Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 22, 1992 TAG: 9202220235
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
COLLEGE AID BILL PASSED
The Senate Friday overwhelmingly approved a substantial expansion of federal aid for college students from middle-income as well as poor families.By a 93-1 vote, senators approved legislation that would raise the limits on so-called Pell grants to $3,600 per student beginning Oct. 1, from $2,400 now, and would make them available to families earning up to $42,000 a year, up from $30,000 now.
The Senate also agreed to new rules aimed at curbing fraud and abuse in the student-aid program. The election-year changes are part of a seven-year reauthorization of federal higher education programs.
The House is considering a more far-reaching expansion of the student-aid program. While actual funding will likely be squeezed by budget constraints, the Senate's action appeared to assure that the program will be opened to more middle-income students. Both President Bush and former President Ronald Reagan sought to confine it to low-income recipients.
The Senate bill was passed after two of the most controversial provisions were shelved, at least temporarily, to avoid possible defeat or delay.
A provision to guarantee automatic, full funding of grants by 1997 - by turning the program into an entitlement instead of leaving it to the annual vicissitudes of the appropriations process - was dropped when it appeared that opposition to the idea might sink the whole bill. The House Education and Labor Committee has proposed that automatic funding for grants begin immediately.
Senators also reached agreement in behind-the-scenes negotiations to defer consideration of a proposal that would have replaced the current loan system, financed through private banks, with a direct-loan program run by the federal government. It is expected to be considered by the Senate Finance Committee in connection with tax legislation over the next few weeks. The House bill includes a provision to create a direct-loan program.
The Bush administration had objected strongly to both the entitlement and direct-loan proposals and threatened to veto the bill if they were included.