Last week, in a troubling move, the House and Senate passed budget proposals that put the dream of a college education in jeopardy for millions of students and families across the country. The budget proposes to:

• Eliminate mandatory funding for Pell Grants
• Freeze the maximum grant at its current level, instead of allowing it to increase to keep pace with inflation. Over time, this would reduce financial aid for almost all of the more than 8 million students who rely on Pell Grants to afford college. 
• Eliminate the subsidized loan program, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and income-based repayment. These are the very programs that help students repay their loan debt after graduation.

This budget proposal is bad for students and families.

Pell Grants, student loans, and income based repayment after a student leaves college are essential to college access and affordability for millions of Americans and are especially important for low income and under-represented students who might otherwise never go to college, in spite of their hard work and talent. According to the Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), more than 60% of African-American undergraduates and half of Latino undergraduates rely on Pell Grants to attend school. California stands to lose if these cuts go through, as California students in our state receive over 3.9 billion in Pell Grant awards each year.*    

The House and Senate still need to negotiate a final budget proposal by mid-April so there is still time for you to act and make your voice heard. Join us in protecting the Pell Grant and loan repayment programs by calling your congressional representatives and Senators to urge them to put the brakes on these cuts!

*most recent data available for 2012-13 award year