Reauthorized Higher Education Act includes new funding for graduate programs at minority-serving institutions.
After years of debate, Congress overwhelmingly approved a bill to renew the Higher Education Act and made changes in a variety of programs, from Pell Grants and student loans to those reserved for minority-serving institutions. The affirmative vote on what is now called the Higher Education Opportunity Act sends the measure to the White House for President Bush’s signature. While administration officials say they object to some provisions of the plan, the president is expected to sign the bill. House and Senate negotiators met for months to resolve final details of the HEA reauthorization bill, which had stalled in Congress in recent years. But the final measure — more than 1,000 pages — is drawing bipartisan support. “It puts smart strategies in place to improve our student aid process, restore confidence in our student loan programs and provide more low-income, first-generation and minority students the chance to pursue a college education,” says Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Texas, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Competitiveness. For needy students, the bill would increase the maximum Pell Grant from $4,800 to $6,000 in 2009 and $8,000 by 2014, a House summary of the plan states. These low-income students could receive Pell Grants on a year-round basis.
