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HARRISBURG, PA (Feb. 27, 2025) — PSEA President Aaron Chapin issued the following statement today in response to Tuesday’s vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to adopt a budget blueprint that will slash funding for health care, education, nutrition, and school lunch programs that benefit millions of Pennsylvania’s children and their families.

Every year, Pennsylvania receives federal funding for programs that invest in our economy, our schools, and Pennsylvania families, including:

• $28 billion to provide health care for families living in every school district in Pennsylvania.
• $4 billion to provide nutritious food to hungry children and families.
• $740 million to schools to provide students with healthy breakfasts and lunches.

“The unprecedented cuts called for in this budget blueprint will put the health, education, and nutrition of Pennsylvania’s children at risk to pay for more tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans,” Chapin said.

“Hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania students count on school breakfast and lunch programs to get the nutrition they need. Funding cuts to school meals would result in students going hungry. Ask any teacher: Students cannot learn effectively if they are sitting in classrooms with empty stomachs.

“Millions of Pennsylvania children count on federal funding for nutrition and health care, which are also on the chopping block. We are talking about programs that allow families to feed their children and take them to the doctor when they’re sick. Entire communities will suffer if these budget cuts are enacted, especially those in rural areas.

“Pennsylvanians do not want their elected leaders to gut public education, health care, or nutrition programs. They want elected leaders who will stand up for Pennsylvania families and our public schools — in rural, suburban, and urban communities.

“We call on Pennsylvania’s Congressional delegation to be voices for the students and families they represent and to protect public education, nutrition, and health care programs that students and families count on every day.”

The House budget blueprint directs House committees to come up with proposals to cut current federal programs, including:

• The Energy and Commerce Committee (which oversees Medicaid) to cut at least $880 billion;
• The Agriculture Committee (which oversees school meal programs) to cut at least $230 billion;
• The Education and Workforce Committee to cut at least $330 billion; and
• Other committees to make additional funding cuts bringing the total to at least $1.5 trillion in cuts through 2034.

The U.S. House and Senate now must develop a unified budget beginning with a series of meetings and hearings beginning next week.

Chapin is a Stroudsburg Area middle school teacher and president of PSEA. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents about 177,000 active and retired educators and school employees, aspiring educators, higher education staff, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.