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To:
Student Activists
From:
Ellynne Bannon, State PIRGs Higher Education Advocate
Date:
December 13, 2001
***
Call today: Urge the White House not to support a cut in the
maximum Pell Grant award***
The
White House is calling for Congress to cut the $4,000 maximum
Pell Grant award. Congress should make a final decision on
funding levels for Pell Grants in FY02 by early next week.
Both the House and Senate appropriations bills recommended
a $4,000 Pell Grant maximum award, yet there continued pressure
to cut the award because of the shortfall. Call the White
House and urge President Bush not to support a cut in the
$4,000 Pell Grant maximum award.
Last month
the Bush administration sent a letter to Senate leadership
informing them that thousands more Pell-eligible students
than expected are attending college this year. While this
is good news-- because it means that an increasing number
of poor students see a college education as possible, it means
that the Pell Grant program is facing a $1.7 billion shortfall.
To solve
this problem, the administration has proposed reducing next
year's planned increase in the Pell Grant maximum from $4,000
to its current level of $3,750. As members are about to make
final spending decisions the administration continues to pressure
Congress to cut the maximum award. This is the wrong approach.
While Congress has worked to restore the value of the Pell
grant, the current economic climate may put us even further
behind. Decreasing the maximum award threatens to halt the
significant progress we have made in recent years to restore
the buying power of the Pell Grant program. The shortfall
must be addressed to ensure that students receive the $4,000
maximum award that they have been promised. Urge the White
House not to support a cut in the $4,000 Pell Grant maximum
award.
Action:
Call the White House today and urge President Bush not to
support a cut in the $4,000 Pell Grant maximum award.
The White
House comment line: 202-456-1111.
*****
If you haven't already contacted your representatives to ask
them to not to cut the $4,000 award you can use the student
aid hotline to call: 1 (800) 574-4AID.
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