The Senate began work yesterday on its version of the annual spending bill for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education for the 2009 fiscal year.
The Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee approved by voice vote a bill that would provide $61.8 billion for the Education Department, including a $2.7 billion increase for Pell Grants, enough to increase the maximum by $69, to $4,800 (when the additional $490 from mandatory funds provided through the College Cost Reduction and Access Act is added).
The Senate bill would also:
- Increase TRIO program funding by $10 million
- Increase Gear Up funding by $5 million
- Increase Perkins Loan forgiveness funding by $5.7 million
- Provide funding equal to FY 2008 for other loan programs including Federal Work Study and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants.
While the increases in for financial aid are encouraging, they pale in comparison to the investment the Subcommittee proposed for the National Institutes of Health, which would be increased by $1-billion under the bill.
The subcommittee did not make any amendments to the bill that is scheduled to be marked up by the full Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday. The full House Appropriations Committee is also scheduled to mark up its version of the FY 2009 Labor-HHS-Education spending bill on Thursday. The House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee reported its version of the bill that includes a $3.1 billion increase for Pell, enough to raise the maximum Pell Grant by $169, to $4,900 (when the additional $490 from mandatory funds provided through the College Cost Reduction and Access Act is added).
The Senate bill spends a little less than the House bill, but the House bill does not provide an increase for Perkins Loan forgiveness. Specific spending amounts for the House bill have not been released, but both versions of the bill spend more than President Bush proposed in his FY 2009 budget request. Bush has threatened to veto any spending bill that exceeds the amount set in his budget request. The veto threat and the fact that this is an election year have many predicting that the Labor-HHS-Education spending bill will ultimately be stalled, and may never make it to the president's desk.
Media Coverage
By Haley Chitty
NASFAA Assistant Director of Communications
Posted 06/25/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.
