Atlanta, GA — U.S. Representative Lucy McBath (GA-06) is leading 150 House Democrats in pressuring the Trump Administration to release almost $7 billion in illegally withheld, Congressionally-appropriated federal funding meant for education related programs such as after school programs, teacher training, and adult education. In a letter released today and co-led by Representative Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce; Representative Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Ranking Member of the House Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee; and Representative Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12), Ranking Member of the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee, Members outline the impact that this decision is having on schools, teachers, and families across the country and demand transparency from Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought.
The funding is typically released annually on July 1 and represents at least 10% of federal K-12 funding in every state. Georgia’s schools are missing out on $223.9 million in federal funding because of the Trump Administration’s actions. The failure to release this funding on time is disrupting school and district planning, jeopardizing the education of millions of students, and is already resulting in layoffs, program delays, and cancellations for students and their families.
The Members write: “On June 30, 2025, just one day before these funds become available for obligation, the Department notified states that they would not receive these funds by July 1 and that ‘[g]iven the change in Administrations, the Department is reviewing the FY 2025 funding … and decisions have not yet been made concerning submissions and awards for this upcoming academic year.’ This late-breaking decision, which provided no timeline for which states can expect a final decision, is leaving states financially vulnerable and forcing many to make last minute decisions about how to proceed with K12 education in this upcoming school year. The education funding withheld by the Administration reflects resources provided by Congress that are designed to help schools with a variety of issues, including student learning and achievement, after-school programs, and teacher training.”
The letter continues: “There is no legitimate reason why any review of these programs should prevent the Administration from fulfilling its responsibility to the American people on time. No more excuses—follow the law and release the funding meant for our schools, teachers, and families.”
The full text of the letter can be found here and below:
Secretary McMahon and Director Vought,
We write to request more information about your decision to illegally withhold nearly $7 billion dollars of funding for K-12 schools and adult education from states and local school districts around the country and to insist that this funding be immediately released. Without these funds, schools are facing difficult and unnecessary decisions on programs for students and teachers.
On June 30, 2025, just one day before these funds become available for obligation, the Department notified states that they would not receive these funds by July 1 and that “[g]iventhe change in Administrations, the Department is reviewing the FY 2025 funding … and decisions have not yet been made concerning submissions and awards for this upcoming academic year.” This late-breaking decision, which provided no timeline for which states can expect a final decision, is leaving states financially vulnerable and forcing many to make last minute decisions about how to proceed with K12 education in this upcoming school year. The education funding withheld by the Administration reflects resources provided by Congress that are designed to help schools with a variety of issues, including student learning and achievement, after-school programs, and teacher training. Additionally, education funding provided by Congress to help with adult education and literacy is also being withheld.
This unnecessary delay of education funding, which accounts for at least 10 percent of federal K-12 funding in every state, is alarming parents, local elected officials, and education agencies. It is disrupting school and district planning, jeopardizing the education of millions of students, and is already resulting in layoffs as well as program delays and cancellation. Further, it is causing concern to adult education programs that are faced with similar decisions without immediate access to expected funding.
Accordingly, please provide responses to the following questions no later than July 15, 2025.
1. When will the Administration finish its review and release the funding provided by Congress to states to use for the school year beginning next month?
2. Has the Administration done any outreach or offered any sort of support for state and local education agencies to assist them and their partners in navigating this period of uncertainty?
3. If the Administration knew it wanted to review these funds, why didn’t this review start earlier in the year? Was the review or the timely release of funds affected by the lack of staff at the Department, which is a direct result of the reductions in force (RIFs) executed by the Administration?
There is no legitimate reason why any review of these programs should prevent the Administration from fulfilling its responsibility to the American people on time. No more excuses – follow the law and release the funding meant for our schools, teachers, and families.
We look forward to hearing from you and seeing these dollars allocated immediately.
Sincerely,
Lucy McBath
Robert C. "Bobby" Scott
Suzanne Bonamici
Alma S. Adams, Ph.D.
Gabe Amo
Yassamin Ansari
Jake Auchincloss
Becca Balint
Nanette Diaz Barragán
Donald S. Beyer Jr.
Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.
Brendan F. Boyle
Shontel M. Brown
Julia Brownley
Nikki Budzinski
Salud Carbajal
André Carson
Greg Casar
Sean Casten
Kathy Castor
Joaquin Castro
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick
Judy Chu
Yvette D. Clarke
Emanuel Cleaver, II
Steve Cohen
J. Luis Correa
Jim Costa
Joe Courtney
Jason Crow
Danny K. Davis
Madeleine Dean
Diana DeGette
Chris Deluzio
Mark DeSaulnier
Maxine Dexter
Debbie Dingell
Lloyd Doggett
Sarah Elfreth
Veronica Escobar
Adriano Espaillat
Dwight Evans
Cleo Fields
Lizzie Fletcher
Bill Foster
Lois Frankel
Laura Friedman
Maxwell Alejandro Frost
John Garamendi
Jesús G. "Chuy" García
Robert Garcia
Sylvia R. Garcia
Jared Golden
Dan Goldman
Vicente Gonzalez
Maggie Goodlander
Josh Gottheimer
Jahana Hayes
Jim Himes
Steven Horsford
Chrissy Houlahan
Val Hoyle
Jonathan L. Jackson
Sara Jacobs
Pramila Jayapal
Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.
Sydney Kamlager-Dove
Marcy Kaptur
William R. Keating
Ro Khanna
Greg Landsman
John B. Larson
George Latimer
Summer L. Lee
Susie Lee
Teresa Leger Fernández
Mike Levin
Zoe Lofgren
Seth Magaziner
John W. Mannion
Sarah McBride
Jennifer L. McClellan
Kristen McDonald Rivet
James P. McGovern
Kweisi Mfume
Dave Min
Gwen S. Moore
Jared Moskowitz
Seth Moulton
Frank J. Mrvan
Kevin Mullin
Jerrold Nadler
Richard E. Neal
Donald Norcross
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Johnny Olszewski, Jr.
Ilhan Omar
Jimmy Panetta
Chris Pappas
Nancy Pelosi
Scott H. Peters
Brittany Pettersen
Chellie Pingree
Mark Pocan
Nellie Pou
Mike Quigley
Delia C. Ramirez
Jamie Raskin
Deborah K. Ross
Raul Ruiz, M.D.
Patrick Ryan
Andrea Salinas
Linda T. Sánchez
Mary Gay Scanlon
Jan Schakowsky
Bradley Scott Schneider
Kim Schrier, M.D.
David Scott
Terri A. Sewell
Lateefah Simon
Adam Smith
Eric Sorensen
Darren Soto
Melanie Stansbury
Greg Stanton
Haley M. Stevens
Marilyn Strickland
Suhas Subramanyam
Eric Swalwell
Emilia Strong Sykes
Mark Takano
Shri Thanedar
Bennie G. Thompson
Mike Thompson
Dina Titus
Rashida Tlaib
Jill Tokuda
Paul D. Tonko
Norma J. Torres
Ritchie Torres
Derek T. Tran
Juan Vargas
Gabe Vasquez
Marc A. Veasey
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Bonnie Watson Coleman
George Whitesides
Nikema Williams
Frederica S. Wilson
Joyce Beatty