Pell grants on the line
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) -- On Sunday, the House is set to vote on an historic overhaul of the nation's health care system. It will also take up an issue that will get far less attention but could affect the wallets of millions of Americans.
The nation's popular Pell grant program, which provides federal grants to millions of Americans based on financial need, is facing a $19 billion budget gap.
The economic downturn is a big part of the cause. Federal officials who run the program were caught off guard by the sheer number of people who went back to school and earned low enough incomes to qualify for the grants. They underestimated the number of recipients for this year by 765,000.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan warned this week that grants for 8 million students could be reduced next year if the legislation doesn't pass or Congress doesn't take other steps to fund the grants. And nearly 600,000 students could lose their grants outright.
This year, the maximum Pell grants were $5,350, in part because of extra