Republicans say ‘Pell Grants are welfare!’

Republicans in Congress are trying to make dramatic cuts to the Pell Grant program that helps more than nine million low-income students attend college each year. The Republican proposal is to make $900 million in cuts which would drop 1 million students from the program within the next five years — half of whom could be kicked out before the end of this school year.

The plan would also shrink the size of the award for many current recipients. The grants currently offer up to $5,550 per year for college costs and are the foundation of federal aid for undergraduate students across the nation. The critical program has shrunk from paying 100 percent of tuition 40 year ago to a maximum payout of 33 percent today. The entire 2012 budget is under negotiation and Congress must vote by next Friday to avoid a potential government shut down.

Pell Grants became a candidate for the chopping block in October when chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, Minnesota Rep. John Kline sent a letter to the supercommittee declaring where the Republicans want to make cuts in the areas of education and labor spending. He identified Pell Grants and workforce training programs as expendable. Republicans want to make deep cuts to job-training programs across the nation.

Thirty percent of Louisiana undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Educators say these grants are more critical than ever, as average tuition rates are now almost three times what they were in 1990 — skyrocketing from $6,000 to more than $17,000.

Colorofchange.org sounded the alarm on the issue in an e-blast and is asking students and citizens who disagree with the proposal to call on members of the House of Representatives, where Republicans pose the biggest threat to Pell Grants, to vote down any attempts to cut or restrict the program. “Access to a good education dramatically increases a person’s chances for solid employment and pay. Young adults with a college degree are nearly three times more likely to be employed, and earn almost twice as much as those with just a high school diploma. Defunding Pell Grants will hit Black and low-income students the hardest. Nearly half of Black undergraduates rely on Pell Grants to attend school, and families with incomes below $40,000 constitute 90 percent of awardees.”

Earlier last week U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, of Louisiana joined other Democratic senators from Rhode Island, Connecticut and Montana on the floor of the Senate to speak in support of funding for Pell Grants. “Supporting Pell Grants isn’t about politics — it is about doing what’s smart for our country and what’s right for our young people who are trying so hard. Every student deserves the opportunity to achieve higher education, regardless of his or her family’s financial situation. For many needy students, Pell Grants are what make the dream of a college education a reality,” said Sen. Landrieu.

According to Landrieu, “Millions of American students have been helped by Pell Grants. In the past year, the Pell Grant program provided more than $32 billion to nine million American students including more than $440 million for about 104,000 students in Louisiana. But as Congress seeks ways to reduce the deficit, Pell Grants are being considered for possible cuts. Earlier this year, a proposal in the House sought to cut funding for over a million students by an average of $1,775. This would make it even more difficult for many needy students to achieve a college degree, harming our nation’s ability to compete in the global marketplace.”

ColorofChange.org added, “This debate is about funding priorities, and programs like Pell will be cut unless enough members of Congress stand up to support education. Our elected officials should be working to expand opportunities for economic growth, not decimating higher education programs that help put low-income students and students of color in good jobs.”

Early this year Republicans began to use racial “code-words” to challenge the very existence of the Pell Grant program. Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) starting calling Pell “the welfare of the 21st century.”

This article was originally published in the December 19, 2011 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper