{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://magaziner.house.gov/media/press-releases/magaziner-leads-effort-double-pell-grant-and-make-higher-education-more", "Magaziner Leads Effort to Double the Pell Grant and Make Higher Education More Affordable", "2023-03-27", "2023", "2023-03", "Democrat", "House", "RI", "Seth Magaziner", "M001223", "magaziner.house.gov", "magaziner", "https://magaziner.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Full text of the letter\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 Today, Representative Seth Magaziner (RI-02) announced that he is leading 104 of his colleagues in requesting increased funding for the Federal Pell Grant Program and to double the maximum annual Pell Grant to $13,000. Magaziner and his colleagues also asked that appropriators secure the long-term affordability impact of the Pell Grant program for future years by indexing the maximum award amount to inflation and ensuring that funding for the program is fully mandatory.\n\n\u201cFor nearly 50 years, Pell Grants have provided much needed financial assistance to low-income families, unlocking higher education opportunities for millions of students. However, Pell Grants are simply not keeping up with the rising cost of tuition,\u201d said Rep. Seth Magaziner. \u201cBuilding on the outstanding legacy of Senator Claiborne Pell, we must make sure that all students, no matter their socio-economic status, can access a college education. By investing in Pell Grants, we will reinforce our national commitment to progress, moving our country forward by ensuring that the next generation of leaders has access to the education they deserve.\u201d\n\nPell Grants are a cornerstone of our nation\u2019s student financial aid system, but today they cover less than one-third of the average cost of attendance at a public four-year university, the lowest share of tuition in the program\u2019s history. Increased tuition costs, as well expenses like textbooks, housing, food, and transportation, have drastically diminished Pell Grant\u2019s purchasing power, placing greater strain on the students and families that the program was designed to help.\n\nCongress increased the maximum annual Pell Grant to $7,395 for the 2023-2024 award year, reflecting an increase of $500 and the largest increase in 10 years. However, this still falls short of what is needed to make college affordable to the lowest-income students. Congress must increase the annual Pell Grant to $13,000, which on average would cut student debt at least in half for eligible recipients, helping an estimated 25.2 million students per year.\n\nRead full text of letter here:\n\nMarch 15, 2023\n\nDear Chairman Aderholt and Ranking Member DeLauro:\n\nAs you begin work on this year\u2019s Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, we ask that you provide robust funding for the Federal Pell Grant Program in Fiscal Year 2024 in order to facilitate increasing the maximum individual award to $13,000. We also ask that appropriators secure the long-term affordability impact of the Pell Grant program for years to come by indexing the maximum award amount to inflation and ensuring that funding for the program is fully mandatory, rather than discretionary. These policy changes will ensure that the financial support the Pell Grant program provides to students as they pursue higher education will be insulated from market changes or budget shortfalls.\n\nWe applaud the Committee for increasing the maximum annual Pell Grant to $7,395 for the 2023-2024 award year, reflecting an increase of $500 and the largest increase in 10 years. However, this still falls short of what is needed to make college affordable to the lowest-income students. Congress must increase the annual Pell Grant to $13,000, which on average would cut student debt at least in half for eligible recipients, helping an estimated 25.2 million students per year. Despite being the cornerstone of our nation\u2019s student financial aid system, Pell Grants today cover less than one-third of the average cost of attendance at a public four-year university, which is the lowest share of tuition in the program\u2019s history. Increased tuition costs, as well expenses like textbooks, housing, food, and transportation, have drastically diminished Pell\u2019s purchasing power. This places greater strain on the students and families that the program was designed to help. Increasing the maximum Pell Grant will significantly improve the award\u2019s purchasing power, thus ensuring it will truly benefit the students and families that need it most.\n\nFor nearly 50 years, Pell Grants have provided much needed financial assistance to low-income families, unlocking higher education opportunities for millions of students. Because these grants are awarded solely based upon a student\u2019s financial need and do not have to be repaid, they are often the only vehicle available to low- and moderate-income students to pay for a college education. Strengthening the program will not only make college more affordable, but it will also improve outcomes by providing grant recipients more opportunity to focus on school, helping them cover their basic needs, and eliminating barriers to completion. Helping low- and moderate-income students obtain a college degree will promote equity and strengthen our communities, workforces, and nation. This investment will reinforce our national commitment to promoting opportunity to obtain a college education regardless of family income.\n\nThank you again for your attention to this critical issue. We look forward to working with you on ways to expand access to a quality higher education.\n\nSincerely,\n\nAuchincloss, Jake; Barrag\u00e1n, Nanette; Beatty, Joyce; Beyer, Donald; Blumenauer, Earl; Blunt Rochester, Lisa; Bowman, Jamaal; Boyle, Brendan; Budzinski, Nikki; Carbajal, Salud; C\u00e1rdenas, Tony; Casten, Sean; Castro, Joaquin; Chu, Judy; Cicilline, David; Cleaver, Emanuel; Cohen, Steve; Connolly, Gerald; Correa, J.; Costa, Jim; Courtney, Joe; Craig, Angie; Crow, Jason; Davids, Sharice; Davis, Danny; Dean, Madeleine; DeGette, Diana; DelBene, Suzan; Deluzio, Christopher; DeSaulnier, Mark; Dingell, Debbie; Doggett, Lloyd; Fletcher, Lizzie; Foster, Bill; Gallego, Ruben; Garamendi, John; Garcia, Robert; Goldman, Daniel; Gomez, Jimmy; Gonzalez, Vicente; Gottheimer, Josh; Hayes, Jahana; Higgins, Brian; Himes, James; Hoyle, Val; Huffman, Jared; Jacobs, Sara; Kamlager-Dove, Sydney; Keating, William; Kelly, Robin; Kim, Andy; Kuster, Ann; Larsen, Rick; Leger Fernandez, Teresa; Levin, Mike; Lieu, Ted; Lofgren, Zoe; Magaziner, Seth; Manning, Kathy; Matsui, Doris; McBath, Lucy; McGarvey, Morgan; McGovern, James; Moore, Gwen; Moulton, Seth; Nadler, Jerrold; Napolitano, Grace; Neal, Richard; Neguse, Joe; Omar, Ilhan; Pallone, Frank; Panetta, Jimmy; Pappas, Chris; Pascrell, Bill; Payne, Donald; Peltola, Mary; Pettersen, Brittany; Phillips, Dean; Pingree, Chellie; Plaskett, Stacey; Porter, Katie; Pressley, Ayanna; Raskin, Jamie; Ross, Deborah; Ruiz, Raul; Ryan, Patrick; Sablan, Gregorio; S\u00e1nchez, Linda; Sarbanes, John; Schiff, Adam; Schrier, Kim; Scott, David; Sherman, Brad; Smith, Adam; Strickland, Marilyn; Swalwell, Eric; Takano, Mark; Thompson, Mike; Titus, Dina; Tlaib, Rashida; Torres, Ritchie; Trahan, Lori; Vargas, Juan; Waters, Maxine; Wilson, Frederica", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T23:30:02Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://magaziner.house.gov/media/press-releases/magaziner-leads-effort-double-pell-grant-and-make-higher-education-more"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9847516193985939, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}