Pell Needs More Thought, Fewer Quick Fixes

Pell Needs More Thought, Fewer Quick Fixes:

Pell Needs More Thought, Fewer Quick Fixes

by Mandy Zatynski

Today’s diverse panel of student aid advocates and experts didn’t agree on much, but one thing was for certain: Everyone is tired of one-year fixes. The Pell Grant program needs—and deserves—a more long-term solution to its funding woes.
“The whole discussion has become, each year, ‘How do we save the Pell Grant program?’ It would be nice to solve this problem so we can move on and do something bigger and better,” said Steve Burd, senior policy analyst at Education Sector. He moderated today’s panel, which touched on Pell and how it relates to current budget proposals from the Obama administration and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), campus-based aid, and long-term sustainability.
Jason Delisle of the New America Foundation touted Ryan’s budget plan as a means to preserve Pell over the long term. The budget plan proposes to keep the maximum Pell Grant at $5,550 indefinitely, and it does that by reducing eligibility for the awards. For instance, Ryan’s plan calls on Congress to set, for the first time, a maximum income cap for students to qualify for the grants. Delisle said that while there may be disagreements