Dr. Cindi Love, Executive Director
Dear Members and Friends of ACPA:
We want to share the following policy statement by American Council on Education on which ACPA is a signatory.
Thank you.
Cindi
Dear Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Moran:
On behalf of the undersigned associations, we write to express our strong opposition to any effort to use funding taken from the Pell Grant Program for any other purpose in the Fiscal Year 2015 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill under consideration by the subcommittee as part of an omnibus spending bill.
Recently, reports have circulated of a proposal to take $2 billion in Pell Grant funding and transfer that money to other programs. Regardless of the merits of the other programs, this approach would be dangerously short-sighted.
Pell Grants are critically important in ensuring access to postsecondary education for lowand middle-income students. The program is the foundation on which the federal government’s historic commitment to higher education access rests. Over nine million students depend on Pell Grants to fund their educations. The loss of even a portion of that funding will force many of these students to abandon their studies.
That is why we oppose any efforts to weaken this proven, successful program by depleting the current surplus. With Pell Grants projected to return to significant shortfalls in the near future, stripping existing funding will needlessly endanger the near-term health and stability of the program.
Congress has cut federal financial aid repeatedly over the last few years. Benefits have been eliminated, and students are paying more for their federal student loans. Students cannot afford to continue subsidizing other areas of the budget. We urge you to support America’s students and reject any proposals that would weaken the Pell Grant Program.
Sincerely,
Molly Corbett Broad
President
MCB/ldw
On behalf of:
ACPA-College Student Educators International
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers
American Association of Community Colleges
American Association of State Colleges and Universities
American Council on Education
American Dental Education Association
American Indian Higher Education Consortium
APPA, Leadership in Educational Facilities
Association of American Colleges and Universities
Association of American Universities
Association of Catholic Colleges & Universities
Association of Community College Trustees
Association of Governing Boards
Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
Council for Advancement and Support of Education
Council for Christian Colleges & Universities
Council of Graduate Schools
Council of Independent Colleges
EDUCAUSE
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education
National Association for College Admission Counseling
National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education
National Association of College and University Business Officers
National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
Thurgood Marshall College Fund
UNCF
University Professional & Continuing Education Association