Many of the poorest students in this country, and especially low-income adult students returning to school, need federal financial aid to afford their college education. Yet 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. Furthermore, Pell Grant recipients today are more than twice as likely as other students to have student loans, and recipients who borrow graduate with over $4,500 more debt than their higher income peers.
This is not right! We need to invest in students, so that they can invest in themselves and their families. We need to resist efforts that erode Pell, like the U.S. Senate’s budget proposal, which would cut $1.3 billion from the program’s reserves—putting future funding in jeopardy.
Join us in pledging to keep Pell funding where it belongs—in the Pell Grant program!