WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, following the President’s call for Harvard University to pay the money back from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Senator Rick Scott outlined his plan to rescind funding for Harvard and other wealthy universities. Last month, Senator Scott sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Russ Vought urging the Administration to rescind billions of dollars of wasteful and unrelated funding included in the CARES Act, including for the Kennedy Center and the slush fund for bloated higher education institutions. 

Senator Rick Scott said, “It’s ridiculous that wealthy universities like Harvard, which has a $40 billion endowment, would get taxpayer funding during a crisis. That takes money out of the hands of small businesses and individuals that need it. The university whose mission is to educate the ‘citizen-leaders for our society’ should show some leadership of their own and return this money. If they continue to refuse to do so, I’m urging the President to immediately submit the rescission request to Congress that I called for two weeks ago so we can rescind the funding to Harvard and other wealthy higher education institutions.”

If the President submits a rescission request to Congress, it triggers a special process in which the funds are then locked down and cannot be used by the agencies for 45 days. During this time, Congress can either approve, modify, or ignore the President’s rescission request. In the Senate, rescission legislation is treated in an expedited fashion as it must be acted upon within a set time period, and is subject to a simple majority threshold.

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