H.R. 990 Pell Grant Equity Act

On Tuesday, the House passed H.R. 990, The Pell Grant Equity Act, in yet another attempt to make college more affordable for middle and lower income families. The bill, sponsored by House Education and Labor Chairman George Miller (D-CA), passed by voice vote with almost no opposition. H.R. 990 repeals a provision in the Higher Education Act (HEA) known as “tuition sensitivity.”

The tuition sensitivity provision, added to the HEA in the 1992 reauthorization (PL 105-244), lowers the maximum Pell Grant award available to students at schools where tuition and fees are less than $675 per year. Under this system, the government calculates the amount of Pell Grant funds that students at the lower-cost schools can receive using a different formula than for students at more expensive schools. Reps. Miller and Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), the ranking Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, claimed that the legislation would correct an inequality and have an immediate impact by allowing roughly 96,000 students to receive, on average, an additional $108 per year.

The bill would be in effect for one year, allowing lawmakers time to include a permanent change in a reauthorization of the HEA this year. Both chambers of Congress passed an HEA reauthorization that included this repeal in the last Congress, but neither bill made it through conference. Aides to Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Ted Kennedy (D-MA) said he still supports the change. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced S. 707, a companion to H.R. 990, though no timetable has been set for the HELP Committee to hold a mark up on the bill.

Resources:
Libby George, “Bill Ending Limits on Pell Grants for Lower-Cost Schools Gets Passing Grade,” CQ Today, February 27, 2007
Author: SAS