WASHINGTON – National Democrats are targeting GOP Rep. John Kline on his votes before the Easter break to cut Pell Grants to an audience they think will pay attention: College students.
This week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a one-day ad in the University of Minnesota's student newspaper as part of an ad campaign in college newspapers at 14 universities around the country, pointing out GOP-proposed cuts to the Pell Grants that help lower-income students afford college tuition.
Kline, who chairs the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, is among their targets. "We're using Congress' April recess to remind Minnesota students just how out of touch Congressman John Kline is on college affordability," DCCC spokesman Matt Thornton said in a statement.
The House Budget Committee's plan would cut $90 billion in Pell Grants between 2016 and 2025. U.S. Sen. Al Franken attempted to restore these cuts during a marathon budget resolution session last week, but his amendment failed.
The Republican budget would freeze Pell Grants for 10 years and target federal aid to those most in need. "It's unfortunate that Washington Democrats are launching blatantly disingenuous ads targeting college students," said Zach Hunter, National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman.
In the quarter-page ad that ran Thursday in the Minnesota Daily, the newspaper for the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, a cartoon character carried a sack of money with text that read: "Tuition too expensive? Last week, Congressman John Kline voted to make it harder for you to pay for school." The U's Twin Cities campus is not in Kline's district, but some 42,000 college students live in his district, according to the Census.