Our friends at CampusProgress have initiated an important campaign dedicated to ensuring that full Pell grant funding is available to all students who qualify.
As their latest alert explains:
"A few months ago, Congress passed a historic piece of legislation that cut wasteful subsidies to student loan companies and used the $67 billion in savings to invest in education, including the Pell grant program. Unfortunately, the program is still suffering from a funding shortfall because many people are enrolling in school because of the difficult job market, and because the recession has strained family budgets, leading many more students to qualify. If Congress doesn’t act soon, students would see $5.7 billion less in need-based grants. This would mean that the maximum award–given to the neediest students–would be reduced by $845 to $4705."
This 15 percent cut would represent only the third time the Pell grant has ever been cut since its inception in 1965.
CampusProgress is asking Congress to attach Pell grant funding to the FY2010 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill (HR.4899), which could be considered by the end of the month. Join the call and implore your Congressional reps to Save Pell!
