Bill proposes increased aid to the needy for college, By Tamar Lewin, March 18, 2010, New York Times: “The federal government would provide $36 billion in new financing for Pell grants to needy students over the next 10 years under legislation announced Thursday by Congressional Democrats. The maximum annual Pell grant would rise to $5,975 by 2017, from $5,350 this year. The new Pell initiative includes $13.5 billion to cover a shortfall caused by the sharp increase in the number of Americans enrolling in college during the recession. Congress would pay for the larger grants by ending subsidies to private banks that make student loans and shifting to direct federal lending. But the amount going to education spending and aid for college students is far less than the Obama administration had hoped, largely because the savings from the switch to direct federal lending is now estimated to be $61 billion, rather than $87 billion…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty