Although the latest economic stimulus package helps needy college students, this increased financial assistance may be temporary.

With an $800-billion-plus economic stimulus bill likely to become law soon, education advocates are beginning to turn their attention to two critical questions:

With Democrats controlling Congress, lawmakers are likely to approve some type of economic stimulus bill. But for educators, there are still critical questions:

Will the stimulus bill include new education funding? And, if so, will the spending increases become permanent to help low-income students?

The House of Representatives has approved an $825 billion stimulus bill with $140 billion for education, but it is not without critics. As of press time, Republicans had mounted an effort in the Senate to strip many education provisions, declaring them unlikely to help the ailing economy.

The stimulus bill “ought to be oriented directly toward those items that would specifically create jobs now,” says Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. “It should not go toward good sounding ideas such as Head Start and Pell Grants for college students.”

While not attacking those two programs, Alexander says Congress should consider spending for these initiatives in a separate bill — not as part of the economic stimulus. That view is gaining traction among other Senate Republicans, who argue that the stimulus should focus primarily on housing assistance and tax cuts.

Democrats will have to secure the support of at least a few GOP members in the Senate to cut off debate and bring it to a vote.

If Republicans are successful in cutting education from the Senate stimulus bill, the issue is far from dead. Education issues likely would be part of final House/Senate negotiations over the legislation, since education is such a major component of the Housepassed bill.

Even as lawmakers debated key provisions of the package, the long-term implications for students remained somewhat unclear. For example, while the stimulus bills include a Pell Grant increase of up to $500, the funding lasts only for two years. Beginning in 2011, Congress would have to find new money to keep the program at that higher level. The current top grant is $4,850.