Just in time for Valentine’s Day, President Obama submitted a 2012 budget to Congress that reflected painful cuts in order to reduce the national debt by $1 trillion over a decade. One of these painful cuts applies to the Pell Grant, reducing the year-round aid to the fall and spring semesters only.
Obama administration officials say the current year-round program is a wasteful and ineffective use of funds that does not help students receive their degrees any faster than the traditional four-year ride.
President Obama hopes to save $90 billion over a decade by reducing the financial aid budget. Aside from cutting summer Pell disbursements, the president also proposed a plan to reduce loan subsidies for graduate and professional students.
The government currently pays the interest on subsidized loans as long as students remain enrolled in classes at least half-time. President Obama’s plan would call for some sort of cutback on those interest payments.
Administration officials believe the current system does not encourage students to further their education into graduate studies and is therefore a wasteful expense.
The money saved from these budget changes will aid in new programs for early education. According to the U.S. Department of Education, these investments include “competitive K-12 programs” and “new and expanded programs that support teacher and principal effectiveness.”
“Career education is vitally important to America’s future, but we need to strengthen and reform our programs before expanding them,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan said on Monday morning.
The general idea of the budget changes seem to take the inefficiently used funds from college financial aid to add to early education programs, an area that desperately needs funding and reforming.
Some of the increases in early education include $54 million more for low performing schools and $100 million more for after school programs.
While these increases are necessary for our budding future leaders, many college students in the middle of earning their degrees may be wondering how this new proposed budget will affect them.
Without summer disbursements of Pell grants, students will be forced to compensate that loss by applying for institutional scholarships or Stafford and PLUS loans, potentially landing them in more debt pending graduation. Some low-income students may even have to forgo summer school to avoid resorting to borrowing.
“I think what they’re doing is political posturing,” says Mary McKinney, Executive Director of Financial Aid Assistance at UCF. “The current resources are not adequate in the first place and there are solutions that would be more efficient than just cutting across the board. Education is just a small piece of it. Cutting from the tiniest portion of the budget does not fix the problem.”
Like every issue since President Obama’s inauguration, the budget has become an instrument of political party tactics instead of what is best for the country. Congress has yet to approve the budget, as Republicans argue that the overall cuts to the government’s spending are not enough and Democrats say it’s too much.
“They are always looking for immediate solutions instead of good solutions,” says McKinney.
As Congress and the president debate the budget indefinitely, the country can only hope they will come to a lasting solution that will paint a brighter future for all students.
*Ms. McKinney’s statement is based solely on her individual opinion. Her statement does not reflect the official opinion of UCF.
