Every year, the President and Congress vote and approve the federal budget.  Within the past few years, appropriations levels for federal financial aid and funding for educational opportunity programs is either cut, level-funded, or zero-funded.

USSA believes it isn't enough for Congress and the President to pass legislation to preserve good programs; they must also ensure funding for them.  Through its lobbying efforts, USSA works to preserve and increase funding for these programs to work towards ensuring education is a right for everyone.

Learn more about the Appropriations Process

USSA Encourages Congress to Make College Affordable:

• Increase Support for the Pell Grant

The maximum grant for fiscal year 2007 (the ’07-08’ school year) is $4,310. The minimum grant is $400. More than 5.3 million students received Pell Grants last year. To reach the purchasing power it had in 1985, the maximum award would need to be $6,244 and to reach the purchasing power of 1975, and the maximum award would need to be nearly $10,000!

• Increase Undergraduate & Graduate Student Aid

LEAP and SEOG are grant programs that target low-income students. LEAP provides a federal match to encourage states to retain and expand their need-based student aid programs. SEOG is a matching program where institutions match 25% of federal dollars. GAANN awards fellowships through grants to colleges and universities for graduate students studying in areas of national need. Javits fellowships provide aid for up to 4 years for students in arts and humanities pursuing a doctoral or terminal degree. The Thurgood Marshall program was designed to assist economically disadvantaged students pursuing a career in law.

• Make Student Loans Manageable

Students are graduating with debt burden averaging $20,000. Capping loan repayments to a nominal percentage of a borrowers monthly income would help ease the burden of student loans. We also support canceling loans for responsible borrowers who have made consistent payments over 20 years.

Download a factsheet on Budget and Appropriations for the 2009 Fiscal Year

For more information contact
Angela Peoples
Legislative Director
(202) 640-6570
leg@usstudents.org