Nov. 20, 2012

Lupe Flores

HACU urging HSIs to participate on a call with the White House on the Fiscal Cliff

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities is urging Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) leaders to participate in a conference call with the White House on November 29 to discuss the possible effects of sequestration on funding for HSIs.

The call, coordinated by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) will include remarks by HACU president and CEO Dr. Antonio R. Flores and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement Jon Carson. Participants will be able and are encouraged to ask questions.

The sequestration process will impose mandatory cuts beginning January 2013 unless Congressional action is taken to avoid the “fiscal cliff,” which could result in dramatic and devastating cuts to funding of numerous programs, many of which serve the diverse student populations at HSIs. The Office of Management and Budget outlined projected mandatory cuts should sequestration go into effect:

• 8.2% cut to discretionary non-defense programs (that would apply to all discretionary HSI programs, i.e. Title V, Parts I and II, and the USDA HSI program)
• 7.6% cut to non-defense mandatory programs (STEM grants for HSIs would be affected; Pell grants are exempt)
• 9.6% cut to Defense programs (veterans’ education benefits are excluded from these cuts)
  

HACU is encouraging HSI presidents, faculty, staff and students to take action by contacting their members of Congress and urging them to stop the sequester process from going into effect and to preserve funding for HSI programs.

HACU is providing a letter that can be downloaded and modified to be sent to your members of Congress, available as a Word document here.

For additional information, contact Laura Maristany, Executive Director of Legislative Affairs, at laura.maristany@hacu.net.