Feingold Asks Admin to Stop Financial Aid Cuts for Low-Income Students

Feingold Asks Administration to Stop Financial Aid Cuts for Many Lower-Income Students

Estimated 1.3 Million Students Will Receive Reduced Pell Grants Under President's Plan, Some Will Be Dropped from the Program Completely

December 30, 2004

Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Russ Feingold today sent a letter to the Department of Education, asking that it rescind the changes to the financial aid formula for higher education that were announced last week. The changes, which will result in an estimated 1.3 million students receiving reduced Pell Grants, and an estimated 80,000-90,000 students receiving no Pell Grants at all, will be effective for the upcoming 2005-06 award year.

"I am deeply disappointed that the President wants to provide less aid to students coping with record-high tuition costs," Feingold said. "Pell Grants go to those who are most in need and these changes will make it harder for many students to realize their dream of obtaining a higher education."

For Wisconsinites, the changes mean a sharp reduction in the allowance for state taxes, which is used to reduce a family's Expected Family Contribution (EFC) for financial aid purposes. The allowance will drop from 10% to 7% for those making under $15,000, and from 9% to 6% for those making over $15,000. This makes Wisconsin one of the states hardest hit by the changes. According to the University of Wisconsin (UW), over half of the 3,700 students at UW-Madison who receive Pell Grants will see a cut in those grants, with an average cut of $383 per student. Since Pell recipients tend to be low-income, and since Pell Grant awards are already inadequate to meet the needs of most recipients, this cut is significant. Furthermore, the changes to the state tax allowance will impact other state and federal financial aid programs, magnifying the effect.

"At a time when many Wisconsinites, and many Americans, are already struggling with rising education costs -- not to mention a sluggish economy and high health care costs -- the Department should be providing more, not less, help to those who seek a post-secondary education," the letter read. "I understand and share the desire to address the huge budget deficit that the administration's fiscal policies have created ... (however) the budget should not be balanced on the backs of hard-working lower- and middle-income Americans..."

http://feingold.senate.gov/~feingold/releases/04/12/2004C30850.html

Those children is not learning under the president's new plan.

And to think, I campaigned for him way back when ....


:hippie:

do we really want the poor people to get educations? How can Dumbya be special if they get college degrees too?

What...? I hope Feingold suggests to Bush that the money that goes to schools like Georgetown be stopped, and instead applied to public institutions.

I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you.

There are plenty of fine, accredited schools with religious roots where anybody can get a good education. Then, there are dumps like Bob Jones University.

Even all us religion-hating-liberals can tell the difference.

logical and unconfusing.

I love Russ.

Julie