Recently, the federal investment in America's students has been under assault. In the last year, budget deals have cut student aid programs by about $30 billion. While $17 billion of this went toward shoring up the ever-growing Pell Grant program, the remainder went toward deficit reduction. Graduate student loan benefits, LEAP state grants, and Year-round Pell were all eliminated this summer because of budget pressures. TRIO, GEAR UP and SEOG grants were all cut in the name of deficit reduction. We strongly believe that the federal budget cannot be balanced on the backs of students.
Educators and students have done a good job so far in making our case, fighting off the proposals that significantly cut student aid and maintaining a solid level of funding. We know that both the public and members of Congress think education is important, and once reminded, are willing to act in support of student aid. So, this fall, our goal is to fend off cuts to student aid by educating the public and lawmakers about the value of these programs.
Critical to these efforts is making sure that lawmakers and their staffs hear from the public about the value and importance of student aid. The Save Student Aid Toolkit provides information, advice and techniques for communicating with legislators and the broader public.
We appreciate your support. You can get the complete Fall 2011 Student Action Kit here (.pdf).