Call to Action: FY 2025 Appropriations Sample Letter
Below is sample text that you may wish to use when you reach out to encourage your representatives to support funding for crucial student aid programs in the fiscal year (FY) 2025 appropriations bills.
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Subject: Protect Funding for Federal Student Aid Programs
Dear Representative [Name],
My name is [name] and I am the [title] at [institution/organization].
I am writing to you as a constituent to request that you support funding for crucial student aid programs as Congress considers fiscal year (FY) 2025 appropriations bills. The House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) Appropriations Subcommittee recently released a funding proposal for FY 2025 that calls for alarming cuts to critical education programs. The bill calls for a total of $72 billion for the Department of Education (ED), a 13% reduction from the FY 2024 enacted level.
Most notably, the proposal would cut funding in half for the Federal Work-Study (FWS) and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) programs, which provide $1.2 billion and $910 million, respectively, in funding to our country's neediest students each year. In the [district] of [state] in 2022-2023, [total amount of FWS dollars] in FWS funds were distributed to [total number of FWS students] students, and [total amount of FSEOG dollars] in FSEOG funds were distributed to [total number of FSEOG students] students. Decreasing funding for the FWS and FSEOG programs by 50% will have a significant impact on your constituents, particularly low-income students who rely on these programs to cover the costs of postsecondary education.
The Pell Grant is the cornerstone of the federal student aid programs, providing access to higher education for 6.62 million students each year, many of whom are low-income, first-generation, and students of color and 77% of whom have a family income of less than $40,000. Like last year, the first time in over a decade that the Pell Grant did not see an increase, the bill once again flat-funds the maximum Pell Grant award at $7,395 for 2025-26, which further decreases the program's purchasing power. In the [district] of [state] in 2022-2023, [number of Pell students] students received a total of [total amount of Pell funding] in Pell Grants. When accounting for inflation, flat funding for Pell in the FY 2025 House appropriations bill erodes the Pell Grants' ability to serve low-income students.
Together, these three programs make certain that constituents throughout your district have the support they need to access and succeed in higher education. I urge you to reject the proposed cuts and support funding for the FWS, FSEOG, and Pell Grant programs in FY 2025 to ensure our students have the resources they need to pursue their postsecondary aspirations.
I am happy to discuss this issue further and answer any questions you might have. Thank you again for your support of higher education and [insert state] students and institutions.
Sincerely,
[Your name and contact information]