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New Bill Would Require Schools to Tap Endowments Before Taking Stimulus Funds

New Bill Would Require Schools to Tap Endowments Before Taking Stimulus Funds

“Congress should ensure aid is going to those who need it most”

The bill is being advanced by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and would affect schools with an endowment greater than $10 billion.

The College Fix reports:

Bill would force colleges with $10B-plus endowments to spend own funds before receiving COVID aid

A newly introduced bill aims to force colleges and universities with endowments valued at $10 billion or more to spend some of their own money on coronavirus-related financial assistance for students before they accept federal aid.

Introduced April 22 by Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, the bill has gained steam, picking up Republican cosponsors in recent days, including Tennessee’s Marsha Blackburn, Florida’s Marco Rubio, and Arizona’s Martha McSally.

“Universities with massive endowments should not be getting taxpayer money unless they spend some money out of their own pockets to actually help their students,” Hawley said in a news release. “This is common sense. Relief funds were intended for schools that need it, not wealthy universities that sit on huge endowments. It’s greed, plain and simple, and it’s wrong.”

Rubio stated colleges and universities with massive endowments “need a reality check.”

“Congress should ensure aid is going to those who need it most,” Rubio stated in the release.

On the House of Representatives side, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Ben Cline (R-Virginia) introduced companion legislation, with Cline saying “money allocated through this legislation should be reserved for businesses and institutions in need, not entities that have virtually unlimited resources through their foundations and endowments.”

Earlier this week, Northwestern University, which has an endowment valued at $11 billion, rejected $8.5 million in CARES federal aid.

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Comments

I like this Hawley guy, significant upgrade from Claire McCaskill. Those schools with those big bank accounts can afford it.

Pass this bill and cut taxpayer funding for public education pensions by 15% or whatever the decline of the S&P Index. The household income and net worth of the vast majority of all taxpayers has declined so too should teacher pension funding; more so for those States that have billions in Unfunded Teacher Pension Obligations.