The New York Assembly last week passed a budget that included $27 million in tuition assistance for the children of undocumented immigrants, but blocked a bill adding to a fund for the families of soldiers who died while serving in the military.
The Assembly’s Higher Education Committee held the bill by a vote of 15 to 11. It would have increased funding for an existing program that provides tuition, room and board to the State University of New York or the City University of New York for the children, spouses and financial dependents of soldiers who died, went missing, or became severely disabled while serving in the military after 1990.
“It’s disgraceful,” Assemblyman Gary Finch, a Republican, told Syracuse.com. “Soldiers who lay down their lives and make the ultimate sacrifice represent the best of us. The children they love so dearly deserve access to the opportunity and promise that is the hallmark of this country. I can’t imagine what’s in your heart when you vote ‘no’ on a bill like this.”
Assemblyman Will Barclay, also a Republican, said that Democrats didn’t want to pass the bill because it was authored by a member of the GOP.
“We get so caught up in majority and minority issues here, we can’t see the forest through the trees,” Barclay said. “I don’t know how they don’t justify this.”
Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, a Democrat, told the New York Post that the state’s budget did not allow for the increase in funding.
“We will make every effort to ensure going forward, we have some additional resources allocated to the program so that as an entitlement, it is not falling short of the needs of our military families,” she said.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.