{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hernandez.house.gov/media/press-releases/hernandez-urges-department-education-halt-cuts-trio-programs", "Hern\u00e1ndez urges the Department of Education to halt cuts to TRIO programs.", "2025-07-22", "2025", "2025-07", "Democrat", "House", "PR", "Pablo Jos\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez", "H001103", "hernandez.house.gov", "hernandez", "https://hernandez.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, Pablo Jos\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez Rivera has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education demanding transparency and accountability following its June 5th proposal to eliminate funding for Federal TRIO Programs in the FY2026 budget.\n\n\u201cFor over 13,000 students in Puerto Rico and more than 880,000 nationwide, TRIO means the difference between dreaming of college and actually graduating from it,\u201d said Rep. Hern\u00e1ndez. \u201cCutting TRIO is a bad budgetary decision and a betrayal of our commitment to equity in education.\u201d\n\nThe letter comes on the heels of Rep. Hern\u00e1ndez announcing $4.6 million in federal TRIO Student Support Services funds to support low-income, first-generation, and disabled students in Puerto Rico on their road to graduation. The program already assists about 13,000 students on the island, offering tutoring, guidance, and personalized support. Joining Rep. Hern\u00e1ndez in sending the letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon were Reps. Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Darren Soto (FL-09), and Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez (NY-07).\n\nTRIO Programs, which include Upward Bound, Talent Search, Educational Opportunity Centers, and others, are federally-funded initiatives designed to support students from low-income families, first-generation college students, and students with disabilities. In Puerto Rico alone, nearly 950 students depend on Upward Bound services each year. The Department\u2019s recent cancellation of three Upward Bound projects has created uncertainty, prompting urgent concern about the future of these vital programs.\n\n\u201cPuerto Rico currently receives nearly $15 million annually for TRIO, which supports our students in pursuing and achieving their academic and career aspirations,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez added. \u201cThe idea that we can simply walk away from these students with no plan in place is unacceptable.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T14:40:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://hernandez.house.gov/media/press-releases/hernandez-urges-department-education-halt-cuts-trio-programs"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9261569939553738, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}