Fact check: Did Florida Congressman Curbelo vote for drastic cuts to education?
March 24, 2016
By Eugene Slaven
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a digital advertising campaign targeting first-term Republican Representative Carlos Curbelo, who is seeking re-election in the 26th Congressional District of Florida.[1]
The advertising campaign claims Rep. Curbelo voted for “drastic cuts to education” when he voted for the 2016 House Republican Budget, H. CON. RES. 27 “Establishing the budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2016 and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2017 through 2025.”[2][3]
The DCCC’s press release summarizing the campaign also identifies two specific education programs whose funding, it claims, the budget cuts:
| “ | Earlier this year, Congressman Curbelo voted with House Republicans to freeze the maximum Pell Grant award for ten years, effectively cutting the grant program that more than 31,000 students in his district rely on to pay for college. The House Republican budget could also prevent thousands of children from getting access to early education programs like Head Start.[4] | ” |
Is the DCCC’s claim that Rep. Curbelo voted for “drastic cuts to education” accurate? What about its claim that the House plan he supported included a 10-year freeze on the maximum Pell Grant award level, and would deny access to early education programs like Head Start for thousands of children?
Pell Grant funding
The 2016 House budget did call for maintaining “the maximum Pell grant award level at $5,775 in each year of the budget window.”[6][7]
Therefore, the DCCC’s claim that Curbelo voted to freeze the maximum Pell Grant award is accurate.
However, the DCCC’s claim that the freeze “effectively cut[s] the grant program” is inaccurate. The budget maintained the same level of funding when inflation adjustments are taken into account, which they were. The claim also paints an incomplete picture of Pell Grant funding, which has nearly doubled in recent years, and now supports far more students than in the past:
- Pell Grant expenditures increased from $16.5 billion (in 2014 dollars) in 2004-05 to $30.3 billion in 2014-15
- The number of students receiving Pell Grants increased from 5.3 million in 2004-05 to 8.2 million in 2014-15
- The maximum grant increased from $5,095 (in 2014 dollars) to $5,730 between 2004-05 and 2014-15, while the average grant increased from $3,116 (in 2014 dollars) to $3,673 over that period.[8]
Head Start funding
In addition, the DCCC claimed that the budget “could also prevent thousands of children from getting access to early education programs like Head Start.”
The budget did instruct the Committee on Education and the Workforce “to submit changes in laws within its jurisdiction sufficient to reduce the deficit by $1,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025.”[9][10]
But it did not single out early education for decreased funding, and any cuts would have to be approved by lawmakers in the future. Therefore, it is inaccurate to claim that Curbelo voted for “drastic cuts” that would “prevent thousands of children from getting access to early education programs like Head Start.”
How “drastic” are the cuts?
The budget refers to the 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 reports by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that document opportunities for reducing outlays by eliminating the “excessive duplication and redundancy in Federal programs including two hundred nine Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education programs in 13 different Federal agencies at a cost of $3 billion annually.”[11][12]
The DCCC’s claim of “drastic cuts” does not consider these and other opportunities for spending reductions that could preserve early education programs.
Conclusion
In November 2015, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a digital advertising campaign against first-term incumbent Republican Representative Carlos Curbelo, claiming that his vote for the 2016 House Budget was an endorsement of “drastic cuts to education,” including a 10-year freeze on the maximum Pell Grant award. In addition, the DCCC claimed that the House budget “could also prevent thousands of children from getting access to early education programs like Head Start.”
We found the DCCC’s claim that Curbelo voted to freeze the maximum Pell Grant award for 10 years at $5,775 per student to be accurate. However, the DCCC ad fails to acknowledge that funding for the Pell Grant program has nearly doubled in the past decade, and there has been a significant increase in the number of recipients.[13]
We found the DCCC’s claim that Curbelo voted for “drastic cuts to education” to be inaccurate. The budget instructs the Committee on Education and the Workforce “to submit changes in laws within its jurisdiction sufficient to reduce the deficit by $1,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2025,” but the budget itself does not identify or enact such cuts, nor does it target early education programs.
Launched in October 2015 and active through October 2018, Fact Check by Ballotpedia examined claims made by elected officials, political appointees, and political candidates at the federal, state, and local levels. We evaluated claims made by politicians of all backgrounds and affiliations, subjecting them to the same objective and neutral examination process. As of 2025, Ballotpedia staff periodically review these articles to revaluate and reaffirm our conclusions. Please email us with questions, comments, or concerns about these articles. To learn more about fact-checking, click here.
Sources and Notes
- ↑ Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, "DCCC LAUNCHES DIGITAL ADS AGAINST CARLOS CURBELO FOR VOTING TO CUT HEAD START FUNDING," November 19, 2015
- ↑ Govtrack.us, "114th CONGRESS 1st Session, H. CON. RES. 27," accessed March 20, 2016
- ↑ Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 142," March 25, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, "DCCC LAUNCHES DIGITAL ADS AGAINST CARLOS CURBELO FOR VOTING TO CUT HEAD START FUNDING," November 19, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.Con.Res.27 - Establishing the budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2016 and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2017 through 2025," accessed March 20, 2016
- ↑ Inside Higher Ed, "GOP Would Freeze Pell," March 18, 2015
- ↑ Collegeboard.org, “Pell Grants: Total Expenditures, Maximum and Average Grant, and Number of Recipients over Time,” accessed March 20, 2016
- ↑ H. CON. RES. 27, "Title II, Sec. 201 (3) Committee on Education and The Workforce," accessed March 20, 2016
- ↑ Education Week, "House GOP Aims to Cut Education Funding, Including Obama Priorities," June 16, 2015
- ↑ H. CON. RES. 27, "Title VIII, Sec. 815," accessed March 20
- ↑ United States Government Accountability Office, "2014 Annual Report: Additional Opportunities to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve Other Financial Benefits," April 2014
- ↑ Collegeboard.org, “Pell Grants: Total Expenditures, Maximum and Average Grant, and Number of Recipients over Time,” accessed March 20, 2016
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