Dive Brief:
- The Republican budget proposal from the House of Representatives includes deep cuts to the Pell grant program, which offers need-based funding to low-income college students.
- According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the proposed budget lays out a plan for the next decade, freezing the maximum Pell grant at $5,500 starting in October and rolling back expansions of the program that have taken place under President Barack Obama.
- Pell defenders say the cuts could force “millions of low- and moderate-income students to borrow more, drop out or forgo college altogether,” the Chronicle reports.
Dive Insight:
The proposed cuts to the Pell grant program come at a time when its budget has a surplus, but the Chronicle reports that extra money is expected to run out in the next couple years. Republicans have tried to cut the program in the past, but without control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, they have not been successful. There is a fear this year may be different.
If the Pell grants are frozen and fewer students have the opportunity to get a subsidized education, it could make college entry for low-income and minority students a greater challenge at a time when calls for increasing diversity on college campuses are coming in the loudest. The Senate should release its own budget proposal today.