Feeling there's no time like a recession to make it harder for lower and middle-income kids to attend college, Paul Ryan is getting ready to take the ax to the Pell Grants program (a program the Brawler was able to avail himself of back in the day).
From Wonk Room:
The House Republicans’ much-ballyhooed Pledge to America includes a commitment to reduce non-defense discretionary spending to the level at which it was in 2008. This would mean — among many other things — that funding for Pell Grants would be reduced by $9 billion, even though demand is likely to go up as the effects of the Great Recession linger.
The Pledge’s architect, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) bristled when Bloomberg News’ Al Hunt made this point during an interview last week. “Are you willing to cut Pell Grants for middle-class college students by $4 million or $5 million [in 2011]?” Hunt asked. “Well, see, people go out and pick the special little places,” McCarthy replied.
McCarthy may be playing it coy, but according to Inside Higher Ed, incoming House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and potential House Education and Labor Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) both have their eye on Pell reductions:
Now that's exactly what the teabaggers voted for!
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