Federal Budget and Tax Policy

Joint one-pager on how the federal student aid program can be improved.

President Trump's budget fails the millions of students who are struggling to pay for college. The budget would make student loans costlier for students, eliminate SEOG scholarships, and halve work-study funding. While re-prioritizing student aid spending could make college more affordable for students who need it most, the Trump budget cuts our overall investment in college...

Statement of James Kvaal on Senate's Proposed $1.3B Cut to Pell Grant Reserve.

The Administration’s plans to take nearly $4 billion from Pell Grants to fund programs entirely unrelated to education is nothing short of alarming. You'd have to be in outer space to slash billions from Pell Grants at the same time that everyone here on Earth is appropriately focused on addressing ballooning college costs and persistent student debt.

Today’s budget proposal would raise would costs and increase student debt. The Administration would make students pay $207 billion more on their student loans, a dangerously wrong-headed proposal. Overall, to cut the Department of Education’s annual funding by 12 percent, the Administration would cut Pell grant funding, eliminate SEOG scholarships, and halve work-study funding....

This afternoon the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal year 2019 education spending bill that increases the Pell award by a modest but meaningful $100, and cuts $600 million from the Pell Grant reserve fund. A broad coalition of Pell advocates has for years urged Congress to protect and strengthen the grant, including in a letter earlier this week from over 65 organizations,...