FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
We strongly support the restoration of the year-round Pell Grant for low-income families and additional funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) contained in the Senate FY17 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill. These investments reflect a bipartisan commitment to college access and the nation’s investment in finding cures and extending lives through biomedical research.
Funding shortfalls in recent years have caused the loss of the year-round Pell Grant, affecting the ability of approximately one million full-time low-income students to attend college throughout the year. This benefit was especially important for helping students reduce time-to-degree. We are glad that Congress is taking concrete steps to restore this important measure.
With respect to NIH, Congress is still in the process of rebuilding the nation’s critical biomedical research investment after years of flat funding. A steady upward funding path is the best way for researchers to take advantage of ever-growing scientific opportunities for finding cures and other treatments.
We recognize that there is a considerable distance between here and the final disposition of FY17 appropriations. We urge Congress to follow through on these funding increases.