I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1742 

To index the maximum value of Federal Pell Grants to inflation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 23, 2023 

Mr. CASTEN (for himself, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. ALLRED, 

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. PETERS, Ms. 

LEE of California, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. 

TOKUDA, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. TRONE, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. ADAMS, 

Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. JACOBS, and 

Ms. SCHRIER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To index the maximum value of Federal Pell Grants to 

inflation. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pell Grant Sustain5 ability Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The purchasing power of the Federal Pell 

2 Grant has declined rapidly since the 1970s. In aca3 demic year 1974–1975, the total maximum Federal 

4 Pell Grant covered 80 percent of base educational 

5 costs at public 4-year institutions of higher edu6 cation. By academic year 2020–2021, the maximum 

7 Federal Pell Grant covered just 30 percent of those 

8 base costs. 

9 (2) The value of Federal Pell Grants must keep 

10 pace with students’ costs in order to fulfill their mis11 sion of enabling lower-income students to attend col12 lege. 

13 SEC. 3. INDEXING FEDERAL PELL GRANTS TO INFLATION. 

14 (a) AWARD YEAR 2023–2024.—Section 401 of the 

15 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘through 

18 fiscal year 2017’’ and inserting ‘‘through fiscal year 

19 2023’’; and 

20 (2) in subsection (b)(7)(C), by amending clause 

21 (iii) to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(iii) SUBSEQUENT AWARD YEARS.— 

23 ‘‘(I) AWARD YEARS 2018–2019

24 THROUGH 2022–2023.—For each of the 

25 award years 2018–2019 through 


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1 2022–2023, the amount determined 

2 under this subparagraph for purposes 

3 of subparagraph (B)(iii) shall be equal 

4 to the amount determined under 

5 clause (ii) for award year 2017–2018. 

6 ‘‘(II) AWARD YEAR 2023–2024.— 

7 For award year 2023–2024 and each 

8 subsequent award year, the amount 

9 determined under this subparagraph 

10 for purposes of subparagraph (B)(iii) 

11 shall be equal to— 

12 ‘‘(aa)(AA) $6,895 or the 

13 total maximum Federal Pell 

14 Grant for the preceding award 

15 year (as determined under clause 

16 (iv)(II)), whichever is greater, in17 creased by a percentage equal to 

18 the annual adjustment percent19 age for the award year for which 

20 the amount under this subpara21 graph is being determined; re22 duced by 

23 ‘‘(BB) $6,495 or the max24 imum Federal Pell Grant for 

25 which a student was eligible for 


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1 the preceding award year, as 

2 specified in the last enacted ap3 propriation Act applicable to that 

4 year, whichever is greater; and 

5 ‘‘(bb) rounded to the nearest 

6 $5.’’. 

7 (b) AWARD YEAR 2024–2025, AND EACH SUBSE8 QUENT AWARD YEAR.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 401(b) of the High10 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)), as 

11 amended by section 703 of the FAFSA Simplifica12 tion Act (title VII of division FF of Public Law 

13 116–260), is further amended— 

14 (A) by amending paragraph (5) to read as 

15 follows: 

16 ‘‘(5) TOTAL MAXIMUM FEDERAL PELL

17 GRANT.— 

18 ‘‘(A) AWARD YEAR 2024–2025 AND EACH

19 SUBSEQUENT AWARD YEAR.—For award year 

20 2024–2025, and each subsequent award year, 

21 the total maximum Federal Pell Grant award 

22 per student shall be equal to the sum of— 

23 ‘‘(i)(I) in the case of award year 

24 2024–2025, $1,060; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) in the case of award year 2025– 

2 2026 and each subsequent award year, the 

3 amount determined under this clause for 

4 the preceding award year, increased by a 

5 percentage equal to the annual adjustment 

6 percentage for the award year for which 

7 the amount under this clause is being de8 termined; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) the amount specified as the max10 imum Federal Pell Grant in the last en11 acted appropriation Act applicable to that 

12 award year. 

13 ‘‘(B) ROUNDING.—The total maximum 

14 Federal Pell Grant for any award year shall be 

15 rounded to the nearest $5. 

16 ‘‘(C) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT PERCENTAGE

17 DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘annual 

18 adjustment percentage’, as applied to an award 

19 year, is equal to the estimated percentage 

20 change in the Consumer Price Index (as deter21 mined by the Secretary, using the definition in 

22 section 478(f)) for the most recent calendar 

23 year ending prior to the beginning of that 

24 award year.’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (6)(A)(ii), by striking 

2 ‘‘each of the fiscal years 2024 through 2034’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2024 and each subse4 quent fiscal year’’; and 

5 (C) in paragraph (8)(A), by striking 

6 ‘‘through fiscal year 2034’’. 

7 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

8 by paragraph (1) shall take effect as if included in 

9 section 703 of the FAFSA Simplification Act (title 

10 VII of division FF of Public Law 116–260) and sub11 ject to the effective date of section 701(b) of such 

12 Act. 

Æ 


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