Pell-mell:

October 14 - Remarks by President Bush and Senator Kerry in the Third 2004 Presidential Debate (excerpts, emp add)

MODERATOR: Let's go to a new question, Mr. President, two minutes. And let's continue on jobs. You know, there are all kind of statistics out there, but I want to bring it down to an individual. Mr. President, what do you say to someone in this country who has lost his job to someone overseas, who is being paid a fraction of what that job paid here in the United States?

PRESIDENT BUSH: You know, education is how to help the person who has lost a job. Education is how to make sure this -- we've got a work force that's productive and competitive. You got -- four more years, I've got more to do to continue to raise standards, to continue to reward teachers and school districts that are working, to emphasize math and science in the classrooms, to continue to expand Pell grants, to make sure that people have an opportunity to start their career with a college diploma.

MODERATOR: Senator Kerry.

SENATOR KERRY: The fact is that he's cut job training money.   ...   They've cut the Pell grants and the Perkins loans to helps kids be able to go to college.

MODERATOR: Mr. President.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Whoo! Let me start with the Pell grants. In his last litany of -- of misstatements, he said we cut Pell grants. We've increased Pell grants by a million students. That's a fact.

MODERATOR: Senator Kerry?

SENATOR KERRY: But you know why the Pell grants have gone up in their numbers? Because more people qualified for them, because they don't have money. But they're not getting the $5,100 the President promised them. They're getting less money. There are more people who qualify; that's not what we want.

MODERATOR: Mr. President.

PRESIDENT BUSH: ... we ought to have an aggressive effort to make sure people are educated, to make sure when they get out of high school there's Pell grants available for them, which is what we've done. We've expanded Pell grants by a million students.

November 23 - US aid for college students slashed

Nearly a quarter of low- and moderate-income college students who currently qualify for federal Pell grants will see their awards reduced or eliminated under a change in federal rules that Congress allowed in its new spending bill passed over the weekend, according to an estimate from higher education analysts.

About 85,000 of the 5.2 million students currently eligible to receive Pell grants will become ineligible. And 1.2 million others will get a smaller award under a new formula the government will use to determine how much families can afford to pay for college, according to estimates from the American Council on Education, or ACE. The change will take effect for students starting or returning to classes next summer or fall.

posted by Quiddity at 11/23/2004 10:43:00 PM