Joint Statement from the Urban League of Greater Atlanta, Southern Education Foundation, and Georgia Budget and Policy Institute

July 3, 2025 (Atlanta, GA) - The "One Big Beautiful Bill" (H.R.1) advancing through Congress has the potential to diminish the health and well-being of Georgians, with a heavy toll falling on students attending public pre-K to 12 schools and colleges & universities. We, the undersigned organizations, are sounding the alarm. We are pleading with fellow Georgians to join us in petitioning political leaders to act on our behalf: Reject the bill due to provisions that curtail the growth of the state economy and stunt the educational advancement of Georgia's children and young adults.
Our immediate concerns focus on the anticipated impact of the following measures on Georgia residents: (1) the development of a national school voucher program, (2) cuts to Medicaid, (3) cuts to SNAP, and (4) higher education aid eligibility restrictions.
Consider these facts:
Georgia risks losing millions of dollars annually if the "Big Beautiful Bill" becomes law. The U.S. Senate recently voted to include a national uncapped private school voucher program in its version of the budget reconciliation bill. States are required to opt into the program, and donors are able to receive a dollar-for-dollar maximum tax credit of $1,700 each year. This represents the first time in American history the U.S. Senate has formally supported sending public dollars to private schools through a school voucher program, despite the fact that:
• Vouchers divert critical funds from public schools, which 90% of American families choose for their children to attend.
• Vouchers often go to students who never attended public schools in the first place, draining taxpayer funds to subsidize private school tuition for wealthy families.
• The most comprehensive review of school voucher programs concluded that no clear academic advantage exists for students using vouchers to attend private schools compared to students from similar socioeconomic backgrounds in public schools.

The bill also imperils the health of Georgia's children.
More than 100,000 children and adults in our state would lose access to Medicaid coverage. At least 40 percent of children in Georgia receive health care through Medicaid. Nearly 400,000 people in the state may also lose their Affordable Healthcare Act coverage.
The bill would cause children to go hungry. Up to 382,000 households in Georgia with school-aged children may lose food assistance. The House Agriculture Committee bill cuts SNAP by at least $230 billion over nine years, reducing the sustenance program by more than 20 percent. One of the harshest cuts would be removing food assistance from people - including, for the first time, parents with children over the age of 6 and adults aged 55 to 64 - who would be dropped from the rolls due to a stringent work requirement complicated by bureaucratic hurdles.
Higher education is increasingly necessary to prepare the workforce in the technological era. However, the latest Senate version of the bill eliminates Grad PLUS loans and restricts the use of Parent PLUS loans for individuals seeking access to higher education. The U.S. House of Representatives' original bill puts Pell Grant funding at risk for at least 124,000 Georgia students.
• Cuts would create significant, if not impenetrable, financial barriers for Black students, particularly those attending Georgia's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Georgia ranks seventh in the nation for the number of Pell Grant recipients, approximately 228,026, and third in the nation for student loan debt per borrower, averaging $42,000.
• Studies show that Georgia's 10 HBCUs consistently and collectively generate an estimated $1.6 billion in economic impact per year and support over 13,000 jobs for the state. Undermining the financial stability of HBCUs through federal cuts would be a major blow to Georgia's ability to educate its students and would deter economic development throughout the state.
The budget reconciliation proposal would devastate Georgia's school systems, state economy, health, and future ability to prepare its workforce. We urge Congress to reconsider these detrimental proposals and invest in our schools and healthcare system to support hardworking students and families striving to break cycles of poverty and thrive in our society.
Our assessment of the bill's potential damage relies on statistical data provided by credible sources, including the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI), and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
The state of our health and education has ripple effects that impact all of us. We encourage all Georgians to contact members of the Georgia congressional delegation and House members immediately. Use this link for a list of their names and contact information: Congress.gov/members/find-your-member
Demand that your representatives reject any provision in the Senate Reconciliation Process for the OBBB HR-1 bill that jeopardizes education funding and the health of Georgians with lower incomes. Anything less than the rejection of these measures would diminish Georgia's prosperity, stability, and status as a desirable place to live, work, and do business now and far into the future.

The Urban League of Greater Atlanta
230 Peachtree Street, NW
Suite 2600
Atlanta, GA 30303

Media contact:
Cecilia Cheeks
Email: cecilia@cecintelpr.com
Phone: 404-909-9540

About the Urban League of Greater Atlanta (ULGA)
The Urban League has operated in the Atlanta area since 1920 with the mission of promoting civil rights and economic justice for Black people and others in marginalized communities. The Urban League of Greater Atlanta works in partnership with public, private, and civic organizations to close the racial wealth gap. It delivers results in programs that focus on education, legislative advocacy, workforce development, homeownership, entrepreneurship and small business growth, economic development, and civic engagement. The agency is one of 98 affiliates of the National Urban League, founded in 1910 and headquartered in New York City. Please visit www.ulgatl.org for more information about the Urban League of Greater Atlanta.

This release was published on openPR.