[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 108 (Friday, June 24, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E675-E676]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RECOGNIZING THE 50TH ANNIVERARY OF THE PELL GRANT

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                            HON. ADAM SMITH

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 24, 2022

  Mr. SMITH of Washington. Madam Speaker, I rise today to mark the 50th 
Anniversary of the Pell Grant Program.
  In 1972, Congress amended the Higher Education Act by creating the 
Basic Educational Opportunity Grant, to provide direct financial aid to 
low-income students so they would have the same access to higher 
education and opportunity for success as their higher income peers. 
This program was later named the Pell Grant for its original sponsor, 
Sen. Claiborne Pell, Democrat from Rhode Island. The original bill was 
signed into law by Republican President Richard Nixon, and the program 
has maintained this original bipartisan support over the last 50 years.
  To date, more than 80 million students have received a Pell Grant to 
go to college since the program's creation. Currently, nearly 7 million 
students are going to college with Pell Grants, or about 40 percent of 
undergraduate students.
  In my congressional district, 4,626 students are receiving 
$17,586,937 to pursue their higher education goals at our local 
colleges.
  The federal investment in Pell Grants is targeted to students with 
demonstrated financial need, with most families at incomes of $40,000 
or less, and the investment pays off by increasing college completion, 
and economic mobility.
  Madam Speaker, as we approach the 50-year mark on the Pell Grant 
program, I look forward to Congress continuing the bipartisan support 
for low-income student access to college through the Pell Grant for 
another 50 years. I urge my colleagues to support the bipartisan 
resolution declaring June 23, 2022, National Pell Grant Day this year, 
and in the future.

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