Sandy Springs, GA – As part of the federal response to the coronavirus, Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Marietta) has announced that the CARES Act is sending more than $80 million in support to not-for-profit institutions of higher education with campuses in Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District. Fifty percent of these funds will be awarded as emergency financial aid for students at the schools, which include Oglethorpe University, Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, Chattahoochee Technical College, and Life University.
“Our students deserve all the support and resources they can get during this time,” said McBath. “A full government response to this unprecedented crisis includes addressing the losses schools have sustained as they adapt their programs as well as offering grants to students whose educational experiences have been upended. I’m glad to see the money we advocated for in the CARES Act come home to help students in our community.”
McBath, a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor,sent a letter to House Leadership urging additional restrictions on the higher education funding, including making for-profits ineligible for direct emergency grant funding. For-profit institutions are currently eligible to receive the funding from the CARES Act package. The closure of Argosy University last year left approximately 1,500 students at the campus in the Sixth District without an option for continuing education or loan forgiveness.
The letter was co-lead Representative Pramila Jayapal and signed by Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Steve Cohen, Jason Crow, Susan A. Davis, Suzan K. DelBene, Abby Finkenauer, Bill Foster, Jesús G. “Chuy” García, Sylvia R. Garcia, Raúl Grijalva, Josh Harder, Jahana Hayes, Derek Kilmer, Susie Lee, Andy Levin, Betty McCollum, Ilhan Omar, Katie Porter, Ayanna Pressley, Harley Rouda, Jan Schakowsky, Mark Takano, Rashida Tlaib, Lori Trahan, Nydia M. Velázquez, and Frederica S. Wilson.