Statement on Trump Administration Proposals to Raid $5.2 Billion from Pell Grants in FY2017 and 2018
After proposing to raid nearly $4 billion dollars from Pell Grants in its FY2018 Budget, the Trump Administration has just proposed additional deep funding cuts for Pell Grants in the waning months of the current fiscal year. The Administration’s proposed raid on Pell Grant funding now totals $5.2 billion, the equivalent of the average award for over 1.4 million (one in five) students receiving Pell Grants. This destructive move will make it much harder to make critical program improvements, including restoring student access to grants year round and increasing the maximum grant, which currently covers the lowest share of college costs in over forty years.
