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Congress moved Thursday to fix an error in the legislation overhauling the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, days after the Education Department announced it was updating the formula for aid eligibility to comply with the law.
The formula change would’ve made more students eligible for the Pell Grant, federal aid for low-income students—a move the Biden administration touted in a news release Tuesday. But Congress balked at the change, which was the result of an error in the initial legislation, and addressed the issue in the continuing resolution that passed Thursday to fund the government through March 22.
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, the Independent who chairs the Senate education committee, said in a statement that 100,000 students would lose access as a result of the continuing resolution. That figure could be higher, based on department data that showed 7.3 million students were expected to be eligible for Pell Grants as a result of the formula change and other implementation efforts. The department had previously estimated that about 5.2 million students would qualify for the grant.
“In the wealthiest country on Earth, students who want a college degree should be able to get it without facing financial ruin,” Sanders said. “As the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, I will fight to significantly expand the Pell Grant program, not see it cut.”
North Carolina representative Virginia Foxx, the Republican chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, said in a statement that the expansion would have crippled the Pell Grant program.
“Today’s responsible CR puts a stop to the Department of Education’s reckless action, while still enabling students to get the financial aid information they need in a timely fashion and ensuring the Pell Grant is stable in the future for families truly in need,” Foxx said.
The ranking Democrat on the House education committee strongly disagreed. “The language included in the Continuing Appropriations Resolution is not in the spirit of the original intent of the FAFSA Simplification Act,” Virginia representative Bobby Scott said in a statement. “It is a false choice to claim that we must choose between expanding Pell to more low-income students or preserving the long-term viability of the Pell Grant program. We can and should do both.”
