"It's 'the mother of all shortfalls,' according to one Washington insider. Others worry that it may get lost amid the nation's larger financial crises involving banks and mortgage lenders," Diverse: Issues In Higher Education reports. "But one thing is increasingly clear: Fueled by a declining economy that has many low-income Americans returning to school, the Pell Grant program is facing a growing shortfall that soon may reach $6 billion. 'It's such a large figure that Congress and the administration cannot ignore it,' says Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers."