GOP New York Assemblyman Robert Smullen was on “Fox and Friends” discussing the bill that Democrats blocked expanding college tuition aid to Gold Star families. This is especially hurtful to the families because there was recent approval for the same aid for illegal immigrants.

“This is one of those things of misplaced priorities that needs to be simply fixed as quickly as possible.”- NY Assemblyman Robert Smullen

 “This was blocked in a committee vote. It needs to come out into the assembly onto the floor so it can be debated and then actually, I think the governor will sign it, he has indicated that he would. It’s really time for action. It’s a time for us to take care of the families of our service members who are fallen.”

“This is a bipartisan thing. So, it is a process of procedural foul that needs to be corrected as quickly as possible. That’s really where leadership comes in. If we lead properly, we would then be able to take care.”

A vote of 15 to 11 by the Higher Education Committee opposing the bill means it’s DOA and won’t be debated or voted on by the NY Assembly.

This slap in the face to Gold Star Families is a week after the state approved $27 million to allow illegals to qualify for state aid for higher education.

OUR PREVIOUS REPORT:

Since the college admissions scandal broke last month, there’s been a lot of discussion around the topic of unfair admission policies at colleges across America. But what about one of the most disturbing trends in colleges? What about the 17 states that are giving illegal aliens free tuition, while making students who are American citizens pay the full rate of tuition?

In New York, lawmakers have taken it a step further. Two days ago, they voted down a bill that would have given kids whose parents died in the line of duty, while serving in our military the opportunity to attend college without paying tuition. Their vote took place only one week after they voted to give illegal aliens free tuition.

Syracuse.com reports – New York lawmakers on Tuesday refused to advance a bill that would have provided free college tuition to the families of military personnel from the state who were killed in the line of duty.
The Assembly’s Higher Education Committee voted 15 to 11 to hold the bipartisan bill, effectively ending its chances of making it to a floor vote this session.
The move comes a week after lawmakers passed a $175 billion state budget that included $27 million to provide college tuition aid for undocumented immigrants
Some Central New York lawmakers said it was outrageous to block a bill that would likely cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to help children of military members who died for their county.

According to Value Colleges – 17 states have passed legislation that allows immigrant students at any stage in the process towards citizenship to receive in-state college tuition status, provided that they meet certain criteria. These states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington State.
To take advantage of these programs a non-citizen student must apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an immigration policy founded by the Obama administration in June of 2012. Other conditions of receiving in-state status include attending two or more years of high school in that state, coming from a low-income family (the exact annual income varies by state) and ensuring that the student will apply for U.S. citizenship as soon as possible. For other states, immigrants will need an F-1 student visa to attend college in the U.S.

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