02.06.17

Cantwell, Senators to Trump: Expand Pell Grant to Make College More Affordable

28 Senators urge Trump Administration to help students pay for college by expanding Pell Grant starting in FY 2017

WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to help make college more affordable for American families, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell joined with 27 of her Senate Democratic colleagues to send a letter to President Trump asking him to expand the Pell Grant beginning in FY 2017.

Pell Grants are federal, need-based financial aid awarded to qualified undergraduate students. Pell Grants help pay for tuition, but unlike student loans, they do not need to be paid back.  Last year, over 7 million students nationwide, including over 106,000 Washington state students, benefited from over $28 billion in Pell Grants.  The maximum grant for the current school year is $5,815.

As the Senators note in the letter, the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee voted last year to maintain the scheduled increase in the maximum grant to $5,935 and restore access to Pell Grants year-round, allowing students to accelerate their studies beyond the traditional two semesters per year.

“The Pell Grant is the bedrock of our federal financial aid programs, helping roughly eight million students per year pay for college,” the Senators wrote. “As the new Congress and Administration work together to complete the Fiscal Year 2017 appropriations process, we ask for your support for strengthening mandatory and discretionary funding for the maximum Pell Grant, restoring access for year-round studies, and protecting Pell surplus funds.”

Other Senators who signed the letter include Jack Reed (D-RI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kristin Gillibrand (D-NY), Edward Markey (D-MA), Al Franken (D-MN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Angus King (I-ME), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Bill Nelson (D-FL).

The full text of the letter is below:

The President

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Ensuring that more Americans are able to earn college degrees and other postsecondary credentials will increase our productivity, spur innovation, and lay the foundation for robust economic growth.  We are writing to ask for your support for making college more affordable by expanding the Pell Grant, starting with Fiscal Year 2017.

The Pell Grant is the bedrock of our federal financial aid programs, helping roughly eight million students per year pay for college.  Last year, on a bipartisan basis, the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee voted to maintain the scheduled increase in the maximum grant to $5,935 and restore access to Pell Grants year-round, allowing students to accelerate their studies beyond the traditional two semesters per year.  As the new Congress and Administration work together to complete the Fiscal Year 2017 appropriations process, we ask for your support for strengthening mandatory and discretionary funding for the maximum Pell Grant, restoring access for year-round studies, and protecting Pell surplus funds.

We must do everything that we can to ensure that this generation of Americans has the educational opportunities necessary to achieve the American Dream.  As we move beyond Fiscal Year 2017 funding decisions, we look forward to working with you to further strengthen the Pell Grant and make college more affordable for American families.

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