On Thursday, May 27th, the Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Subcommittee will hold a hearing to examine the results of a new GAO report on post-secondary institutions that serve low-income and minority students. The panel will review efforts to monitor the financial and programmatic performance of institutions that receive funding under Titles III and V of the Higher Education Opportunity Act. 

More than 1,200 colleges in the United States serve predominantly minority populations.

On Thursday, May 21, the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to examine proposals that will make historic increases in college aid by enacting reforms that will make the nation’s federal student loan programs more reliable, effective and efficient for students, families and taxpayers.

One of the proposals the committee will examine is President Obama’s FY 2010 budget proposal, which would increase the Pell Grant scholarship and other forms of student aid by almost $100 billion over ten years – and at no cost to taxpayers. The President’s plan would be paid for by ending the subsidies the federal government currently pays to lenders in the federally-guaranteed student loan programs and re-directing those savings back into additional aid for low- and middle-income students