SDSU prepares for federal education cutbacks
BROOKINGS, SD (KELO) — The president of South Dakota State University has concerns over the so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill' passed early Thursday morning in the U.S. House.
The bill's provisions include an overhaul of student aid, which critics say will drive up costs for students.
Governor Rhoden and Attorney General Marty Jackley tour the southern border
The bill's passage comes just one day after university presidents met with the South Dakota Board of Regents to discuss how proposed cutbacks within the U.S. Department of Education will impact their schools.
Administrators at South Dakota State University have already been tightening their belts in anticipation of fewer federal dollars flowing into the school.
'We hadn't put things in a freezer, but that we had them in a cooler. So we're trying to slow spending for travel and for purchasing equipment,' SDSU President Barry Dunn said.
SDSU President Barry Dunn says the Reconciliation Bill passed in the House will mean fewer research grants for the school, a trend that's already being felt on campus.
'Research activities here at SDSU have slowed down, research activities all across the nation, in human health and agriculture for example, have slowed dramatically and that's concerning,' Dunn said.
Dunn says the bill will also make it harder for students to access tuition grants and loans.
'The proposed cuts are very dramatic, cutting programs like work-study, the TRiO program, cutting completely out some loans, some federal loans,' Dunn said.
A federal judge has dealt the Trump Administration a blow by pausing efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and ordering laid-off workers back on the job.
'I think the orders that the president has made through executive orders have certainly been provocative and opened up the discussion, but I think the judges have stepped in have probably helped us all by slowing things down,' Dunn said.
Dunn says fall enrollment at SDSU is looking good. But he anticipates federal cutbacks in education could lead to uncertainty for students and programs starting next year.
Dunn says the school is asking the SDSU Foundation to provide more scholarship money for students due to the potential of fewer grants and loans coming from the federal government.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
25 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump formally asks Congress to claw back approved spending targeted by DOGE
WASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday officially asked Congress to claw back $9.4 billion in already approved spending, taking funding away from programs targeted by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. It's a process known as 'rescission,' which requires President Donald Trump to get approval from Congress to return money that had previously been appropriated. Trump's aides say the funding cuts target programs that promote liberal ideologies. The request, if it passes the House and Senate, would formally enshrine many of the spending cuts and freezes sought by DOGE. It comes at a time when Musk is extremely unhappy with the tax cut and spending plan making its way through Congress, calling it on Tuesday a 'disgusting abomination' for increasing the federal deficit. White House budget director Russ Vought said more rescission packages and other efforts to cut spending could follow if the current effort succeeds. ' Here's what to know about the rescissions request: The request to Congress is unlikely to meaningfully change the troublesome increase in the U.S. national debt. Tax revenues have been insufficient to cover the growing costs of Social Security, Medicare and other programs. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the government is on track to spend roughly $7 trillion this year, with the rescission request equaling just 0.1% of that total. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at Tuesday's briefing that Vought would continue to cut spending, hinting that there could be additional efforts to return funds. 'He has tools at his disposal to produce even more savings,' Leavitt said. Vought said he can send up additional rescissions at the end of the fiscal year in September 'and if Congress does not act on it, that funding expires.' 'It's one of the reasons why we are not putting all of our expectations in a typical rescissions process,' he added. A spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget, speaking on condition of anonymity to preview some of the items that would lose funding, said that $8.3 billion was being cut from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. NPR and PBS would also lose federal funding, as would the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, also known as PEPFAR. The spokesperson listed specific programs that the Trump administration considered wasteful, including $750,000 to reduce xenophobia in Venezuela, $67,000 for feeding insect powder to children in Madagascar and $3 million for circumcision, vasectomies and condoms in Zambia. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., complimented the planned cuts and pledged to pass them. 'This rescissions package reflects many of DOGE's findings and is one of the many legislative tools Republicans are using to restore fiscal sanity,' Johnson said. 'Congress will continue working closely with the White House to codify these recommendations, and the House will bring the package to the floor as quickly as possible.' Members of the House Freedom Caucus, among the chamber's most conservative lawmakers, said they would like to see additional rescission packages from the administration. 'We will support as many more rescissions packages the White House can send us in the coming weeks and months,' the group said in a press release. Sen. Susan Collins, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, gave the package a less optimistic greeting. 'Despite this fast track, the Senate Appropriations Committee will carefully review the rescissions package and examine the potential consequences of these rescissions on global health, national security, emergency communications in rural communities, and public radio and television stations,' the Maine lawmaker said in a statement. Boak writes for the Associated Press.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The Republicans Who Might Vote 'No' on Trump's Spending Bill
