The U.S. Senate is accelerating action on its version of the House’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” It is increasingly possible that the Senate bill, and therefore also the final reconciliation bill, will include devastating cuts to Pell Grant eligibility based on enrollment intensity. It is crucial that community colleges contact their senators now in opposition of these cuts.
It is now likely that the Senate will not go through a normal committee markup process on its reconciliation bill (as occurred in the House) but will instead consider the entire bill on the Senate floor. This means that once the bill brought to the floor, it will be extremely difficult to change any of the provisions and opportunities for debate will be limited. With the Senate indicating that they want to consider the bill the week of June 16, now is the time for community colleges to contact their senators to protect Pell.
While the reconciliation bill will include significant changes to student loans, repayment, and other higher education issues, the House’s proposed cuts to the Pell Grant program are of the highest concern for community colleges. The provisions would redefine full-time as 15 credit hours a semester, up from the current 12. This would effectively deliver a cut to the maximum Pell Grant award, reducing grant amounts for all students unable to take 15 credits.
Even more concerning for community colleges, the House bill would eliminate Pell eligibility for less than half-time students altogether, defined in the bill as students taking less than eight credits a semester.
These proposed changes to Pell Grant eligibility would be devastating for community college students nationwide. Based on preliminary estimates, these changes would reduce grant amounts for most community college Pell Grant recipients and eliminate aid for at least 20% of those students.
Taking action
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) sent a letter to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) communicating the community college position on these cuts and is aggressively lobbying individual Senate offices. However, it is critically important for every Republican senator to hear from colleges in their state on this issue.
To that end, AACC sent an advocacy request to its full membership urging them to contact their senators in opposition to these cuts. The communication includes background information, talking points, a letter template, and contact information for AACC’s government relations staff. AACC urges each community college leader to avail themselves of these resources and to contact their senators in the next two weeks.
Please stay in close touch with AACC as your advocate for your students and our sector. We are available to help you with the mechanics and related aspects of contacting your senators and can provide background on this and related issues. Thank you in advance for your efforts.
