In a move that may hinder prospects for a large Pell Grant increase, congressional Republicans – including a former U.S. education secretary – say education spending is a prime example of the wasteful investments in a Democrat-led $825 billion economic stimulus bill.
Days after the House approved a stimulus bill along party lines, some Republicans stepped up their criticism, focusing in part on the measure’s education provisions. The White House will need some Republican help in the Senate, where Democrats lack the votes to end filibusters and cut off debate.
The stimulus bill “ought to be oriented directly toward those items that would specifically create jobs now,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., former education secretary under President George H.W. Bush. “It should not go toward good-sounding ideas such as Head Start and Pell Grants for college students.”
While not attacking those programs, Alexander said Congress should consider spending for these initiatives in a separate bill – not as part of the economic stimulus package. That view is gaining traction among other Senate Republicans, who argue that the stimulus should focus primarily on housing assistance and tax cuts. Of the $825 billion, about $140 billion in current proposed spending is for K-12 and higher education.
Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., senior Republican on the Senate education committee, echoed this view. “If Congress and our new president are truly concerned about keeping jobs and creating new ones, let’s not pay lip service with this trumped-up ‘stimulus’ bill,” he said. And House Republican leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said $140 billion for education “is not going to do anything, anything to stimulate the economy.”
The stimulus bills proposed by House and Senate Democrats provide billions more for education, including post-secondary programs. The maximum Pell Grant would increase by as much as $500, while college work/study programs may get an extra $490 million. The House also would provide $6 billion – and the Senate, $3.5 billion – for higher education construction and renovation.
