The Double Pell Alliance, which includes AAU, sent a letter to leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees asking them to “make bold new investments in the Pell Grant program, with the goal of increasing the maximum Pell award to $13,000.”
The letter acknowledged the progress being made toward increasing the award but noted that “the current maximum Pell award still covers the lowest share of costs in the program’s 50-year history.” The letter emphasized that the Pell Grant program is vital to the “more than seven million low- and middle-income students — including nearly 60 percent of Black undergraduates and almost half of Latino undergraduates” who use Pell Grants to help cover the costs of college. “Raising the maximum Pell award to $13,000 is an effective, targeted way to make college more affordable and lower student debt burdens for millions of students,” it said.