{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://messer.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=701", "Messer Applauds Education Department for Restoring Pell Grants to ITT Tech Students", "2017-11-21", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "IN", "Luke Messer", "M001189", "messer.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. (Tuesday, Nov.  21, 2017) \u2014 U.S. Rep. Luke Messer (IN-06) today applauded the Trump Administration and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for retroactively restoring Pell Grant eligibility to the approximately 16,000 students nationwide who were using the grants to attend Indiana-based ITT Technical Institute when it abruptly closed last fall.\r\n          share:\r\n          f \r\n          t \r\n        \r\n      \r\n      WASHINGTON, D.C. (Tuesday, Nov.\u00a0 21, 2017) \u2014 U.S. Rep. Luke Messer (IN-06) today applauded the Trump Administration and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for retroactively restoring Pell Grant eligibility to the approximately 16,000 students nationwide who were using the grants to attend Indiana-based ITT Technical Institute when it abruptly closed last fall.\r\nMesser\u00a0led the charge\u00a0to assist these students after ITT Tech's closure, urging the Department of Education to restore their Pell Grant eligibility so they could continue their degrees elsewhere. The Education Department\u00a0responded to Messer's request, and earlier this year, Secretary DeVos\u00a0announced plans to carry it out along with Pell Grant restoration for other school closures.\u00a0\r\n\u201cFor many low-income students, Pell Grants are their best shot to attend college and secure a better future for themselves,\u201d\u00a0Messer\u00a0said. \u201cI appreciate Secretary Betsy DeVos and the Trump Administration for doing right by these students and ensuring they have a path forward to continue their education.\u201d\r\nNearly 300,000 students at 841 schools that closed between 2001 and 2016 -- including ITT Tech -- have now had their Pell Grant eligibility restored by the Education Department.\r\nFederal Pell Grants are provided to low-income students pursuing post-secondary education, and lifetime eligibility for the need-based grants is limited.\r\nFollowing ITT Tech\u2019s closure, Messer also introduced legislation to restore GI Bill benefits to 7,000 veterans impacted by ITT Tech's closure. In August, President Trump signed this bipartisan legislation\u00a0into law\u00a0as part of a landmark GI Bill reform package. Messer's legislation will also assist veterans impacted by future school closures.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://messer.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=701"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.09528424218297, "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"}