The American Civil Liberties Union and more than 160 other organizations sent a letter today to Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Members of the House of Representatives urging them to vote no on H.R. 32. The bill — which the groups argue should be re-named the Defund Our Communities Act — would cut critical funding to hundreds of communities in 32 states across the country for programs that American communities depend on, simply because their local officials refuse to offer up local resources for Trump’s mass deportation and detention agenda.
The groups’ letter comes as communities across the country are still reeling from the Trump administration’s unilateral attempt to freeze all federal funding for vital services. Tens of thousands of state and local employees — social workers, police officers, teachers, bus drivers, nurses, mental health counselors, and more — stand to lose funding they rely on to do their jobs serving communities across the country, if this bill is enacted.
“Most of us believe every student deserves the opportunity, resources, and support to reach their full potential no matter where they live, the color of their skin, or place of birth. As educators, we have accepted the sacred responsibility to protect students — regardless of their immigration status — and to protect families, schools, and communities,” said NEA President Becky Pringle. “The Defund Our Communities Act would trample on these basic principles and, devastatingly, have a lasting, harmful effect on our most vulnerable students by taking away critical funding for school breakfast, lunch programs, and other essential services. All across America, as educators encounter students terrified by threats of mass deportation, we will continue to protect students from the reckless agenda and actions from politicians who want to play dangerous games with the lives of our students.”
In their letter, advocates highlight that H.R. 32 would undermine the constitutional balance of powers by escalating federal intimidation of state and local governments and undermining Congress’ power of the purse.
“Congress should not pass legislation handing the Trump administration vast and vaguely worded authority it may use to further intimidate, coerce and inflict chaos on schools, hospitals, local police, and other institutions that our communities rely on,” the letter states. “Nor should Congress, through this legislation, concede its ‘power of the purse’ — a vital aspect of our constitutional balance of powers that is perhaps more important than ever.”
The signatories represented over 160 organizations across labor, education, healthcare, civil liberties, and more, and included organizations such as the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, SEIU, League of Women Voters, NAACP, Planned Parenthood, MoveOn and more.
“The Defund Our Communities Act is a gross violation of the Constitutional balance of powers that our democracy depends on,” said Deirdre Schifeling, Chief Political and Advocacy Officer at the ACLU. “Congress should not hand the Trump administration the authority to threaten, intimidate, and coerce local governments across the country — doing so would set a dangerous precedent.”
The full letter is available here: https://www.aclu.org/documents/advocates-letter-to-house-of-representatives-re-hr-32
