Grant promises

To the editor:

The Dec. 3 Journal-World contained an article written by Gene Budig regarding the need to pay attention to the level of federal financial aid offered in this time of rising college costs. He emphasized the need for higher Pell Grants and also commented on student loan borrowing.

I would like to remind your readers that in the 1998 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, Congress authorized the Pell Grant to be at $5,800 by the 2003-04 aid year. (It is currently $4,050). Although the promise of a more meaningful grant amount is written into law, the grant has never been fully funded by Congress. If Congress wants to increase the Pell Grant, it must reduce expenditures elsewhere.

As long as billions are spent on Iraq and elsewhere, there will never be increases in the Pell other than the $50 or $100 annual increases that we’ve seen sporadically since the 1998 reauthorization. Also, can Budig be totally unbiased when it comes to discussing student loans? After all, College Board is a student loan lender of both federal and private loans.

Chris Johnson,

Lawrence