“House leaders have put forth a meaningful relief proposal with their updated HEROES Act, and it is time for both sides to come together on a federal relief plan that meets the economic and public health challenges posed by the pandemic, stabilizes state budgets, and recognizes the central role of higher education in the national recovery.
Absent a federal relief package, states will confront deep budget shortfalls in 2021, resulting in devastating budget cuts to higher education and other state services. These cuts would ripple throughout states for years to come, threatening student access to high-quality, affordable, college opportunities, weakening institutional capacity to safely educate and train students, exacerbating existing inequalities, and constraining the ability of public colleges and universities to address state needs during a public health crisis and period of economic uncertainty. We urge Congress to prevent lasting damage to the American economy by expediently passing a robust relief package.”
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