Did Congress just approve a bill to ELIMINATE Pell Grants?

[mistertrickster]

I heard this on my local newscast last night.

Since this is a federal program, I'm assuming that the reporter is referring to the US House & Senate. Unfortunately, he wrote it with such a hokey human interest slant, that I not only didn't get important information, but I can't successfully google it.

Any links or info you've got would be much appreciated.

****************

http://kwch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=KWCH/MGArticle/WCH_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031779281503&path=

"The House and Senate want to save money. So Saturday, they approved a bill that could eliminate those Pell Grants, meaning students could lose $300 million in free money every year.

"More than half of those students come from families that make $35,000 to $40,000 a year; not enough to pay for tuition that's increased 10 to 20 percent in just the last year."

******************

On edit--Pell grants are probably the most important program we have left to help poor(er) students afford college. It's not a loan--it's a grant, so it doesn't mire them in debt just when they're starting their careers.

[GingerSnaps]

1. They sure as hell did

Do you when it goes into effect? :grr:

[central scrutinizer]

25. No, they did not eliminate ALL Pell grants

They changed the formula for determining eligibility for Pell Grants. The formula is a sliding scale based upon a percentage of the federal poverty line for various size families. (I know this because I work with low-income students in a federal TRiO program and most of our students receive Pell grants. The maximum income level for eligibility for our program is 150% of the federal poverty line, but many students who are not eligible for our program receive Pell grants) The poorest students received the maximum Pell Grant, just over $4000 per year. Now the students at the top of the eligibility scale will be cut off and will have to borrow more. Hundreds of thousands of students receive some level of Pell Grants, and according to the story below, 90,000 will lose their Pell Grants, but these students are receiving only a small fraction of the maximum Pell amount. But don't get me wrong - I am not excusing this action, just making sure DUers have the straight story. Pell grants, even the maximum, have lagged far behind tuition raises. I don't have a link to the funding formula, but you can read more here:

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2004/11/21/a1.bushcuts.1121.html

excerpt:

Brian Fitzgerald, director of the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, which Congress created to advise it on student aid, estimated that the $300 million the administration hopes to save in the coming year will very likely mean that more than 90,000 students, largely among those whose parents earn $35,000 to $40,000 a year, would lose their Pell grants.

Whether furnished by colleges, states or the federal government, the vast majority of the nation's $110 billion in financial aid is dictated by an intricate federal formula. Its purpose is to calculate how much of a family's income is truly discretionary, and therefore eligible for covering college expenses.

Much like federal income tax, the formula allows families to deduct some of what they pay in state taxes. But last year the department reduced that amount, in some cases cutting it in half, leaving families with more money left over to pay for college, at least on paper.

[linazelle]

35. From the New York Times...

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/education/21pell.html ...

Bill Clears Way for Government to Cut Back College Loans -NYT

The federal government will be able to require millions of college students to shoulder more of the cost of their education under the new spending bill approved yesterday by the House.

The government moved to change its formula for college aid last year, but was blocked by Congress. Now, however, no such language appears in the appropriations bill lawmakers are considering, clearing the way for the government to scale back college grants for hundreds of thousands of low-income students.

Nearly 100,000 more students may lose their federal grants entirely, as Congress considers legislation that could place more of the financial burden for college on students and their families.

"They are throwing students out of the opportunity to seek a college education," said Senator Jon S. Corzine, the New Jersey Democrat who wrote the amendment to stop the changes last year, and introduced a similar provision this year that did not survive the conference committee. "It is now clear to me that this was a backdoor attempt to cut funding from the Pell grant program."

[GRLMGC]

2. Oh great!

I need any help I can get. This sucks

[craiga86]

4. Same here!

nm

[knight_of_the_star]

31. You're not the only one!

And the bastard had the gall to talk about Pell Grants during the third debate!!!

[rabbit2484]

32. I don't know what to say

My wife is in school right now. At 25 with two kids, we have been lucky enough to get through with paying $1000 at the most for one semester (not including books, babysitter, etc.) I guess I'll just have to get ready to have a load of student loans to pay when she's done.

I must say I was shocked for her first couple of semesters when we had to pay nothing, but some help would be nice.

[craiga86]

3. We have to look out for the wealthy

I think it's funny that the college tuition rates have increased all across the country. Funny how they think that in order to solve their terrible money-spending habits they can take it out on lower income families.

Not only that, but I'm positive a lot of parents thought that Bush was good for Pell Grants and education considering the statistics he tried to use in the debate with Kerry. Bush said that the money for Pell Grants increased to whatever, and Kerry shot back "thats because more people are eligible for them". If this is true, then it only exemplifies what these rethugs do best, lie to the people that vote for them to get in office.

[luaneryder]

11. And by eliminating Pell

lower income students can't afford higher education which means they fall back on the military as a career option.

[mistertrickster]

13. Yer right, Bush made a big point about how Pell Grants increased

under his watch.

For the Republicans to do this is not only despicable, it's hypocritical.

Dammit, they handed the Democrats a huge club to hit them over the head with--let's kill them with this. The same blue-collar NASCAR Bush voters are the ones that are gonna get royally shafted by this.

[Old and In the Way]

5. Why have pell grants if you've outsourced the future?

Seems to be the Republican logic. They've given up on America's future. They're cashing out and they aren't going to do a damn thing in Congress that does not benefit them or their financial interests.

