Nbadan
03-08-2005, 12:45 PM
Monday, March 07, 2005, 04:51 P.M. Pacific
Bush's budget leaves college students behind
By Ronald R. Thomas
Special to The Times
The same administration that seeks to leave no child behind has proposed a budget that will leave many students without access to higher education while it significantly increases spending on security.
President Bush has proposed budget cuts of $773 million in pre-college education programs, in addition to earlier changes in the Pell Grant college-aid program that left 80,000 students no longer eligible for such grants.
Now, students and families seeking to fund their education with a Federal Perkins Loan will be even harder hit as well: The Bush administration wants to eliminate that self-sustaining program entirely.
Started in 1958 under President Dwight Eisenhower, Perkins loans were the first federal assistance program dedicated specifically for higher education. Perkins currently provides low-interest loans to more than 600,000 students at 1,796 colleges across the country. It is one of the most popular and successful government programs of any kind. But not with this administration........
Seattle Times (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2002198988&zsection_id=268883724&slug=ronthomas07&date=20050307)
Ah, but you've still got the GI bill and a nifty $20,000 bonus if you sign up for combat duty in Iraq. What say you?
Bush's budget leaves college students behind
By Ronald R. Thomas
Special to The Times
The same administration that seeks to leave no child behind has proposed a budget that will leave many students without access to higher education while it significantly increases spending on security.
President Bush has proposed budget cuts of $773 million in pre-college education programs, in addition to earlier changes in the Pell Grant college-aid program that left 80,000 students no longer eligible for such grants.
Now, students and families seeking to fund their education with a Federal Perkins Loan will be even harder hit as well: The Bush administration wants to eliminate that self-sustaining program entirely.
Started in 1958 under President Dwight Eisenhower, Perkins loans were the first federal assistance program dedicated specifically for higher education. Perkins currently provides low-interest loans to more than 600,000 students at 1,796 colleges across the country. It is one of the most popular and successful government programs of any kind. But not with this administration........
Seattle Times (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2002198988&zsection_id=268883724&slug=ronthomas07&date=20050307)
Ah, but you've still got the GI bill and a nifty $20,000 bonus if you sign up for combat duty in Iraq. What say you?