U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore is speaking out against a proposal to cut Haskell Indian Nations University’s budget.

Haskell leaders were told earlier this month to expect a cut of about $600,000 next year – roughly 6.5 percent of the school’s $9.1 million budget.

Moore, a Democrat whose 3rd District covers part of eastern Lawrence, sent a letter to a federal budget office last week suggesting the proposed cut is a way to offset the cost of hurricane relief. He said cutting Haskell’s budget would be an “additional, unwarranted disaster.”

“To make additional cuts would further handicap the students and faculty of Haskell Indian Nations University and the Native American community at large,” Moore wrote in a letter to the director of the Office of Management and Budget.