Pell grants

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Biden Offers Free Preschool, Community College
Biden Offers
Free Preschool,
Community College
THE RUNDOWN

Biden Offers Free Preschool, Community College

Sweeping 'American Families Plan' expected to cost $1.8T over 10 years

(Newser) - Students would get four extra years of paid education under the White House's new $1.8 trillion spending and tax plan, which would also provide paid family and medical leave for US workers. The "American Families Plan" may irk not only Republicans, but progressive Democrats, too. Here's...

Feds Set to Bring Back College Grants for Prisoners

Inmates lost access to Pell grants 20 years ago

(Newser) - The Obama administration is planning to restore access to federal college subsidies for a huge number of Americans who have a lot of time on their hands. Congress banned inmates at the state and federal level from receiving Pell grants in 1994, but Education Secretary Arne Duncan says he'll...

Feds Flag 126K in Student Loan Fraud Crackdown

$829M in Pell grants were 'improper payments' last year

(Newser) - Some $829 million in "improper payments," including those involving fraud and clerical errors, went out to Pell grant recipients over the fiscal year that ended in September. Though that's a smaller figure than in the previous two years, it's up 86% from 2007—and the US...

1 in 5 Homes Have Student Debt
 1 in 5 Homes 
 Have Student Debt 
NEW REPORT

1 in 5 Homes Have Student Debt

Figure jumps from 15% in 2007

(Newser) - Some 19% of US households, or almost one in five, owed student debt or had deferred loans in 2010, a Pew study finds. That's a jump of four percentage points from 2007—and twice as many homes are feeling the burden compared to two decades ago, USA Today reports....

Student Loan Rate Hike Is Overhyped
Student Loan Rate Hike Is Overhyped
OPINION

Student Loan Rate Hike Is Overhyped

Congress is screwing college students in much bigger ways

(Newser) - Congress is up in arms over how to keep rates on Stafford student loans from doubling in July, but Mark Kantrowitz and Lynn Shaughgnessy have a question: Who cares? "The partisan posturing is a distraction from far more pressing issues that face students," the college experts write in...

College Tuition Skyrockets Again

Students lean more on government to afford school

(Newser) - College tuition headed north yet again this fall, forcing students and their families to lean more on the federal government to get by. Thanks to punishing state budget cuts, the average four-year public school tuition leaped 7.9% to $7,605, according to the College Board, while private nonprofit colleges...

House Passes Huge Student Loan Overhaul

Move cuts out private lenders, saves the government $61B

(Newser) - The House passed a sweeping overhaul of the federal student loan program today, slipping it into its final amendments to the health care bill. The measure would call for the government to lend directly to students, rather than paying private lenders to lend out the money. By effectively cutting out...

Obama Kicks Off Radical College Aid Revamp

The administration's goals are both ambitious and controversial

(Newser) - President Obama’s education proposals have taken a backseat to the economy and health care, but the changes he proposes in student lending are about to ignite a fierce lobbying battle, the Washington Post reports. Obama’s plan to move all federal funds for student lending to the Department of...

Fight Looms Over Plan to Give Loan Funds to Students

The administration wants to cut out private lenders, setting up a showdown

(Newser) - President Obama's plans to end a subsidized student-loan program—diverting billions of dollars in profits for private lenders like Sallie Mae to scholarships for needy students—is prompting howls of protest from lenders and setting up a Congressional showdown, the New York Times reports. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that...

$150B Stimulus to Double Education Budget

$150B spending expected to permanently expand government's role in education

(Newser) - The stimulus plan before Congress today more than doubles the Department of Education's budget, reports the New York Times. An unprecedented extra $150 billion in federal aid would provide funds for nearly every aspect of education, from school construction to college grants. Opponents and backers alike agree that the injection...

Education at Heart of Obama Stimulus Plan
Education at Heart of Obama Stimulus Plan
ANALYSIS

Education at Heart of Obama Stimulus Plan

$140B in 2-year plan would take other pressures off states

(Newser) - In its current form, Barack Obama’s 2-year economic stimulus plan—currently pegged at $775 billion—will channel some $140 billion to education, Politico reports. As Congress hammers out its plan, changes are likely, but education and Medicaid look set to be major beneficiaries. States will see major block grants,...

Creator of Pell Grants Dead at 90
Creator of Pell Grants
Dead at 90
obituary

Creator of Pell Grants Dead at 90

(Newser) - Claiborne Pell, the quirky blueblood who represented blue-collar Rhode Island in the Senate for 36 years and was the force behind a grant program that has helped tens of millions of Americans attend college, died today of Parkinson's disease. He was 90. Pell sponsored legislation creating the Basic Educational Opportunity...

Congress Delivers Loan Relief for Needy Students

Broad overhaul of student loan industry earns broad bipartisan support

(Newser) - Congress yesterday passed a student loan reform bill that slashes billions of dollars from lender subsidies and redirects the funds into grants for low-income students, the New York Times reports. The sweeping measure will cut $20B from federal lender subsidies, halve the interest rate on need-based loans, and pump $12B...

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