New Jersey higher-education leaders warn proposed federal cuts would squeeze students, research and workforce programs

Legislators and higher‑education officials heard repeated warnings Thursday that proposed federal budget cuts and recent executive actions could sharply reduce financial aid, research grants and workforce programs that New Jersey colleges rely on.

The joint hearing of the Assembly and Senate higher education committees brought national and state experts, including John Patrick Walsh of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and Francine (Fran) Pfeiffer of Rutgers University, to describe how proposed reconciliation instructions and agency actions threaten Pell grants, work‑study and institutional support programs.

The committee was told that the House reconciliation framework asks the Education and Workforce Committee to find roughly $330 billion in savings over 10 years and that earlier House proposals have included freezing the maximum Pell award and cutting dozens of student‑aid programs. John Patrick Walsh, assistant vice president of federal relations at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, told the committee that the Pell program is on a projected $2.7 billion shortfall going into fiscal year 2026 and that adding workforce‑Pell proposals would increase…