A group of senators including Sen. Jack Reed and Senatore Whitehouse are pushing for higher Pell Grants for students for the 2025 school year.
In a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the senators say that they are concerned the value of the Pell Grant has declined over the past 50 years since it was first created. The current maximum award only covers about one-fifth of the average cost of a four-year college.
The senators are requesting that Congress increase the maximum award for 2025 by $500. They also say that Congress should protect all Pell Grant reserves and expand eligibility to students who have been historically excluded from being eligible for the grant.
“We remain concerned that the value of the Pell Grant has steadily declined since it was first created — now covering the lowest share of the cost of attendance in its 50-year history,” wrote the senators. “Increasing the maximum award would provide a substantial investment toward reversing this decades-long decline.”
The senators say that the need for additional funding for the Pell Grant program is clear. They also say that Congress should protect all Pell Grant reserves from any reallocation, raid, or rescission that would hasten any shortfalls in the program.
“The Pell Grant is the cornerstone of federal student aid, and currently helps over 6 million students pursue higher education in the United States,” the senators wrote. “With a continued investment in the Pell Grant, we can better extend educational opportunity to more students from low- and moderate- income families, who will be critical to meeting the demand for a highly educated-workforce.”
The full text of the letter follows:
Dear Chair Baldwin and Ranking Member Capito:
As you begin your work on Fiscal Year 2025 (FY 2025) appropriations, we urge the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Subcommittee to make sure the discretionary allocation for the Pell Grant effectively meets the needs of students, protects all Pell Grant program reserves, and expands eligibility to students who have been historically excluded or previously cut out from being eligible for the Pell Grant. We respectfully request you provide a discretionary increase to the award as Congress works toward doubling the Pell Grant for students.
We appreciate the LHHS Subcommittee’s work to increase the Pell Grant maximum award in recent years. But we remain concerned that the value of the Pell Grant has steadily declined since it was first created – now covering the lowest share of the cost of attendance in its 50-year history. Increasing the maximum award would provide a substantial investment toward reversing this decades-long decline.
The need for Congress to provide robust investment in the Pell Grant program is clear. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, students are still struggling just to meet their basic needs as they pursue higher education. Recently, for example, the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE) reported that 29 percent of the students they surveyed were food insecure, and 14 percent were housing insecure. Especially at a time of expected shortfalls in the Pell Grant program, it is critically important that the Subcommittee continues to protect all Pell Grant reserves from any reallocation, raid, or rescission that would hasten any shortfalls in the program. Pell Grant funds should be retained in the program to increase the maximum award, reverse prior eligibility cuts, and provide new opportunities to provide higher education to historically underrepresented students.
The Pell Grant is the cornerstone of federal student aid, and currently helps over 6 million students pursue higher education in the United States. With a continued investment in the Pell Grant, we can better extend educational opportunity to more students from low- and moderate- income families, who will be critical to meeting the demand for a highly educated-workforce.
Thank you for your continued commitment to the Pell Grant. We appreciate your consideration of these requests.
Sincerely,
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
