[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 12 (Tuesday, February 8, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H356]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              PELL GRANTS

  (Mr. KELLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in favor of a part of 
President Bush's budget that receives no fanfare or publicity, and that 
is Pell grants.
  Pell grants are dollars we give to children from low- and moderate-
income families to help them go to college. I personally would not have 
been able to go to college without Pell grants, and I serve as chairman 
of the Congressional Pell Grant Caucus.
  When I was elected to Congress in 2000, I made increasing Pell grant 
funding my top priority, and with this budget, President Bush has done 
his part, too.
  Looking at this chart, let us compare the funding situation in 2000 
to the new budget proposal. Overall funding has increased 137 percent. 
Maximum Pell grant awards are up from $3,300 to $4,150, and an 
additional 1.6 million students are now able to go to college.
  Mr. Speaker, Pell grants are truly the passport out of poverty for so 
many worthy young people, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on 
this budget.

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