| Despite representing a district that’s home to 14 tribes, Crane has been SILENT on a new Trump budget proposal that would eliminate 90% of funding for tribal colleges and universities in Arizona. These schools are “often among the few — if only — opportunities” for Crane’s constituents to pursue higher education in his rural district.
Crane’s silence comes weeks after he voted to gut funding for tribal radio stations that can serve as “the sole source of news and information,” including public safety and emergency alerts, for indigenous communities.
Just last week, Crane cast a decisive vote to slash Medicaid – a program that tribal communities in rural areas disproportionately depend on for their health care – to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.
DCCC Spokesperson Lindsay Reilly:
“Eli Crane’s contempt for his own district couldn’t be more clear. Time and again, Crane votes against what his own constituents need, whether that’s health care, education, or even emergency alerts. Crane doesn’t seem to care, but Arizonans do – and they’ll hold him accountable next year.”
See for yourself…
KJZZ Phoenix: Slashing funds by 90% could be ‘a death sentence’ for Arizona tribal colleges and universities
- The White House budget proposes to essentially defund tribal colleges and universities, known as TCUs — slashing federal funding by nearly 90% — for three schools across Arizona and dozens more throughout Indian Country.
- These tribally chartered schools — considered lifelines for language, culture and traditional knowledge instruction – fundamentally differ from their public and private college peers like Harvard or Yale, lacking large endowments, wealthy donors and high tuition rates. This all means opportunities for raising revenue are incredibly limited.
- Rose described them as “extensions of the tribal communities in which we serve, and TCUs are a direct expression of sovereignty over our education systems,” adding “ours is one step further, and that it’s grounded in who we are – steeped in Native ways of knowing.”
- Aside from the 22,000 students TCUs serve in any given year, Rose explained they also indirectly educate another 100,000 community members through programming as 1994 Land Grant Institutions.
- They’re often among the few — if only — opportunities for not only tribal members but non-Native residents in rural and remote areas to pursue higher education.
- “To propose a 90% cut is a death sentence,” said Tohono O’odham Community College President Stephen Schoonmaker, who just celebrated his first full year. “Some tribal colleges will die quickly and others will die slowly, but we cannot sustain without the obligated funds that should be coming and have come for a long time.”
- House Republicans… did not respond to requests from KJZZ when asked to weigh in on Trump’s proposal, including… Eli Crane.
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