[MichiganMat]

Originally Posted by 59GS

Pell grants never went anywhere, so there was nothing for the DEMS to reinstate. Pell grants are not available to Grad Students and never have been. Slight skewing of facts to advance the political agenda, heh, Mat?

You're right, my facts weren't correct about Pell grants, but federal funding for student aid was cut dramatically under Bush and just recently reinstated and advanced under the new Democratic congress.

from here

Under Bush, College Tuition Skyrocketed. When President Bush took office, the average in-state tuition at a public four year college was $3,164. The same tuition increased to $5,192 for the recently completed school year, a 64% increase in 6 years. [Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board.]

Bush Promoted and Signed the Largest Cuts to Federal Student Aid In History. President Bush pushed for and signed legislation that cut $12.7 billion from student loan programs - the largest single cut in history. The legislation imposed higher fees on students and increased the interest rate on parent loans. The bill also put billions of dollars in student aid at risk by cutting all of the critical funds ($2.2 billion) used to carry out and administer the student aid programs. [S. 1932, 2/8/06; House Budget Committee Minority Staff, "Key Provisions in the Conference Report on the Republican Spending Reconciliation Bill." 12/19/05; Rep. George Miller Press Release, 12/18/05; CQ Today, 2/1/06; Washington Post, 2/1/06]

But Under Bush, the Maximum Pell Grant Did Not Increase for Four Years. During the four years that the White House and Congress were under Republican rule, the maximum Pell Grant award was frozen at $4,050. The maximum remained stuck at $4,050 until it was increased by the Democratic Congress in 2007 to $4,310. [Committee on Education and Labor]

More here: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1569955/20070918/index.jhtml

And you can't count me and my family as "lower income" students, working terribly hard to make ends meet while chasing that elusive American Dream.