Did Bush Cut Funding on Pell Grants?

[SemiCharmedQuark]

I was reading Fact Check.org and they said that Kerry was wrong about Bush cutting Pell Grant info, but I had read articles elsewhere that said he was cutting funding. I googled it and again found articles saying the same. What's the deal? I know DUers will know.

[WindRavenX]

1. I got 4K last year in pell grants

This year I got 1K.
My family actually is poorer this year than last.
So I have some personal rage against W because of this

[democratreformed]

2. Same thing happened to my daughter only their income was

slightly higher(although not enough to make much difference). She's pretty steamed about it too.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

3. Yeah, my Pell grant was significantly less too.

Im just confused that Factcheck.org claims it was increased by 60%?

[WindRavenX]

4. the # of people probably increased

But the AVERAGE AMOUNT per grant went down by A LOT.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

6. That's what Kerry said at the third debate and Factcheck.org says he lied

[WindRavenX]

11. whatever, Bush has made going to college harder for middle class Americans

...like me.
I don't mind going into debt, and my parents are also willing to shoulder some of the loans, but I know that MANY families are NOT like that. I'm very thankful that my parents place education so high on their priority, but again, many families become discouraged at the high cost of college (which has RISEN 30% under Bush) and do not try to get their kids through.
I am extremely angry about this.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

14. Me too...

Im just surprised that this website that so many people go to has their facts screwed up...especially because I suspect that many people will go there and read what they have to say and leave it at that.

[theoceansnerves]

18. i don't particularly care for that website honestly.

i know it gets referenced a lot here, but i don't really care for it for the reason i just referenced. it's damn well a "fact" that the pell grant doesn't have as much purchasing power now as it did three years ago, it part because the maximum level wasn't raised. it's a "fact" that it costs more to attend school. they don't show you those figures, just the ones that funding has been "increased" 60%.

[theoceansnerves]

5. yes

he didn't cut funding. what he did was break his promise to raise the pell grant maximum to $5100 from it's current max of $4050. it has been frozen at that rate for three years. however, when kerry said "cut" he is referring to the fact that more people now qualify for pell grants than did three years ago, and therefore everyone is getting a smaller amount (pell grants are sent out as one block fund to be divided amongst students. if more students qualify then less money is issued per student.)

edit: note that adjusted for inflation this year's pell grant should have been $5800, but like i said it has been frozen at $4050.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

7. Yes, that's what I thought and didn't Kerry say that?

Factcheck.org claims that this is wrong?

[theoceansnerves]

12. that factcheck.org article is very misleading!

of course they have to keep funneling more money into it to keep the mandated maximum of $4050 possible, and i suppose that's not a "cut" if they had to put 60% more money into it. if they maintained the same amount of money going into it over the last three years, coupled with the drastic amount of people now qualified/receiving it, it would be even worse than it is right now. the program itself hasn't been "cut" but the end result to students has been "cut." there is of course, a big difference between those two.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

15. Did the FC.org article have a different vibe to it?

The last sentence made me cringe a bit "some cut" or something. Sounds pretty Republican-minded.

[Tempest]

8. Bush Broke His 2000 Campaign Pledge on Pell Grants

Bush Broke His 2000 Campaign Pledge on Pell Grants

Latest Bush Budget Again Fails to Meet Campaign Promise to Increase Maximum Pell Grant Award. During the 2000 Presidential campaign, Bush promised to increase the maximum Pell Grant award- a critical source of educational support for low-income and minority students-to $5,100. Yet his 2005 budget is the third in a row that has refused to increase the value above the current $4,050. And Bush has fought Pell Grant increases at every turn, even threatening to veto legislation that increased the maximum grant.

http://www.democrats.org/specialreports/highered/

[Tempest]

9. Bush Makes Deep Cuts in Community College and Vocational Support

Bush Makes Deep Cuts in Community College and Vocational Support

Bush Cuts Employment Training By $151 Million. Bush's 2005 budget combines four employment training programs (adult training dislocated worker activities, employment service state grants, and grants to states for reemployment services) into a single block grant totaling $3 billion, a reduction of $151 million from the programs' funding in FY 2004. And Bush's 2005 budget combines all vocational education programs into a single block grant totaling $1 billion, cutting the overall allocation by $316 million (23.8 percent) from the 2004 level.

Community Colleges Reject Bush's New Budget. The American Association of Community Colleges describes the new Bush budget as inadequate, saying: "Although the budget has a few bright spots, it freezes or cuts many programs that are essential for community colleges and their students. . . The Administration's budget threatens college access for millions of Americans, and it undermines the quality of academic and technical programs responsible for training a workforce that increasingly requires postsecondary education."

http://www.democrats.org/specialreports/highered/

[Tempest]

10. Bush Flat-Lined Pell Grant Funding

President Bush Flat-Lined Pell Grant Funding.

In the FY2004 budget, Pell Grants were frozen for the second year in a row, causing Pell Grant purchasing power to be less than the 2002 level. Today, around 4.5 million students depend on Pell Grants. According to the Public Interest Resource Group (PIRG), "Over 70 percent of Pell Grant funds go to students from families with incomes of $20,000 a year or less" and "the maximum Pell Grant award has declined from covering 84 percent of average public university tuition in 1976, to approximately 39 percent today." http://www.pirg.org/highered/highered.asp?id2=7964; NASSP Statement on President Bush's 2004 Budget Request, 2/5/03>

* Pell Grants Are Important To Minority Students. About 45% of African-American and Hispanic students at four-year colleges depend on Pell grants, compared to 23% of all students. Bush Slashes Funding for After School Programs.

Bush's FY 2004 budget cuts from after school funds by 40%, from $994 million in FY 2003 to $600 million in FY 2004. 525,000 disadvantaged kids could lose access to after school programs due to these cuts.

http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=9866

[SemiCharmedQuark]

17. Thanks

It's put me on edge as far as factcheck...no wonder Cheney plugged them (kinda)

[salvorhardin]

13. The forumla used to calculate Pell was changed too

back in 2003. The new forumla was based on tax data from 2000 when the economy was still going strong and thus calculates a higher family contribution which some estimates put at costing families over $10 Billion more.

I don't know if the actual amount appropriated to Pell was changed, but on the face of things, it would seem that with the new formula even though more students may qualify for aid, individually they will qualify for less aid -- if that makes sense.

Here's a good link:
http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=11989

On Edit: More posts were entered while I was typing. It would appear that not only did the revised forumla ensure a higher family burden per student, the maximum amount they could get was not raised.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

16. Thanks much

I knew DU would know!

[salvorhardin]

19. You're welcome

I love your username BTW! :-)

[SemiCharmedQuark]

20. Thanks!