Pell Grant Sustainability Act
This bill indexes the maximum award amount for Pell Grants to the rate of inflation. The bill also permanently reauthorizes the discretionary statutory authority for the Pell Grant program.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1666 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1666
To index the maximum value of Federal Pell Grants to inflation.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 27, 2025
Mr. Casten (for himself, Ms. Lee of Nevada, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Grijalva,
Mr. Lynch, Mr. McGarvey, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Ms. Titus,
Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Ms. Schrier, Mrs. Beatty, Ms. Barragan, Ms.
Tokuda, Mr. Bera, Ms. Adams, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. DeSaulnier,
Mr. Keating, Mr. Tran, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Peters, Ms. Pingree, Mr.
Whitesides, Mr. Thanedar, and Mr. Johnson of Georgia) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To index the maximum value of Federal Pell Grants to inflation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Pell Grant Sustainability Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The purchasing power of the Federal Pell Grant has
declined rapidly since the 1970s. In academic year 1974-1975,
the total maximum Federal Pell Grant covered 80 percent of base
educational costs at public 4-year institutions of higher
education. By academic year 2022-2023, the maximum Federal Pell
Grant covered just 31 percent of those base costs.
(2) The value of Federal Pell Grants must keep pace with
students' costs in order to fulfill their mission of enabling
lower-income students to attend college.
SEC. 3. INDEXING FEDERAL PELL GRANTS TO INFLATION.
Section 401(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1070a(b)) is amended--
(1) by amending paragraph (5) to read as follows:
``(5) Total maximum federal pell grant.--
``(A) In general.--For award year 2024-2025 and
each subsequent award year, the total maximum Federal
Pell Grant award per student shall be equal to the sum
of--
``(i)(I) for award year 2024-2025, $1,060;
or
``(II) for award year 2025-2026 and each
subsequent award year, the amount determined
under this clause for the preceding award year,
increased by a percentage equal to the annual
adjustment percentage for the award year for
which the amount under this clause is being
determined; and
``(ii) the amount specified as the maximum
Federal Pell Grant in the last enacted
appropriation Act applicable to that award
year.
``(B) Rounding.--The total maximum Federal Pell
Grant for any award year shall be rounded to the
nearest $5.
``(C) Annual adjustment percentage defined.--In
this paragraph, the term `annual adjustment
percentage', as applied to an award year, is equal to
the estimated percentage change in the Consumer Price
Index (as determined by the Secretary, using the
definition in section 478(f)) for the most recent
calendar year ending prior to the beginning of that
award year.'';
(2) in paragraph (6)(A)(ii)--
(A) by striking ``each of the fiscal years'' and
inserting ``fiscal year''; and
(B) by striking ``through 2034'' and inserting
``and each subsequent fiscal year''; and
(3) in paragraph (8)(A), by striking ``through fiscal year
2034''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line