs made by the reconciliation bill. The latest House bill would make deep cuts in Title I funding for low-income schools and districts, end Title II professional development grants, decimate the Office of Civil Rights, eliminate English-language acquisition programs, and more.
The more moderate, bipartisan bill passed by Senate Appropriations Committee provides level or near-level funding for most programs, with small potential increases in key areas such as Title I formula grants, Title II professional development grants, and IDEA. It would also continue to fund the Institute for Education Sciences that collects essential data and administers the nation’s report card, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
With the Senate and House so far apart, it will be tough to reach agreement on FY2026 funding levels. Executive branch overreach—the Office of Management and Budget has rescinded billions without congressional approval—has further complicated negotiations and undermined the trust necessary for a bipartisan deal.
Meanwhile, our nation’s capital has joined Los Angeles as a test case for normalizing the unthinkable—“creating a national police force with the President as its chief,” in the words of U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who ruled that the Los Angeles intervention was illegal. “Congress spoke clearly in 1878 when it passed the Posse Comitatus Act, prohibiting the use of the U.S. military to execute domestic law.”
Time is short. Congress must act or parts of the government will shut down October 1. Tell your senators and representative what you think!
In solidarity,
Kimberly Johnson Trinca
National Education Association
President Trump’s FY2026 budget slashes education funding by 15 percent—on top of the $350 million in cuts to student loan programs made by the reconciliation bill, H.R. 1.
CHEER:Reps. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) reintroduced the Indoor Air Quality and Healthy Schools Act (H.R. 5123). Among other things, the bill would provide an updated assessment of indoor air quality in schools and childcare facilities nationwide.
