[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1061 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1061

   To improve the Federal Pell Grant program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 22, 2015

 Ms. Hirono (for herself, Mr. Markey, and Mr. Schumer) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To improve the Federal Pell Grant program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pell Grant Cost of Tuition 
Adjustment Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to restore the role of Federal Pell 
Grants as the foundational Federal investment in higher education, in 
order to strengthen the economy of the United States by improving 
opportunities for low-income students to complete higher education and 
join the middle class.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Federal Pell Grants provided under section 401 of the 
        Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a) (referred to in 
        this Act as ``Federal Pell Grants'') have historically been the 
        fundamental Federal investment in helping low-income students 
        pay for college and enter the middle class.
            (2) In the 1979-1980 academic year, the maximum Federal 
        Pell Grant paid for 77 percent of the average cost of 
        attendance at an in-State, 4-year institution of higher 
        education. However, in the 2014-2015 academic year, the maximum 
        Federal Pell Grant covered less than one-third of that average 
        cost of attendance or $18,943. For the 2014-2015 academic year, 
        the average cost of only tuition and fees at an in-State, 4-
        year institution of higher education is $9,139.
            (3) The SAFRA Act (Public Law 111-152) provided a slight 
        inflation adjustment to the maximum Federal Pell Grant. 
        However, this increase is lower than the Consumer Price Index 
        and will end after the 2017-2018 academic year.
            (4) The program providing Federal Pell Grants already acts 
        as a quasi-entitlement, in which both mandatory funding and 
        discretionary funding combine to maintain a maximum Federal 
        Pell Grant amount.
            (5) The Congressional Budget Office reports on any overall 
        financial surplus or shortfall in the funding provided for the 
        Federal Pell Grant program. However, in recent years, in order 
        to meet the maximum Federal Pell Grant level with the provided 
        level of funding, Congress has made cuts to the program through 
        imposing additional eligibility requirements for Federal Pell 
        Grants and limiting the availability of year-round Federal Pell 
        Grants, causing significant uncertainty and reducing access to 
        higher education for millions of hardworking college students.
            (6) Removing the Federal Pell Grant program from the 
        uncertainty of the congressional discretionary appropriations 
        process will improve student access to, and the affordability 
        of, higher education.

SEC. 4. INCREASING THE FEDERAL PELL GRANT AND ADDING A COST OF LIVING 
              ADJUSTMENT.

    (a) In General.--Section 401(b)(2)(A) of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking clauses (i) 
and (ii) and inserting the following:
                            ``(i)(I) for award year 2014-2015, $9,139; 
                        and
                            ``(II) for award year 2015-2016 and each 
                        subsequent award year, the amount of the 
                        maximum Federal Pell Grant determined under 
                        this clause for the immediately preceding award 
                        year, increased by a percentage equal to the 
                        estimated percentage increase, if any, in the 
                        Consumer Price Index (as determined by the 
                        Secretary, using the definition in section 
                        478(f)) for the most recent calendar year 
                        ending prior to the beginning of that award 
                        year; plus
                            ``(ii) any additional amount specified for 
                        the maximum Federal Pell Grant in the last 
                        enacted appropriation Act applicable to that 
                        award year, less''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to Federal Pell Grants awarded under section 401 of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a) for award year 2015-
2016 and each succeeding award year.
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