Pell Grants

Senate tax hearing dominated by expressions of support for need-based assistance -- and an innovative but controversial proposal.

Incoming chair of House education committee addresses -- quite generally -- higher ed issues for the year ahead.

Cuts to interest rates on subsidized loans, the new majority says, would be "the first step."

Democratic plan for 2007 would increase maximum Pell Grant by $260 and provide $620 million in new funds for biomedical research.

White House proposes increasing maximum award to $4,600 in 2008 -- but may seek to finance rise with cuts to other student programs.

Stung by criticism, Education Department officials strongly defend Pell Grant plan and challenge data colleges have used to attack it.

The complexity of the federal financial aid process is among the more obvious, and ostensibly, fixable reasons  cited to explain why low-income students are far less likely to attend college than their peers. So far, despite efforts on multiple fronts, the system has proven to be somewhat intractable.

House panel's spending measure would raise Pell Grant to $4,700, fend off White House cuts and boost NIH.

Less than two weeks after the House Appropriations subcommittee for education programs delivered a major potential boost to the maximum Pell Grant and the National Institutes of Health, the mirroring Senate panel delivered significantly less in its own 2008 spending bill Tuesday.

House committee approves education appropriations bill, with increased funding for Pell and other programs left intact.