America’s state colleges and universities face the perpetual challenge of balancing budgets while delivering low-cost, high-quality higher education in the face of diminishing public investment.

We understand that the new administration must balance competing priorities and make difficult choices in its first budget request. However, we are deeply concerned that the massive proposed funding increase in one sector of our economy, as outlined in this evening’s address, would result in draconian cuts to other sectors like public higher education—a thread of excellence and necessity in our country’s economic and social fabric. 

Education funding is a strategic investment in America’s future. Much of the president’s stated economic agenda—rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure, resuscitating American manufacturing and, indeed, even our military strength—is dependent on a well-educated citizenry and American leadership in scientific research. We intend to work with the administration and Congress to preserve and expand the federal commitment to public higher education.

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is a Washington, D.C.-based higher education association of more than 400 public colleges, universities, and systems whose members share a learning- and teaching-centered culture, a historic commitment to underserved student populations, and a dedication to research and creativity that advances their regions’ economic progress and cultural development. These are institutions Delivering America’s Promise of Opportunities for All.