Published: July 2017

Raiding of Pell Grant funds will hurt millions of low-income students

Forty organizations representing students, consumers, colleges, workers and more urged House appropriators to oppose the $3.3 billion rescission from Pell Grants included in the FY 2018 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill. The current maximum Pell Grant covers less than one-third of the cost of attending a four-year public college – the lowest share in more than 40 years. And absent Congressional action, FY18 will be the first time in six years that the grant will not even increase to keep pace with inflation.

Pell Grants are the foundation of our national investment in higher education, giving low- income students the opportunity to go to and graduate from college and pursue careers that increasingly require a postsecondary education. This year, Pell Grants will help over 7.5 million students — including one-third of all White students, two-thirds of all Black students, and half of all Latino students — continue their education after high school. Consumer Action joins coalition advocates in urging Congress to oppose the raiding of Pell Grant funds to finance non education programs. Pell Grant dollars must remain in the Pell Grant program.

Lead Organization

American's for Financial Reform (AFR)

Other Organizations

American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) | American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) | American Association of University Women (AAUW) | AFSCME | American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations | American Federation of Teachers | Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) | Center for Responsible Lending | Complete College America | Consumer Action | Consumers Union | Democrats for Education Reform Generation Progress | Higher Ed Not Debt | Higher Education Loan Coalition (HELC) | Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU) | Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) | League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) | Michigan College Access Network | NAACP | National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) | National Association for Equal Education in Higher Education (NAFEO) | National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs (NASSGAP) | National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) | National Campus Leadership Council | National College Access Network | National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients) National Education Association | National Skills Coalition | National Urban League Scholarship America | Tennessee College Access and Success Network | The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) | The Education Trust | The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) | uAspire | UNCF | United States Student Association (USSA) | University of California Student Association (UCSA) | UnidosUS (formerly the National Council of La Raza) | U.S. PIRG | Yes We Must | Young Invincibles

More Information

To read the full coalition letter, please click here.

For more information, please visit AFR's website.

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