The Senate is back in session — and facing a steep challenge right out of the gate. At the top of its agenda: President Trump's sweeping tax and immigration package, dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill. Republicans hope to pass it by July 4, but that timeline is already in doubt. Several GOP senators — including Rand Paul and Lisa Murkowski — have raised concerns about the bill, which squeaked through the House last month by a single vote. The stakes are high. The outcome could reshape everything from border enforcement to corporate taxes, and test just how unified Republicans really are heading into the 2026 midterms. House Speaker Mike Johnson has even crossed the Capitol to urge Senate Republicans to stay in lockstep and make 'as few modifications as possible.' Here's a look at the internal pushback — and the parts of the bill causing the biggest rift. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has emerged as one of the loudest Republican critics of Trump's sweeping budget plan, arguing it would send the national debt soaring. 'There's no one left in Washington who cares about the debt if I vote for this,' Paul said Sunday on Face the Nation. 'The GOP will own the debt once they vote for this.' His concern isn't without merit: the House-passed bill raises the debt ceiling by $4 trillion, while a Senate-approved blueprint from earlier this year calls for a $5 trillion increase. But as Paul argues, 'the math doesn't add up.' Instead of backing the full package, Paul is pushing a more limited alternative: a $500 billion short-term debt ceiling hike that would buy time for Republicans to confirm whether promised spending cuts are actually being enforced. Still, Paul's opposition has drawn the ire of the president, who wrote on Truth Social that Rand 'never has any practical or constructive ideas.' Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski is sounding the alarm over proposed changes to Medicaid, a program she says is vital to her state and not equipped for what's coming. She's particularly concerned about new work requirements, warning they could be 'very challenging, if not impossible' to implement given Alaska's outdated administrative systems. The legislation, passed by the House, would require childless, nondisabled adults ages 19 to 64 to meet work requirements to maintain coverage. It would also require states to conduct more frequent eligibility checks — a provision Murkowski fears could disrupt care for vulnerable residents, especially in tribal communities that rely heavily on Medicaid. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley is a somewhat unexpected voice of dissent on this issue, given his close alignment with President Trump. But he's sounding alarms about potential Medicaid cuts — particularly their impact on low-income Americans and rural communities. In a New York Times op-ed earlier this month, Hawley called 'slashing health insurance for the working poor' both 'morally wrong and politically suicidal.' He's also criticized efforts to freeze provider taxes, warning it could force rural hospitals to shut their doors. 'If rural hospitals close, what's the difference between that and a benefit cut?' he said. And Hawley hasn't stopped at statements. Earlier this year, he joined Sen. Murkowski and Sen. Susan Collins in supporting an amendment to strip a directive from the budget resolution that would have instructed lawmakers to cut $880 billion from Medicaid, though the effort ultimately failed. Maine Sen. Susan Collins has been a consistent voice against cuts to federal Medicaid funding. 'Medicaid is a critically important program for Maine's health care system and a vital resource for many seniors, low-income families, disabled patients, and those who cannot work,' she said in a recent statement. Like Sen. Josh Hawley, Collins warns that shifting more health care costs to states could push already struggling hospitals and providers 'to the edge of insolvency.' Though she joined Murkowski and Hawley in backing a Medicaid amendment earlier this year, Collins seems poised to support the final bill. For her, the need to keep the party united and push the administration's priorities may outweigh earlier reservations. Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson is calling for deeper spending cuts than those proposed in the current package. He went so far as to dismiss the plan's $1.5 trillion reduction, saying it 'isn't squat.' Like Sen. Paul, Johnson supports breaking the bill into smaller parts and favors a short-term spending hike extension. While he hasn't explicitly said he will oppose the final bill, Johnson has signaled that conservative lawmakers could push back hard. 'We need to be responsible, and the first goal of our budget reconciliation process should be to reduce the deficit,' he told CNN last weekend. 'This actually increases it.' North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis is pushing back on the bill's proposed rollback of energy tax incentives, warning it could have serious economic consequences for his state. He argues that ending the Inflation Reduction Act's clean energy credits would derail years of planning and leave many companies scrambling to adapt. Adding to the pressure, Trump adviser Elon Musk — though not an elected official — has denounced the package as an 'abomination' that would balloon the deficit. With criticism mounting from both inside and outside the party, the question now isn't just whether the bill will pass, but what it might cost to get there. The post The Republicans Who Might Vote 'No' on Trump's Spending Bill appeared first on Katie Couric Media.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Elon Musk calls Donald Trump-backed tax bill a 'disgusting abomination'
Elon Musk has criticised US President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill, calling it "outrageous" and a "disgusting abomination". The bill, which includes multi-trillion-dollar tax breaks, was passed by the House Republicans in May, and has been described by the president as a "big, beautiful bill". The tech billionaire hit out at the tax cuts on his platform X, writing: "This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. "Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it." In American politics, "pork" is a political metaphor used when government spending is allocated to local projects, usually to benefit politicians' constituencies. Musk left the administration abruptly last week after working to cut costs with his team, the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency - known as DOGE - with the ambition of sacking federal workers and cutting red tape. The White House brushed Musk's comments aside, claiming they did not surprise the president. In a press conference on Tuesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that "the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill". She added: "This is one, big, beautiful bill. "And he's sticking to it."
