Title: Pell Grant Sustainability Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Pell Grant Sustainability Act
This bill requires the Department of Education to calculate the award amount for Pell Grants for award year 2020–2021 and each subsequent award year by indexing the award amount to the rate of inflation.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4639 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4639

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 11, 2019

Mr. Casten of Illinois (for himself and Mrs. Lee of Nevada) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education 
                               and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


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

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pell Grant Sustainability Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) From 2009 through 2018, the maximum discretionary 
        Federal Pell Grants under section 401 of the Higher Education 
        Act of 1965 stayed flat while inflation was 17 percent.
            (2) The value of Federal Pell Grants must keep pace with 
        students' costs in order to fulfill their mission of enabling 
        lower-income students to attend college.

SEC. 3. INDEXING FEDERAL PELL GRANTS TO INFLATION.

    Section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``through fiscal year 
        2017''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)(7)(C), by amending clause (iii) to 
        read as follows:
                            ``(iii) Subsequent award years.--
                                    ``(I) Award years 2018-2019 and 
                                2019-2020.--For each of the award years 
                                2018-2019 and 2019-2020, the amount 
                                determined under this subparagraph for 
                                purposes of subparagraph (B)(iii) shall 
                                be equal to the amount determined under 
                                clause (ii) for award year 2017-2018.
                                    ``(II) Award year 2020-2021 and 
                                each subsequent award year.--For award 
                                year 2020-2021 and each subsequent 
                                award year, the amount determined under 
                                this subparagraph for purposes of 
                                subparagraph (B)(iii) shall be equal 
                                to--
                                            ``(aa)(AA) $6,195 or the 
                                        total maximum Federal Pell 
                                        Grant for the preceding award 
                                        year (as determined under 
                                        clause (iv)(II)), whichever is 
                                        greater, increased by a 
                                        percentage equal to the annual 
                                        adjustment percentage for the 
                                        award year for which the amount 
                                        under this subparagraph is 
                                        being determined; reduced by
                                            ``(BB) $5,135 or the 
                                        maximum Federal Pell Grant for 
                                        which a student was eligible 
                                        for the preceding award year, 
                                        as specified in the last 
                                        enacted appropriation Act 
                                        applicable to that year, 
                                        whichever is greater; and
                                            ``(bb) rounded to the 
                                        nearest $5.''.
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