Latest News on Student Aid in the FY 2013 Budget

Sequestration Could Deal Major Blow to Federal Student Aid
  Though Federal Pell Grants remain safe from sequestration, the mandated across-the-board cuts would jeopardize access to federal student aid, according to a report by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Barring any congressional action to stop sequestration, the automatic cuts will go into effect beginning Ja...
House Panel Approves FY 2013 Spending Bill
The House Labor, Health, Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcomittee (Labor-H) passed their draft fiscal year (FY) 2013 spending bill yesterday by a vote of eight to six. The bill, which would set funding levels for student aid programs in award year 2013-14, includes $150 billion in discretionary fundin...
Senate Appropriators Pass Education Spending Bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee voted yesterday to approve the fiscal year (FY) 2013 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. Spending on most student-aid programs for FY 2013 would remain level to FY 2012 levels, including the Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (...
White House Releases State-by-State Data on Impact of Proposed GOP Budget
The White House has released a state-by-state analysis of the impact of fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget outline passed by House Republicans last week.  The analysis outlines the consequences of the GOP budget on education for each state, including funding reductions for the Pell Grant and Federal Work Study Programs.
House-Passed GOP Budget Plan Will Meet Resistance in Senate
The House of Representatives passed the Republican's fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget plan, The Path to Prosperity, yesterday afternoon by a vote of 228-191. The budget resolution proposes slashing funding for U.S. Department of Education programs by $9.5 billion in FY 2013 including significant cuts to the student aid pro...
House Education Committee Debates FY 2013 Education Budget
Education Secretary Arne Duncan defended President Obama's fiscal year (FY) 2013 education budget request and criticized House Republican's FY 2013 budget proposal at a hearing held yesterday by the House Education and the Workforce Committee.
Duncan Defends Cost of Obama’s College Affordability Plan at House Hearing
Education Secretary Arne Duncan defended the spending required for the Obama administration’s proposed college affordability initiatives (outlined in Obama’s fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget request) at a hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agenci...
CBO Estimates Pell Program to Hit Troubled Waters in FY2014
Even with a higher maximum award, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) expects the Pell Grant program to be on sure footing through fiscal year (FY) 2013 (award year 2013-14). However, FY 2014 (award year 2014-15) is expected to see a big increase in program costs, and that indicates trouble on the horizon...
Obama's 2013 Budget Request Makes Student Aid and College Affordability Top Priorities
President Obama's fiscal year (FY) 2013 Budget Request to Congress includes a maximum Pell Grant award of $5,635 for the 2013-14 award year, a one-year extension of the 3.4% interest rate on Subsidized Stafford Loans and a permanent extension of the American Opportunity Tax Credit.
Senators Question Obama's College Affordability Plan at Committee Hearing
Department of Education Under Secretary Martha Kanter faced tough questions about the Obama administration's college affordability plan and the lack of specifics at a hearing Thursday held by the U.S. Senate's Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. The "Innovations in College Affordability" hearing also ...
Obama Plan Would Tie Campus-Based Aid to College Affordability
The Obama administration wants Congress to pass legislation that would reward or limit the allocation of federal campus-based aid based on institutions' ability to provide affordable education.
Obama Proposes Penalties for Rising Tuition Rates in State of the Union Address
In his third formal State of the Union address, President Obama made college affordability and job-training a central tenant in his plan to improve the economy, proposing that Congress penalize institutions for increasing tuition rates, stop student loan interest rates from doubling in July 2012 and extend education ta...
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