"The current debate surrounding grant funding for the Special Olympics is an excellent case study of why our country will probably never get out of debt.
In case you missed it, there’s been a fair amount of outrage over the Department of Education’s budget proposal to cut $18 million in federal grant money to the Special Olympics.
The proposed budget states that “such activities are better supported with other federal, state, local or private funds.”
The proposed budget states that “such activities are better supported with other federal, state, local or private funds.”
On Wednesday, Education Secretary DeVos responded to widespread criticism of the proposed spending reduction with a statement saying:
The Special Olympics is not a federal program. It’s a private organization. I love its work, and I have personally supported its mission. Because of its important work, it is able to raise more than $100 million every year. There are dozens of worthy nonprofits that support students and adults with disabilities that don’t get a dime of federal grant money. But given our current budget realities, the federal government cannot fund every worthy program, particularly ones that enjoy robust support from private donations.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., confronted DeVos on the proposed spending reforms during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Thursday and said that whoever came up with the idea for the cuts “gets a Special Olympic gold medal for insensitivity.”...
DeVos responded to Durbin’s questions by saying that she wasn’t personally involved in that decision and that she hopes that the debate drives more private donations to the organization.
She added: “Let’s not use disabled children in a twisted way for your political narrative. That is just disgusting and it’s shameful.”
Furthermore, according to a report at Politico, DeVos has even been an advocate against cutting the grant funding for years.
But Durbin’s not alone. Multiple congressional Democrats have used the news to score points against the administration.
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