Dive Brief:
- The presidents of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, the Association of American Universities and the American Council on Education sent a letter to ranking Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate budget committees, urging them to pull the recent spending caps from the 2016 budget and prioritize funding for higher education and research.
- Current law requires spending to essentially stay flat at 2015 levels, thanks to sequestration. Education leaders call that a “real cut in purchasing power after inflation.”
- The letter argues the United States is losing its lead against global competitors, who have increased funding and investments in innovation.
Dive Insight:
The association presidents representing all colleges and universities in the United States argue the stagnant investment in higher education undermines the future of the nation. Instead of across-the-board cuts, they suggest tax reform and entitlement reform. Investments in higher education, like they say, have compounding effects on the economy, providing room for innovation that will benefit the entire country for years to come. The fight for greater investment during this Congress, though, will be a steep one.
Sequestration, which took effect in 2013 thanks to partisan gridlock, required across-the-board cuts totaling an initial $1 trillion in lieu of an agreement on specific ways to reduce federal spending. The policy will continue with significant cuts through 2021 unless Congress acts to change it. Their next opportunity is with the 2016 budget.