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Diving overview:
- Democratic House share extensive legislative package On Tuesday, it would double the Pell Grant, make two years of community college free and cap interest rates on new federal student loans.
- There is little chance that these bills will pass in a divided Congress, with Republicans holding a majority in the House and Democrats controlling the Senate. But it does provide insight into Democrats' higher education priorities.
- The Democratic package consists of bills proposed last year, including some introduced with bipartisan support. Democrats on the House Education and Labor Committee said they plan to add more proposals to the package in the coming months.
Dive Insights:
in video messageRepresentative Bobby Scott said Democratic proposals include lowering college tuition; Helping students earn quality degrees We provide you with the support you need to graduate.
“A college degree is the best investment a student can make in their future,” Scott said. Ranking Member of the House Education Committee. “With our help, future generations will have the opportunity to enjoy the lifelong benefits that come with a college degree.”
One of the package's biggest proposals is to double the Pell Grant by increasing the maximum award to $14,000 over the next five years. Student advocates have urged lawmakers to increase Pell Grants, often pointing to data showing their purchasing power has declined over the past few decades.
For example, the maximum awards for the 2023-24 school year are: — $7,395 — It accounts for about one third. average cost of attendance at public colleges and universities, according to the National College Attainment Network. This is a decrease from more than three-quarters of the cost of attendance in the 1975-76 school year.
Another key proposal would cover the cost of tuition and fees for the first two years of community colleges for eligible students through a federal and state partnership. The federal government would cover the full cost of the free college program for the first year, then shift to providing 80% of the funding after the fifth year.
This package will also provide Pell Grants to graduate students. Students who received Pell Grants for their undergraduate education but still remain eligible may apply for the award for their first graduate degree.
Under the proposal, students would be eligible to receive Pell Grants for up to 16 semesters, up from the current 12 semesters.
The Democratic proposal also proposes changes to the federal lending system. For example, eliminating interest capitalization on student loans. — This means that unpaid interest can no longer be added to the borrower's principal. and caps interest rates on new federal student loans at 5%.
in Posted this week, Beth Akers Senior Fellow from the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank., It said the proposal was “not particularly new or interesting.”
“While I don’t necessarily support the specifics of their proposed bill, I applaud them for once again going beyond advocating for unilateral student loan cancellation,” Akers wrote.
The Democratic proposal comes in a few weeks. Rep. Virginia Foxx, Republican of North Carolina Chairman of the House Education Committee, He unveiled his legislative package.
The College Cost Reduction Act would overhaul the student loan system, including rolling back recent higher education regulations and placing limits on student loans.
Markup on the Republican proposal began Wednesday morning. Ahead of the National Assembly's discussion, some higher education groups opposed this bill.
that much American Council on EducationTop lobbies in the higher education sector, He told House committee leaders Tuesday that he had “significant concerns about the bill as drafted,” including the borrowing limit. But ACE also praised several proposals, including reducing the number of student loan repayment options.
Center for American Progress and Student Loan Borrower Protection Center — We took issue with the language rolling back regulations like the 90/10 rule. The regulations require that at least 10 percent of a for-profit college's revenue come from sources other than federal education funds.
“If this bill passes, students, borrowers, and taxpayers will waste billions of dollars on predatory, high-cost, low-quality programs.” Nearly two dozen educational institutions, think tanks and student advocacy groups said in a letter to House Education Committee leaders.