The House plan funds SEOG at $770 million next year, unchanged from current funding. The administration had proposed outright elimination of the program.
House leaders said the measure reflects a need to re-focus priorities. “The strength of our country is not just our national security strength. It is what we have here at home,” says U.S. Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chair of the House Appropriations Committee.
Other programs spared from the chopping block are Perkins Loans and the Leveraging Educational Assistance program. Both programs, funded at $65 million each, were set for elimination in the president’s 2008 budget.
Low-income students also stand to gain significantly from the Pell Grant provisions of the House plan. The bill would increase the maximum grant for needy students to $4,700 next year, up nearly $400.
Congress and the president both indicated they would make Pell a priority this year. The White House had proposed a maximum grant of $4,600 in its budget plan in February.
The top Pell Grant had been frozen at $4,050 for more than four years before Congress and the president raised it to $4,310 at the start of 2007.
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