Nearly three months into the federal fiscal year, Congress and President Barack Obama reached an agreement on a 2010 education spending bill that will increase funds for minority-serving institutions and student financial aid with the possibility of more gains ahead.
The bill approved in December would provide moderate to large increases for the Pell Grant program as well as federal programs for minority-serving colleges and universities. Hispanic leaders in particular were pleased with a 26 percent increase in the Hispanic Serving Institutions program, bringing total funding to $117 million. In addition, Congress provided $10.5 million for HSIs with graduate programs.
The funding “represents a major victory for HSIs,” said Dr. Antonio Flores, president and CEO of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.
In the same bill, which funded many other federal departments, HSIs would receive $6.25 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to support community-development programs.
HSIs also stand to receive more than $9 million from a separate Agriculture Department funding bill for fiscal 2010. That figure — a 50 percent increase from past funding — reflects implementation of several provisions from a recent farm bill that had provisions friendly to HSIs.
