Congress went to work on education funding last week, and the results aren’t pretty. According to ThinkProgress.org, the Senate Appropriations Committee put forth a bill that included education funding for the next fiscal year.

The funding level is about $2 billion less than it was in 2015, which means a potential loss of programs.

The Senate’s version wasn’t as bad as what the House came up with. The appropriations committee in the lower chamber wants to slash $2.8 billion from the department of education.

What’s at stake is the department’s research ability. Thing Progress’ article states that the department “would lost 80 percent of its research budget and all funding for preschool development grants, School Improvement Grants, and the Advanced Placement Test Fee program, which allows low-income high school students to afford tests that provide them with college credits.”

That’s fairly significant.

In December of last year, the department awarded the preschool development grant to 18 states. That sum totaled almost $300 million and goes towards allowing more kids access to preschool programs.

If the House and Senate keep with cutting the grant, this will hurt thousands of children nationwide.

When we see politicians making drastic and harmful decisions like this, it shows just how empty politics can seem at times. Getting rid of the education department’s research budget and slashing preschool grants may save money but it will hurt us in the long run.

Hopefully both sides are able to compromise so that the cuts stop short of hurting kids who are about to start their education.