Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge criticized the Trump administration’s proposed 2020 budget, particularly the funding cuts on programs that support people with disabilities.
Mr. Ridge is a Republican and currently serving as chairman of the National Organization on Disability.
One of the programs included in the Trump administrations chopping block was the Special Olympics, which provides sports programs for adults and children with developmental disabilities.
The White House budget office wanted to cut $18 million in funding for Special Olympics. The Department of Education included the proposed funding cut in its budget proposal. Last month, Secretary Betsy DeVos defended the proposal during a congressional hearing. She explained that he Special Olympics is not a federal program and it can raise money from the private sector.
An “unjust and fiscally foolish” budget proposal
In an op-ed recently published on the New York Time, Mr. Ridge noted that President Donald Trump was forced to restore funding for Special Olympics because of a strong bipartisan backlash. He welcomed Trump’s action, but he said it was “incomplete.”
