1. United States
2. Minn.
3. Letter

I am urging you to oppose any legislation, including H.R. 899, or any efforts by the executive branch to abolish the Department of Education. Eliminating the department would devastate public schools, who would then have to turn to their communities for increased funding through higher property taxes. Families and community members are already struggling with high property taxes, especially in small rural communities across your district. Eliminating the department would also hurt students with disabilities, strip away civil rights protections for millions of students, and eliminate crucial workforce development programs that boost our economy. Is this really the kind of education that you want your children and grandchildren to have? Your neighbors and friends? Your constituents? Eliminating the SAVE plan and Income Driven Repayment options for student loans is going to bankrupt students right out of college. It is going to mean families will now have to choose between paying their outrageous and predatory student loan or putting food on the table and risking losing everything. Our country needs people with an education - whether they received it from a public school, a technical college, a state university, or a private college. Depriving every day hardworking Americans an opportunity to pay back their loans in more affordable ways doesn’t only impact the people who didn’t vote for you or for this. It impacts everyone across our district, our state, and our country. Stop running scared of Trump, Elon, and the billionaires because you’re afraid of being primaried. You will be primaried by those of us in your district anyway if you don’t grow a backbone and stand up for what’s right. Minnesota children, families, workers, and schools deserve better. Education is a fundamental right, not a privilege for the wealthy.