For Immediate Release:
February 5, 2007
For More Information: Luke
Swarthout 202-546-9707
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.
