Senate Committee Advances FY 2026 Education Budget Bill That Flat-Funds Pell Grant and Student Aid Programs
By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter
With Congress’ deadline to fund the federal government for fiscal year (FY) 2026 drawing near, the Senate Appropriations Committee kicked off the process of funding the Department of Education (ED) for the upcoming cycle by unveiling and advancing a spending bill that would flat-fund key student aid programs by a vote of 26-3.
During Thursday’s full committee markup, members of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies outlined key provisions of its spending bill, pledging funding for key student aid programs, such as the Pell Grant, the federal TRIO, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), and the Federal Work-Study (FWS) programs.
The bill text with specific program funding levels was made available after the committee’s session, so during Thursday’s full Senate Appropriations Committee markup Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), who respectively serve as chair and ranking member of the subcommittee, outlined broad aspects of the legislation.
Specifically, the bill allocates $22,475,352,000 in discretionary funding for the Pell Grant program for FY 2026. The maximum Pell Grant award would be $7,395 for the 2026-27 award year, the same funding level as the 2025-26 award year. This is in addition to the nearly $10 billion in mandatory funding included in the recently enacted reconciliation bill to address the projected Pell Grant shortfall.
The FSEOG program would be allocated $910,000,000, and the FWS program would be allocated $1,230,000,000, the same funding amounts allocated for FY 2025. The federal TRIO programs would be allocated $1,191,000,000, which is also the same funding as FY 2025.
Student aid administration would be allocated $2,058,943,000, consistent with the final 2025 level. Higher education programs would be allocated $3,266,926,000, about a $200 million increase from FY 2025. Overall, ED would be allocated $79 billion.
NASFAA President and CEO Melanie Storey said that while the Senate’s initial proposal for FY 26 preserves funding levels for student aid programs, it would also represent a third consecutive year of flat-funding key programs.
“In the face of rising inflation and a growing cost of living, maintaining level funding amounts to a cut in real terms. Each year that aid fails to keep pace with economic pressures, college becomes less accessible and affordable for millions of students and families,” Storey said. “At a time when higher education is critical to our nation’s workforce and economic future, we cannot afford to shortchange students by allowing this quiet erosion of support to continue.”
While the specific funding levels were not clear at the outset of the Senate markup, the committee did shed light on members' top priorities for FY 26 spending levels.
During the markup, Capito said the subcommittee’s budget proposal prioritizes children, starting with early childhood all the way through postsecondary education, and makes sure that “students are prepared for today's jobs and in the future.” Baldwin, however, noted that the subcommittee’s legislation is a “compromise” but “protects important education funding” that students and families rely on.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, applauded the legislation for rejecting what she called “backward proposals” from the Trump administration, such as slashing funding for the Pell Grant program and dismantling ED.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, also applauded the legislation, which she said would maintain essential funding for the federal TRIO programs. Notably, President Donald Trump in his budget request proposed eliminating the federal TRIO programs.
Throughout the markup, senators discussed and voted on multiple proposed amendments for the labor, health, and education funding legislation. However, the committee did not adopt any amendments that impacted ED or the federal student aid programs.
Prior to the committee’s markup, NASFAA joined over 500 organizations in a letter calling on congressional appropriators to adequately fund labor, health, and education programs in the appropriations process. The letter, led by the Campaign to Invest in America's Workforce, the Coalition for Health Funding, the Committee for Education Funding, and the Coalition of Human Needs, stressed that lawmakers need to reverse recent funding trends that have led to billions of dollars in “chronic underfunding” for essential services. Furthermore, the organizations warned that continued underfunding could hinder efforts to address shortages in the education workforce, college affordability, and college completion.
Congress currently faces a September 30 deadline to fund the federal government for FY 2026. The House has not yet unveiled its education funding bill for FY 26 and is on recess until September.
Stay tuned to Today’s News for more updates on the appropriations process.
Publication Date: 8/1/2025
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