Jack Reed: “This is a national crisis. It is getting worse. It is not getting better.”

For decades, Pell grants have been the cornerstone of our federal financial aid programs. Today, with the costs of higher education continuing to increase, these grants cover a shrinking percentage of the actual cost of college.

This corrosive, kleptocratic, and corrupt maneuver is outrageous.

Preventable deaths, inhumane conditions, and millions of dollars in waste are the direct result of the Pentagon cutting corners and handing a billion-dollar contract to an inexperienced vendor that wrote its own performance standards.

It is past time we double the power of Pell grants and ensure this essential financial aid keeps up with inflation.