Pell Grant Debate Sours House Budget Talks

WASHINGTON — Debate on a fiscal 2001 education funding bill has taken an increasingly bitter turn as House leaders recently rejected Democratic attempts to add more money for Pell grants, among other programs for needy students.
Republican leaders labeled out of order an amendment that would have increased the maximum Pell grant to $3,800 next year. The House spending bill contains a $200 increase, to $3,500 next year, but many Democrats and education groups have labeled that increase inadequate given the current budget surplus.
Many liberals also have criticized the bill for failing to fund White House initiatives on K-12 education reform, hiring of new teachers and funding for safe-school programs.
"The Republican leadership has once again succeeded in bringing to the floor a labor, health and education appropriations bill designed to please only themselves and their right-wing friends," says Rep. William Clay, a senior Congressional Black Caucus member and top Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
A $1 billion job training initiative from Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., also failed to make it to a vote.
One bright spot in the GOP bill is funding for minority-serving institutions, including historically Black colleges. HBCUs would receive $185 million, an increase of $36 million over current funding and $16 million more than President Clinton's budget request last winter. HBCU graduate institutions would receive $45 million next year under the House bill, a $14 million increase from current funding and $5 million above the president's request.
Hispanic-serving institutions also could reap significant gains. The House has recommended $68.5 million in support for Hispanic colleges under Title V of the Higher Education Act. The Senate has proposed $62.5 million, the same as the president's request, for a program funded at
$42.3 million this fiscal year.
Still, the growing partisan debate makes it unlikely that Congress can clear an education-spending bill without some concessions to Democrats. President Clinton already has threatened to veto the House bill if it reaches his desk. The stalemate could last into late summer.