[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 107 (Thursday, June 23, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H5871]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              CELEBRATING 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF PELL GRANTS

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, today is the 50th 
anniversary of the Pell Grant Program.
  This program was authorized in 1972 to provide direct financial aid 
to low-income students for access to higher education and the 
opportunity to pursue their full potential.
  The effort that year was bipartisan, and the program maintains 
bipartisan support today, 50 years later.
  More than 80 million students have received the Pell grant to attend 
college, and currently, 7 million students, about 40 percent of 
undergraduates, are utilizing the Pell grant to earn a degree today.
  At Pennsylvania's land-grant institution, Penn State University, 
annually, about 18,000 students are using the Pell grant to access and 
afford a great degree at 20 undergraduate campuses throughout the 
Commonwealth, including two Penn State campuses in the counties I 
serve.
  Mr. Speaker, for individuals, this program is critically important to 
access and affordability, but it also encourages degree completion, on-
time graduation, and lower levels of student debt. For the Nation, this 
program is an essential investment to maintaining and strengthening our 
Nation's skilled workforce and enhancing global economic 
competitiveness.

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