(CHERRY HILL) — Today, Assembly Higher Education Committee Chairwoman Pamela Lampitt (D-Cherry Hill) issued the following statement in response to Governor Christie’s announced line-item vetoes of student higher education aid. Between slashing Educational Opportunity Grants (EOF), Tuition Aid Grants (TAG), and the NJ STARS program, the Governor’s cuts to student aid total nearly $53 million:
“Governor Christie’s vetoes of critical student aid programs are heartless and deplorable. It is outrageous that the Governor would go to bat to defend tax breaks for millionaires instead of college aid for middle and working class families.
“Governor Christie’s cruel cuts might play well on Fox News, but they don’t provide any relief for families struggling to give their kids a better future. His message to students is clear: tax breaks for the wealthiest, but more debt and less opportunity for you.
“It’s not rocket science to say that New Jersey’s economic future is closely intertwined with our investment in higher education. As President Obama said, investing in higher education and in student aid is key to ‘winning the future’. The Governor seems more interested in pandering to his political base than the future of New Jersey’s students.
“The Governor’s own Higher Education Task Force reported noted the importance of these student aid programs. Unfortunately, he’s turned a deaf ear to his own Task Force–much in the same way he’s turned a deaf ear to the needs of New Jersey’s college students and families.”