Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the 50th anniversary of the Pell Grant Program. In 1972, Congress amended the Higher Education Act by creating the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant to provide direct financial aid to low-income students so they could have the same access to higher education and opportunity for success as their higher income peers. The program was later named the Pell grant for its original sponsor, Senator Pell, Democrat from Rhode Island. The original bill was signed into law by Republican President Richard Nixon, and the program has maintained this original bipartisan support over the last 50 years. To date, more than 80 million students have received a Pell grant to go to college since the program was created. Currently, nearly 7 million students are going to college with a Pell grant, or about 40 percent of undergraduate students. In my district in the great city of Philadelphia, nearly 22,000 students receive $90.5 million to pursue their higher education goals. The Federal investment in Pell grants is targeted to students with demonstrated financial need, students whose families have incomes of $40,000 or less. The investment pays off by increasing college completion and economic mobility.…”