The Hill News

The underlying tension to maintain government-funded programs on the one hand and to reduce the national deficit on the other is evident throughout the Obama administration’s fiscal year 2012 (FY 2012) budget proposal for all government agencies. While many government agencies witnessed overall cuts, the Department of Education’s budget proposes a $2 billion increase over the fiscal year 2011 (FY 2011) proposal.

In the recent State of the Union address, the president outlined his vision for “winning the future” and to fully achieve this goal, investments in education are critical. Even with the budget’s overall increase, the Obama administration has determined that some cuts are needed, primarily to sustain the maximum Pell Grant at $5,550. Preserving the Pell Grant program reflects our nation’s long-standing commitment to educational opportunity for low-income students.

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