Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday at a House hearing gave a staunch defense of her request to slash billions of dollars from her agency’s budget, including nearly $18 million in cuts from the Special Olympics designed to help children and adults with physical and intellectual disabilities.
Details: DeVos, who told lawmakers that she doesn't know how children would be impacted, later added: "I think the Special Olympics is an awesome organization, one that is well supported by the philanthropic sector as well." According to Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who pressed her about the budget cuts, 272,000 children will be affected should Congress approve the proposal.
In @BetsyDeVosED’s budget, there are major cuts to programs like the Special Olympics. Sec. DeVos didn’t know the number of kids who would be hurt by that cut, so I made sure she now knows that 272,000 kids are seeing their support taken away. pic.twitter.com/6ZiOfDU4Ou
— Rep. Mark Pocan (@repmarkpocan) March 26, 2019
- DeVos' proposal is part of the Trump administration's new proposed spending plan for the 2020 fiscal year.
- Per the Washington Post, the administration is seeking to to cut more than $8.5 billion from the Education Department’s budget.
