Statement of
U.S. PIRG Higher Education Advocate Luke Swarthout
The FY08 budget calls for a significant increase in the
maximum Pell Grant award to $4,600 but also calls for deep cuts to critical
student aid programs including the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
(SEOG), the Perkins Loan Program and the LEAP Program. While this budget acknowledges the importance
of increasing the Pell Grant award, unfortunately it largely represents a
rearrangement of federal spending rather than a new commitment to making college
accessible for low income students.
We’re happy to see that the budget also makes cuts to the excessive
subsidies to banks.
In an analysis released in 2005, U.S. PIRGs’ Higher
Education Program found that the average public college student from a family
with an annual household income of $62,240 or less will have an average of
$3,600 in annual unmet need. Students deal with unmet by taking out additional
loans, working longer hours or, in some cases, changing college choices or not
attending college at all.
