Dive Summary:
- A Congressional Budget Office report released Wednesday reveals that the Pell Grant won't face a shortfall until 2015.
- This new report could relieve some of the budget pressures on the federal student aid program, which was previously believed to be looking at a $5.7 billion shortfall in 2014 and is now estimated to have a $4.5 billion surplus.
- In the last two years, Congress has maintained the maximum Pell Grant amount by ending subsidized loans for graduate students, eliminating grace periods for undergraduates' unsubsidized loans and forcing thousands of students out of the program via eligibility changes.
From the article:
WASHINGTON - Reports of the Pell Grant's imminent peril have been slightly exaggerated, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released Wednesday. The federal student aid program, previously thought to face a $5.7 billion shortfall in 2014, now has another year on sound financial footing, and money won't fall short until 2015. ...