Assemblyman David DiPietro (R,C – East Aurora), an avid detractor of the DREAM Act, is calling for the controversial legislation to be removed from the budget following Gov. Cuomo’s decision to include the plan in his 30-day budget amendments. In the amendment, the governor ties the funding for Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) to the passage of the DREAM Act.

“Every single year, with these budgets, the governor endangers a program New Yorkers rely on to prove some sort of political point,” DiPietro said. “Whether it is his callous cut to OPWDD funding, or tying TAP to a radical, partisan agenda, this governor has shown the desire to take hostages. Our state provides TAP so that legal residents who may otherwise be incapable of attending college can attend. The DREAM Act can’t pass the Legislature because the people of this state don’t want it. You don’t always get what you want, governor, and you can’t take the ball home with you. Remove the DREAM Act from the budget, and let’s continue funding TAP as we always have.”

Assemblyman DiPietro sponsors Assembly Bill 2849, which requires all admitted or accepted students to SUNY and CUNY schools to be a legal United States citizen or resident. As of the 2013-2014 school year, TAP had 372,527 recipients receiving sums between $500 and $5,165.