Trump administration proposes to end all government funding for the Special Olympics, arguing that private philanthropy will pick up the bill

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' 2020 budget would ax all federal funding for the Special Olympics.DeVos told the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday that the Special Olympics was “awesome” but could do without federal funding as it's “well-supported by the philanthropic sector.”The organization got about 10% of its 2017 funding from federal grants, with donations making up much of the rest of the total $148.7 million.It's the third budget in a row in which the Trump administration has proposed scrapping funding for the Special Olympics.Ultimately, the decision on government funding is made by Congress, so it is not guaranteed that the cuts will be approved.The Trump administration on Tuesday defended a plan to eliminate federal funding for the Special Olympics, saying charity donations could make up the difference.Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' budget proposal for 2020 would eliminate $17.6 million in federal funding for Special Olympics athletes, training facilities, and programs for children with disabilities.“The earmark for Special Olympics Education programs would be eliminated,” the budget proposal said. All three Trump administration budgets since 2016 have proposed cutting Special Olympics funding.Congress will decide whether to approve DeVos' plan, so it is by no means guaranteed that the funding will be cut.DeVos told the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday that the Special Olympics was an “awesome organization” but did not need any government funding as it is already “well-supported by the philanthropic sector.”Read more: 'Teachers don't need guns, they need a raise': Sen. Kamala Harris deflects skepticism about her $315 billion proposal to increase teachers' payAccording to the organization's latest financial report, the Special Olympics got about 10% of its 2017 funding, or $15.5 million, from federal grants, with much of the total $148.7 million coming from charity donations.In the committee hearing, Rep. Mark Pocan asked DeVos, “Do you know how many kids are going to be affected by that cut？”“I don't know the number of kids,” she said.Pocan replied: “It's 272,000 kids.”In February 2018, a Department of Education spokeswoman told Politico that DeVos would donate a quarter of her $199,700 salary to the Special Olympics.The broader 2020 budget proposed a 12% overall funding decrease for education, equating to $8.5 billion.Read more: The suicide death of a 23-year-old Olympic cyclist highlights a disturbing trend. Her former coach says we could be doing more.The education budget also proposes a $60 million increase in spending on charter schools, as well as several cuts to public-school funding, including from programs for students with autism and students who are blind.Rep. Nita Lowey, the committee's chair, said in a statement: “The Department of Education's budget request is just another example of this administration's disregard for facts and disconnect from reality. With this budget request, I'm receiving President Trump's message loud and clear: fund the wall with money from our children's schools.”De Vos tweeted that her proposed budget “puts the needs of students, parents, teachers & local leaders first.”