AAU joined ACE and over three dozen higher education organizations in a letter to party leadership thanking them for "the commitment to student aid and scientific research in the Fiscal Year 2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act."
Specific positive aspects of the bill include:
- Increases the maximum Pell Grant award by $175, maintains the recent Year Round Pell expansion, and keeps existing program funding within Pell Grants;
- Increases funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH);
- Invests in student aid, career and workforce training, institutional support and scientific research;
- Increases funding for TRIO and GEAR UP programs;
- Enhances the Public Service Loan Forgiveness and increase its reach;
- Increases support for Apprenticeship Opportunities and new funding for key workforce-related programs;
- Increases funding for the Title III and Title V programs;
- Increases support for agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, NASA, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Art.