Trump Budget Outline Reflects Support for Charter Schools

Clare McCann was quoted in Voice of America on Trump's education budget outline.

Clare McCann, senior policy analyst for the New America think tank in Washington, told VOA an increase in federal funds for charter schools could attract a lot of interest.

"If states find a pot of money that they can use for education, even if it is not for their traditional public schools, I think it is likely that they would flock to that," McCann said.

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"On the whole, it may make it harder for borrowers who plan to go into public service to have their loans paid down quickly, but on the other hand, I think they did try to mitigate some of those issues with their income-based repayment plan proposal," McCann said.

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McCann said some of the programs targeted for cuts have strong support from constituents, who could put pressure on lawmakers from both parties to either ignore or tone down some of the proposals, including the plan to cut the public service loan forgiveness program.

"Instead of eliminating public service loan forgiveness, they might limit the amount you can have forgiven, or make some tweaks as to who is eligible that would reduce the cost of the program," she said.

Because Republican majorities control both houses of Congress, McCann said it is likely lawmakers will try to give the president most of what he wants in the budget. However, he added, some changes are inevitable.