Georgetown could lose millions of dollars in federal financial aid if the Bush administration succeeds in cutting a major federal aid program.
The White House wants the Federal Perkins Loan, a fund that uses money received from outstanding loans to grant new loans, to be removed from an education bill currently in Congress.
Georgetown would be required to repay the money to the Treasury Department over ten years, according to Scott Fleming, head of the Office of Federal Relations.
“Georgetown would lose about $27.5 million that would only be spent on financial aid for students,” Fleming said.
A bill passed in the House of Representatives in July would restore funding to federal student assistance programs that were cut in early budget proposals and increase the maximum award for Pell Grant recipients. The Senate passed a similar bill earlier this year. The bills await reconciliation in conference committee. Fleming’s office continues to lobby Congress to preserve these measures.
“The Pell program is very important to Georgetown, given our need-blind status,” Fleming said. “It is a significant aid in allowing the school to meet the full need of every student admitted.”
The bill is meeting heavy resistance from the White House, which issued a veto threat in July to the education bill passed in the House Labor, Health, and Education Appropriations Committee. The White House’s proposed budget, released earlier this year, sought to heavily cut a variety of federal aid programs and provide a more modest increase in maximum Pell awards.
“The administration believes that federal funds should be directed to the most needy,” a senior Education Department official said. “We feel the best way to do that is through the Pell Program.”
In contrast, the House bill has allocated $3.3 billion for student financial aid and retained all the student aid programs. The bill also provides for a $390 increase in the maximum Pell award for next year.
“This bill is a priority for people who believe in making college affordable for most Americans,” said Ellis Brachman, spokesperson for Congressman David Obey (D-WI), the chairman of the House subcommittee responsible for education appropriations.
The initiatives under veto threat in the House bill are the programs that make Georgetown affordable for many families, according to Fleming. Currently, 636 Georgetown students are receiving Pell Grants.
While the maximum award has slowly risen since the Pell Grant’s inception in 1965, it has failed to keep up with the rapidly rising tuition for a college education. In 1977, the maximum award of $1,400 covered 72 percent of tuition at a four year public university, while the maximum award this year represents 28 percent of tuition at a four year public university. For four years the maximum limit on the Pell Grant was $4,050, until Congress passed a bill that raised the maximum award to $4,310 for the 2007-08 school year.
