House votes on Pell Grants
The House voted 286-140 Wednewday. Jan. 31 to increase the maximum national Pell Grant award by $260, but this may negatively affect other government aid programs.
Luke Swarthout, U.S. PIRG higher education advocate, said this raise is a major step in the right direction. The Pell Grant is the government’s premier need-based grant aid program, serving more than 5 million low-income students, he said.
“The vote to pass the fiscal year 2007 budget marks the first increase in the maximum grant award since 2002,” he said.
Over the last five years, while students have been paying more for school, the maximum Pell Grant has remained the same. As a result, students must have made up for the gap by working more and taking out larger loans, he said. Some student may even choose less expensive schools to go to in order to be able to pay tuition, he said.
“Congressional leaders should be commended for making college access and affordability a priority in a challenging budget climate,” he said.
This budget change also makes cuts into excessive subsidies in banks, which may mean lower interest rates, he said.
David Cruz, a 24-year-old student in the College of Business has been receiving Pell Grants to pay for his schooling over the past couple of years.
“I think this is awesome! I could use the extra $260 to buy books, scantrons and other expenses I need for my classes,” Cruz said.
These new Pell Grant funds will be available for students in the 2007-2008 aid year.
Though the Pell Grant will be increasing, other government financial aid programs will be affected. While this budget acknowledges the need for an increase to the Pell Grant, it represents “a rearrangement of federal spending rather than a new commitment to making college accessible for low income students,” he said
Some of the aid programs where funds for the increased Pell Grant will come from include the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, the Perkins Loan program and the LAEP program, Swarthout said.
In this bill (S. 454), it is said the maximum deduction allowed to be taken out of federal loans will depend on cost of living, school attendance and individuals’ tax records. For a school with relatively low tuition like USU, this may not affect students as much as it would for students who go to schools with much higher tuitions.
State PIRGs are non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy groups.
-emredfie@cc.usu.edu