TRANSCRIPT: Congresswoman Escobar on SAMHSA Funding, Office of Language Acquisition Funding During Appropriations Committee Debate

Last night, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) spoke during the House Appropriations Committee mark up of the Fiscal Year 2027 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. In her remarks, she spoke on two amendments she proposed.

The first amendment provided by Rep. Escobar to prohibit the temporary or permanent withholding of appropriated funds for SAMHSA funds to grantees that have received notice of their official grant award. This came after the Trump administration's decision to withhold SAMHSA funding - and then reverse their decision - impacted organizations in El Paso. This amendment was rejected by Republicans.

The second amendment provided by Rep. Escobar to ensure funding for the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) maintained its federal funding levels. OELA provides national leadership to help ensure that English learners and immigrant students attain English proficiency and achieve academic success. Republicans rejected her amendment and completely defunded this office, and because school districts, regardless of funding, are required by law to provide these programs, this means there'll be an additional financial burden on districts.

The videos can be found here and here, and a transcript of both parts can be found below:

SAMHSA Remarks

Congresswoman Escobar: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On this first amendment about SAMHSA cuts, I hope we can all agree just how important SAMHSA grants are in our communities, and the ability it gives our nonprofits and our public health systems, the power it gives them to help our constituents.

Five months ago, you all might have been on the receiving end of some phone calls, just as my team and I were when the Trump administration announced overnight massive cuts to the program. We got a flurry of calls and outreach from our community leaders who work on substance abuse and support for rehabilitative programs, and they were terrified about what these cuts would do to their ability to help our constituents.

Thankfully, the cuts were reversed. And really, that speaks to the power of the organizations that lobbied the White House, that called their members of Congress. That really took immediate action. But these cuts actually did have some pretty devastating effects on some of the smaller organizations.

One of the smaller organizations in my community that offers support for people who struggle with opioid addiction and other addictions. They got the notice, and because their budget was so small and so tight, they were on the verge of their payroll - they literally announced to a number of their staff members that because these cuts would have such a significant impact on the budget they were announcing - they announced layoffs. They eventually rehired many of those providers and many of the staff members. But the impact really demonstrated to us and to them that this kind of funding can't just be cut in the middle of a year without congressional consultation, without a process.

So this amendment really is straightforward, and it just says that the administration can't do this again. And it will send a message. It will show the folks that we have at home working on these very challenging issues, that we have their back. And it would tell the administration, "You can't do this without coming to Congress and getting our support first." It's that simple.

Mr. Chairman, thank you. I yield back.

Office of English Language Acquisition

Congresswoman Escobar: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Last March, the president signed an executive order declaring English as the official language of the United States, and this bill effectively eliminates the funding for the Office of Language Acquisition under the Department of Education, and the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) is unfortunately the latest victim of this administration and its cuts in the same year that the administration is saying English is our official language.

There are school districts across the country - and I don't know if any of my Texas colleagues are experiencing this as intensely as my district is - but with the state legislature significantly underfunding public education, many of my school districts are going through significant budget crunches, and there are a couple of my school districts that are dealing with a budget crisis. They cannot pick up the tab for what we are cutting here in this room today around English language acquisition.

I am so proud and privileged to represent a community where seven out of ten constituents speak to languages: English and Spanish. I'm very fortunate that I speak two languages. My son speaks three. My daughter speaks two. I think it is a point of real pride. But if we expect folks, if we expect this country to have English as its official language, we should at the very least provide the resources to our school districts to help communities achieve that goal.

So we can't have it both ways. We can't say we expect English to be the official language of this country, and we're going to cut all of the funding that helps get us there. So let's especially for those who may support the president's executive order, then let's support the program that will help American schools get us there.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.