Education Department (ED) support for historically Black colleges and universities likely will remain frozen at current levels next year, based on recent action by members of the U.S. Senate.

The Senate Appropriations Committee this month agreed with the House to freeze funding at $108.9 million in fiscal year 1997, which begins Oct. 1. Both houses of Congress also would freeze funds for HBCU graduate institutions at $19.6 million next year.

The action cleared the way for a likely freeze, with lawmakers hoping to wrap up 1997 spending bills before they adjourn in late September to prepare for the fall elections. The bill is part of an ED funding bill that needs action before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The legislation still would need President Clinton's signature, and a protracted budget battle could leave programs with only temporary funds for the start of the new year.

Elsewhere in the budget, last-minute additions made by Senate Republicans would boost spending on student aid in 1997. The Senate in mid-September agreed to add $2.3 billion to its education spending plan, bringing it more in line with White House recommendations. The House has not signaled yet whether it would go along with the Senate plan.

The Senate revisions include an increase in the maximum Pell Grant to $2,600 next year. The Senate originally proposed a $2,500 maximum, the same as a House bill from this summer. White House officials called the $2,500 figure inadequate and hinted the president would veto such a proposal, which could set the stage for a shutdown of ED.

The new figure is much closer to the $2,700 maximum grant proposed by the White House. The current maximum is $2,470. College work-study programs are another beneficiary of the Senate amendment. Lawmakers in that chamber want to provide a $200 million increase, to $816 million, in 1997. The original Senate plan called for a funding freeze, and the House wants a smaller increase of $68 million.