FY 2026 Spending Bill Flat Funds Pell Grant, FSEOG, and FWS Programs, Prevents ED Funding from Transferring to Other Federal Agencies
By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter
With just over a week until funding for the Department of Education’s (ED) programs is set to expire, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday unveiled bicameral legislation to fund ED and other federal agencies through the remainder of the 2026 fiscal year (FY), which ends September 30.
The legislation would flat-fund the Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), and Federal Work-Study (FWS) programs, and includes a provision that would block funding for ED from being transferred to other agencies, unless specified in the appropriations law.
“While it’s a relief to hopefully avoid another government shutdown, Congress needs to reprioritize a timely and predictable budgeting process,” said Melanie Storey, NASFAA president & CEO. "Preserving essential programs like Federal Work-Study and FSEOG from elimination isn't a victory for students who rely on these programs. Flat funding federal student aid programs amounts to a cut in practice, as the rising cost of living continues to chip away at the value of students' financial aid, leaving them with fewer resources and higher costs.”
Specifically, ED would be allotted $79 billion in discretionary funding, which is a $217 million increase over the FY 2025 level and $12 billion more than President Trump’s FY 2026 budget request, which was released last year.
The maximum Pell Grant award would be set at $7,395 for the 2026-2027 academic year, consistent with the 2025-26 award. The FWS program would receive $1.2 billion in funding, and the FSEOG program would receive $910 million, the same as the final FY 2025 funding levels.
Last year, President Donald Trump proposed in his budget that the FSEOG program be eliminated, and that funding for the FWS program be set at $250 million, a $980 million funding decrease from the FY 2025 level. The Trump administration also proposed eliminating the TRIO programs and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP).
In the Senate’s spending bill, which was also endorsed by House leadership, TRIO programs would be flat-funded at $1.191 billion, and GEAR UP would be flat-funded at $388 million.
Additionally, the bill includes language that “prohibits the transfer of such funding to another Federal agency unless such transfer authority is provided in an appropriations law.” The Senate Appropriations Committee noted in its explanatory statement “that no authorities exist for the Department of Education to transfer its fundamental responsibilities under numerous authorizing and appropriations laws, including through procuring services from other Federal agencies, of carrying out those programs, projects, and activities to other Federal agencies.”
The bill also includes a provision that requires ED to maintain the staff necessary to fulfill its statutory responsibilities. Over the past year, the Trump administration has focused on dismantling ED, including through a reduction in force (RIF). Most recently, ED began sending higher education agency staff over to the Department of Labor (DOL) through its new interagency agreement.
Additionally, language was added to the funding bill that requires ED to make formula grants available to states and districts on time, which will prevent “funding from being withheld and creating chaos for students, teachers, and families,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, wrote in a fact sheet.
NASFAA has long been advocating for increased funding for student aid programs. NASFAA, as part of the Student Aid Alliance, signed onto a letter in June last year urging lawmakers to continue their bipartisan support of federal student aid programs in FY 2026.
To avoid another government shutdown, both the Senate and House must vote to pass the legislation by January 30 or pass another continuing resolution (CR), a short-term funding extension. The Senate is in recess for this week, but the House, which plans to be on recess for the week of January 26, has included “possible” consideration of a spending bill on its agenda. Stay tuned to Today’s News for more details on the appropriations process.
Publication Date: 1/21/2026
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