ACE and a group of 18 other higher education associations sent a letter
(202 KB PDF) April 14 to the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations
Committees, expressing strong opposition to any effort to take funds
from the Pell Grant Program to use for any other purpose in the FY 2017
Labor-HHS appropriations bills.
This issue has arisen because the Congressional Budget Office now
expects Pell Grants at current levels to reach a “surplus” of $9 billion
between 2017 and 2025 due to the smaller number of individuals
receiving the grants than originally anticipated. However, that is just
this year’s estimation. Any strengthening or weakening of the economy
may change that.
Committee members reportedly are considering a plan to use Pell Grant
funding that is not needed for this fiscal year to provide increases
for other programs. In the letter, the groups emphasize that the only
use of Pell funding they would support would be to strengthen the
program, which could include the restoration of benefits that were
previously cut due to underfunding, such as year-round Pell Grants.
ACE also sent a letter
(197 KB PDF) last week to the chair and ranking members of the House and Senate
Department of Defense (DoD) Appropriations subcommittees requesting
continued support in FY 2017 for the critical funding of scientific
research provided through DoD.
In the absence of a FY 2017 budget resolution adopted by both
chambers—the deadline for approval is April 15—it is unclear exactly
what the process will be once appropriations bills move out of
committee.