III 112th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 274 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 22, 2011 Mr. Whitehouse (for himself, Mr. Reed, Mr. Franken, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Brown of Ohio) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the Senate that funding for the Federal Pell Grant program should not be cut in any deficit reduction package.

Whereas the Federal Pell Grant program has been the cornerstone of the Federal financial aid system since grants were first distributed in the 1970s; Whereas during 2010, almost 9,000,000 students in the United States received a Federal Pell Grant; Whereas the number of students receiving a Federal Pell Grant increased by 26 percent between the 2008–2009 academic year and the 2009–2010 academic year; Whereas when Federal Pell Grants were first distributed in 1976, such grants paid for 72 percent of the average cost of a 4-year public institution of higher education while in 2011 the maximum Federal Pell Grant covers only 34 percent of such cost; Whereas 61 percent of students who received a Federal Pell Grant during the 2008–2009 academic year came from households that earned less than $30,000 and 99 percent of such students came from households that earned $50,000 a year or less; Whereas during the 2008–2009 academic year, 68 percent of students receiving a Federal Pell Grant were 21 years of age or older; Whereas the unemployment rate for individuals with a baccalaureate degree is consistently half of the unemployment rate for individuals with only a secondary school diploma; and Whereas education is a vital part of ensuring that the United States workforce is prepared for the 21st Century and the United States remains the world leader in innovation: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of the Senate that funding for the Federal Pell Grant program should not be cut in any deficit reduction package.