WASHINGTON, D.C.
Plans to increase the maximum Pell Grant for needy students hit a snag in the U.S. Senate this week, as members of a powerful committee voted to freeze the top grant again in 2007.
The Senate’s education appropriations subcommittee voted to leave the maximum grant at $4,050, where it has remained since 2003. Advocates had hoped the Senate would join the House of Representatives in proposing a $100 increase for next year.
In what some considered a surprise move last month, a House panel recommended a $100 increase in the maximum grant for 2007. But that plan would need Senate support before reaching the White House.
Despite the Pell freeze, Senate Republican leaders noted that their bill would protect many programs from cuts, including Talent Search, Upward Bound and GEAR UP. All three are programs that promote college access.
The Senate bill rejects a call from the administration to cut more than $400 million by eliminating Talent Search and Upward Bound. Instead, the bill recommends level funding of $828 million for all federal TRIO programs, including the two programs the president sought to terminate.
The White House had said evaluations of Talent Search and Upward Bound showed that both programs were ineffective, but advocates contested that argument.
