Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled a budget blueprint on Tuesday that would slow spending on Pell Grants as part of an effort to balance the federal budget.
The plan, which would slash spending by $5.5 trillion over the next decade, would freeze the maximum Pell Grant for 10 years and roll back some recent expansions of the program. The plan is for the 2016 fiscal year, which starts on October 1, but it would set spending priorities for the coming decade.
According to the budget, the changes in the Pell program would make it “permanently sustainable, so that it is able to serve students today and in the future.”
While the program now runs a surplus, it is expected to face a shortfall as early as 2017. The Department of Education has estimated that a quarter of recent growth in the program’s cost is due to increases in the maximum award that have taken place under President Obama. Fourteen percent is due to recent changes in the needs-analysis formula that have made more students eligible for the grants.
“Increasing eligibility to those with higher incomes drains resources from those who need the most help,” the budget reads.
But consumer advocates, like officials at the Institute for College Access and Success, warn that the cuts, if enacted, will force millions of low- and moderate-income students to borrow more, drop out, or forgo college altogether. In a news release, they pointed out that the program’s costs have actually declined 20 percent since 2010 and are expected to remain level for a decade, after adjusting for inflation.
“Congress should not balance the federal budget on the backs of students,” said Pauline Abernathy, vice president of the institute, known as Ticas.
House Republicans have proposed similar cuts in Pell Grants in past budget blueprints, to no effect. But this year is different because the party now controls both chambers of Congress. The Senate is expected to release its own spending plan on Wednesday.
Kelly Field is a senior reporter covering federal higher-education policy. Contact her at kelly.field@chronicle.com. Or follow her on Twitter @kfieldCHE.
