The House Education and the Workforce committee is scheduled to mark up a bill Tuesday that would provide Pell Grant funding for short-term programs, but includes problematic measures to offset the cost of the expansion.
The Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act (H.R. 6585), introduced last week by a bipartisan group of legislators, would extend Pell Grants to students in academic programs, generally focused on career and skills training, that are currently ineligible due to their program length, a policy ACE has historically supported.
Despite the bill's merits, the proposed legislation includes dramatic and harmful changes to student aid, which are intended to cover the cost of the expansion.
The bill would prohibit students and parents of Pell Grant recipients from using federal Stafford and PLUS loans at institutions that are subject to an excise tax on investment income (the so-called “endowment tax"). The bill also includes a requirement that to participate in the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program, institutions must provide emergency aid for students through institutional funds and maintain their percentage of Pell students at or above the percentage at the time the bill is enacted.
To learn more, ACE has published a bill summary and talking points.