[mikehiggins]

14. You are probably right

These scum have the same info the best of us has, and none of it looks all that good for continued primacy of the US on the world stage. Dumbo may accellerate the decline but there are so many things going on, from the environmental problems to peak oil to the amount of our debt held by China, that it is almost impossible to see a way out of the coming catastrophe.

Unless you get enough cash to move to Monaco or something like that.

I do beleive the rich and powerful have given up on the United States.

[Quill Pen]

36. Given up! Hardly!

They are busily gutting and plundering it, similar to the way many of the hostile M&A deals they're familiar with operate. They've acquired the country, and now they're selling off the parts.

With Pell grants cut, fewer kids can attend college. Meaning fewer graduates. Meaning more corporations looking for skilled workers can offshore work, and claim in front of the cameras that "education" is the real barrier for U.S. workers (when it's actually the fact that you can get a dozen Asian workers for the price of one American). Meaning more profits for the top 1%, Bush's base.

For a stupid guy, he's really not that stupid.

[Sugarbleus]

6. Crap! I was watching that but thought they INCLUDED Pell

Grants! I honestly thought they increased them....... What the hell was I watching?????? :crazy:

[peacetalksforall]

7. Chip, chip, chip away....the ultimate agenda? They want uneducated

and working-so-hard people that they can't know what is going on and they want us quiet and obedient and brain washed.

This is tragic.

[craiga86]

10. They decline to give hard workers higher pay

such as increasing the minimium wage, yet the decreasing value of the dollar doesn't seem to cause them any uproar. God I wish people could see these guys for what they really are!

[fugue]

8. I wouldn't have been able to go to my Ivy League university

without my Pell Grant.

I was one of the very few I knew who was on financial aid. Looks like the Bush administration wants to make sure that the only students at the elite schools are legacies.

[cire4]

9. I swear the Republicans want to make sure nobody gets educated

Here in California, Ahhnold continued his non-stop Jihad against higher education by raising tuition yet again and cutting financial aid. I was wondering how long it would take for Bush to jump on the anti-student bandwagon...After all, educated people are bad news for the Republicans. So they better make sure to restrict it to only the elite.

Ugh...I'm glad I only have one more year left for my degree...

[TroglodyteScholar]

12. Uneducated people...

...are easily controlled.

[AnIndependentTexan]

15. why go to college when you can go to iraq instead

[Pepperbelly]

16. Link to good article here...

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2004/11/21/a1.bushcuts.1121.html

[mistertrickster]

20. Ah ha, good article--I see what they did, they put the cut into general

appropriations. So the Dems couldn't vote against it unless they wanted to vote against their own pork.

They should have voted against it anyway, to a person. Chickenshits.

I'm starting to hate Democratic enablers as much as I hate the Repukes. At least the Repukes act on what they believe in with consistency: screw the poor. Given the choice between helping the poor or getting a new sewage treatment plant in their district, the Dems go with the sewage every time.

[knight_of_the_star]

33. bastards

I want to see the exact count of who voted on their wallet and who voted on their conscience so I know who to call and ask how the hell they sleep at night.

[legally blonde]

17. Of course, of course

Why are we suprised? Now that * has 4 more years, he can start his full-out assault on the middle class and poor. The GOP doesn't think that poor people should go to college. Only rich kids go to college.

[GRLMGC]

18. Good way to keep people down

Apparently, they only want people educated enough to be good worker bees.

[alfredo]

28. Reagan cut Pell Grants.

The Republicans are willing to destroy our ability to compete in the world, just so their kids won't have to mix or compete with lower class kids.

[greatauntoftriplets]

19. The late Senator Claiborne Pell.....

must be spinning in his grave.

On edit: How many Democrats voted for it? They also deserve our condemnation.

[sangh0]

21. I think they cut PELL but didn't eliminate it

but I could be wrong

[GRLMGC]

22. Either way

It still sucks.

[sangh0]

24. fer sure

but it helps to be accurate when we protest and write letters. Otherwise, we look stupid and hysterical

Maybe I'm a bit of a stickler, but I see no gain in defending inaccuracies.

[GRLMGC]

26. this is true n/t

[sangh0]

23. It turns out, PELL has NOT been eliminated

It's been cut

[GingerSnaps]

27. When will the bill take affect?

:shrug:

[m_welby]

29. Cutting Pell grants is a tragedy

I went to college on pell grants and loans, I'm one of the lucky ones. I'd be one of the students cut if I was still in college, only eligible for partial grants at the time. My son, who is in college now, has not been eligible for pell grants because I make too much money. Hmmm, Pell grants enabled me to go to college and become a better citizen, move into a higher tax bracket, support my family and better myself. Apparently this administration opposses them, typical.

I'm glad Sen. Pell isn't around to see all his work to help americans being dismantled. He was one of the finest Senators in the last century, I'm proud to say he was my senator and I voted for him.

[DrWeird]

30. This is a stealth draft people.

Expecting any less?

[demgrrrll]

34. Wow. I would never have finished by Bachelors degree without a Pell

grant. My employer paid for a good bit of my Masters so I was able to get through without too many loans. Paid on that mother for years though. This is a funny story. I did not realize that the grant was based on financial holdings so I wrote this long tremendously sad letter the kind of letter that can only be written when you are young and naive and desperate. The letter was pages long and detailed how much I needed the money and what I would do for society if they saw fit to give me the grant. I bet someone has that letter laminated and tacked in their office now. I know how much it meant to me to have the hope of something better and a way to support myself. I curse these people for robbing other people of hope. May they get what they deserve.