Prior to its passage of an emergency, two-week funding bill on Tuesday, the Republican-led House voted to chop government spending by $61 billion this year, including education cuts of at least $5 billion. Senate Democrats oppose the measure and President Obama has indicated he likely would veto such a plan. However, lawmakers view the GOP bill, H.R. 1, as a critical negotiating stance for Republican leaders as Congress seeks to avert a government shutdown this weekend.
Representatives of minority-serving colleges and universities say the cuts are potentially devastating.
