Amid a 2020 proposed budget cut for the special olympics brought forward by Trump administration Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., is taking a bow for reminding her 270,000 kids are seeing their support taken away.
"In @BetsyDeVosED's budget, there are major cuts to programs like the Special Olympics," Rep. Pocan tweeted Monday. "Sec. DeVos didn't know the number of kids who would be hurt by that cut, so I made sure she now knows that 272,000 kids are seeing their support taken away."
Secretary DeVos is widely being criticized for the proposed zeroing out of federal funding for the special olympics, to which she called "difficult decisions."
"Mr. Pocan, let me just say again, we had to make some difficult decisions with this budget," DeVos said during a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing Monday. "I don't know the number of kids."
Rep. Pocan interrupted her to remind her it was 270,000 kids.
"Let me just say that the Special Olympics is an awesome organization – one that is well supported by the philanthropic sector as well," DeVos replied.
Pocan continued to attack the secretary on a proposed 26-percent cut to special education grants to states, among other cuts, asking "what is it that we have a problem with with children who are in special education? Why are we cutting all of these programs over and over within this budget?"
DeVos' response was the budget has retained the funding levels for special education programs like IDEA in an overall budget than trims 10 percent. Pocan got testy over her pivoting off the specific programs he had mentioned.
"Supporting students with special needs, we have continued to hold that funding at a level amount in the context of a budget proposal that is a 10 percent reduction," DeVos said.
Pocan then finished with a rebuke of the cuts amid to a 15.6 percent increase in executive salary of appropriation.
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