George Bush's position on

Federal Pell Grants: Pell Grants were established in 1972 through the implementation of the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant . Pell grants are awarded to eligible undergraduate students pursuing firth bachelor's degree and certain student in post-baccalaureate teacher certification programs. Student must have an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as determined by the FAFSA of $0-3,850. For the 2004-2005 school year the maximum Pell grant is $4,050. The Pell Grant has attracted much attention because of an estimated $3.7 billion shortfall in the program's funding and a maximum reward, which some say does not adequately cover the cost of education.

Description of the candidate's position: George Bush supports moderate spending increases for the Pell grant program. Bush focuses on providing Pell grants to low-income families. Bush also supports increasing Pell grant awards an additional $1,000 for two years for students who took challenging classes in high school, or plan to study math and science in college. In the 2000 campaign George Bush vowed to increase Pell grant awards to $5,100 for freshman.

Quotation from the candidate: "The President's plan will provide a record $12.9 billion investment in Pell Grants, a 47 percent increase over 2001, to help an additional one million students afford college. The President will allow low-income students who take the rigorous high school curriculum required by the State Scholars program to receive up to $1,000 in additional Pell Grant funding, bringing the total maximum award up to $5,050." (Bush website).

Assessment of the Proposal: Bush's plan for the Pell grant focuses on helping students that are both high-achieving and low-income.

Positive: An increase in Pell funding will aid students with a low EFC.

Negative: The gap between the rising cost of tuition and amount of Pell grant still exists. In order for students to qualify for an increased award they must be high achieving students in high school. This requirement contradicts the original intention of the Pell grant.

Comparison: Both Bush and Kerry support a slight increase in Pell grants for classified as high-achievement and low-income. Neither candidate expresses detailed plans for Pell, but outline additional plans for higher education. Bush's include reforming student loans and encouraging dual-enrollment.

Sources:

http://www.finaid.org/educators/history.phtml

http://www.finaid.org/educators/hr4283.phtml

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0413a.html

http://www.studentaidaction.com/aid.asp?id=650

Empty Promises: The Myth of College Access in America. A Report of the Advisory Committee of Student Financial Assistance. Washington, D.C.: June 2002. http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/acsfa/emptypromises.pdf

Engen, K. and K. Hassett. An Analysis of the ten year costs of Senator Kerry's Spending Proposals. American Enterprise Institute: August, 2004.

King, J. 2003 Status Report on the Pell Grant Program. American Council on Education Center for Policy Analysis, Washington D.C.: 2003. http://www.acenet.edu/bookstore/pdf/2003_pell_grant.pdf

Robblee, S., Simone Berkowitz and Isabel Sawhill. Education Proposals in the 2004 Campaign: An Early Assessment. Brookings Working Paper. Brookings Institute: Washington, D.C.: June 2004.

Link to Kerry's issue page