U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
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Office of Senator Russ Feingold | 202/224-5323

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I believe that Congress should expand the availability of student aid, and ensure that qualified students have access to a postsecondary education.

I am proud to have led a number of successful financial aid initiatives in recent years, including raising the individual Pell Grant award, which is a critical source of assistance for many students. During consideration of the fiscal year 2001 budget resolution, the Senate passed a Kennedy-Feingold amendment raising the maximum individual Pell Grant award to $3,700, an increase of $400. In fiscal year 2001 budget negotiations between the House and the Senate, the maximum individual award was boosted to $3750, making it the largest increase in over two decades. In fiscal year 2002, the maximum award was again raised to $4,000, and then to $4,050 in fiscal year 2003. During consideration of the fiscal year 2004 budget resolution, I pushed for a $450 increase, to raise the maximum award to $4,500, and led a broad coalition to propose a doubling in Pell Grant funding by 2010. Unfortunately, these latter provisions were not included in the final fiscal year 2004 budget resolution. I will continue to lead efforts to increase the Pell Grant award, including my continued effort to increase this award from $4,050 to $4,500.

I am also working on other efforts to ensure that all students can have access to higher education. In March 2004, I joined several of my colleagues in writing a letter to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education requesting adequate funding for the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) program, which provides disadvantaged undergraduate and graduate students with financial aid. In addition, I again joined a number of my colleagues in sending a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, urging an increase in funding for the TRIO Programs, which help low-income Americans enter college, and graduate.

In May 2004, I also joined several of my colleagues in asking the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education to protect the Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act program's funding from the 25 percent cut proposed by the Administration in its fiscal year 2005 budget request. The Perkins program provides crucial funds for career and technical education in the United States. I also asked this Subcommittee to sufficiently fund the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) program. GEAR UP is a national education program designed to help low-income students enter college. I will continue to push for adequate funding for these critical programs that help students achieve their goal of receiving a higher education.

In November 2000, the President signed into law S.1455, the Scholarship Fraud Prevention Act, which former Senator Spencer Abraham (R-Michigan) and I introduced. This legislation helps to protect college students by making more information available about scholarship scams and by helping students gain access to legitimate, reliable sources of scholarship information. It also helps to ensure that scholarship scam artists do not profit at the expense of students.

No Child Left Behind Act
Student Testing
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Teacher Quality
Other K-12 Education Issues
Higher Education

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