IU students might lose $10 million in aid

IU students could face a heavier financial burden next year as the U.S. Congress begins debating President Bush's proposed budget today.\nWhile the 2006 budget proposes to increase Pell Grants during a five-year period, it would also cut the Perkins Loans program entirely. Perkins Loans currently distributes $10 million to nearly 5,400 IU students, according to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.\nThe proposed budget would increase the maximum Pell Grant by $100 each year for five years. At the end of the five-year period, the ceiling for Pell Grants would be $4,550, short of the president's 2000 campaign promise of $5,100.\nThe addition comes after removing 80,000-90,000 students from Pell Grant eligibility and reducing aid to 1.3 million students in December, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The removal and reduction was an attempt to make more money available to students with the greatest need. \nAssociate Professor in the Department of Economics Willard Witte said the Bush administration was forced to cut from a very narrow array of programs.\n"It's not so much that (the Bush administration) wants to cut from education," he said. "They've got huge deficits. There are some things they cannot cut like Social Security and interest on the national debt."\nWitte said he did not know enough about the specifics of the programs facing elimination but noted that the proposal showed where the administration's priorities lie.\nMany educators said they were opposed to cuts in the education budget.\n"The increase to the Pell Grant is not enough," said Bill Ehrich, associate director of IU's Office of Student Financial Assistance. "If students gain $100 in grant money and lose $1,500 in loans, that's a net loss of $1,400."\nHe also noted that many presidents have attempted to cut the Perkins Loans program since its inception, but to no avail. Many of the targeted programs have supporters in Congress, making it very unlikely that many of the proposed budget cuts would pass.\n"I would be very surprised if (Bush) was able to cut them," Ehrich said. "This will hurt the students with the greatest need the most."\nIU Trustee and alumna Cora Breckenridge concurs.\n"Those loans enable so many students to go to school," Breckenridge said. "I hope Bush is serious about No Child Left Behind, because it seems he's about to leave a whole generation behind."\nBreckenridge said she received financial aid while attending IU and believes "a myriad of talent" will remain undeveloped if poor students don't have equal access to education. \nShe said she understands the budget is constrained by the war in Iraq but current funding levels should not decrease.\nThe president's proposed boost to Pell Grants alone will cost $400 million a year, said Stephanie Giesecke of NAICU.\nCam Savage, spokesman for Rep. Mike Sodrel, R.-Ind., maintained that it is too early to concentrate on the specifics of the president's proposed budget.\n"This is very early in the process," he said. "Congress has yet to look it over and then they have to send it to the appropriations people. This is just a starting point.\n"We're going focus our committees: transportation, science and small business."\nSavage encouraged all constituents, especially those involved with the University, to contact Sodrel's office to voice their opinions.\nCongress will begin discussion on the education component of the proposed budget Wednesday.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Sam \nNissen at scnissen@indiana.edu.