Senate appropriators on Thursday passed a bipartisan education and labor spending bill for fiscal year 2026 that would keep the Pell Grant maximum award at $7,395 for the 2026-2027 school year and preserve the $65-million Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants (SCC) program. It would also fund many education and workforce development programs important to community colleges at or near current levels.
The measure, passed by a 26-3 vote, would provide $1.5 billion for career and technical education and $729 million for adult education, according to figures shared by Republicans at our press time.
The bill also rejects the Trump administration’s proposed 34% cut to employment and training programming and its proposed block grant of a dozen workforce programs.
Senate appropriators spurned the administration’s call to reduce or nix funding for many higher education programs. Instead, they seek to level-fund programs such as Federal Work Study and the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program.
The Senate bill would keep funding for TRIO at $1.91 billion; $338 million for GEAR UP; $75 million for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program (CCAMPIS); $10 million for the Basic Needs Program; and $40 million for the Postsecondary Student Success Grant Program. It also keeps funding for Title III and V programs that support Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority-Serving Institutions, tribal colleges and other institutions.
The Trump administration has proposed to eliminate funding for most of these programs. It also wants to eliminate funding for SCC and lower the Pell maximum grant to $5,710.
Democrats noted in their summary of the bill that it includes new requirements that the Education Department (ED) maintain the staff needed to perform its statutory responsibilities, including carrying out
programs and activities funded in the bill in a timely manner. There are also new requirements for ED to make formula grants available to states and districts on time — this following ED’s withholding of adult education and funding for several K-12 programs for nearly a month before releasing the money as the administration reviewed the programs.
Meanwhile, House counterparts will tackle their funding bill in an appropriations subcommittee markup on September 4 and full committee markup on September 9. The tight timeline with the end of the fiscal year on September 30 may prompt Congress to pass a continuing resolution to allow both chambers to hash out differences in their plans.
