Need a reason to vote? Try your financial aid

If the battle for control of Congress weren't reason enough for Penn students to flock to the polls for this Tuesday's congressional midterms, here's another: The outcome of the election could significantly affect how they pay for college.

Two of the major issues on the table are Pell Grant and Stafford Loan funding for students. With funding for these programs stagnant over the last few years, some experts seem to believe that Democrats would be likely to allocate more money in that direction, should they take one or both houses of Congress.

"The Democrats have made improving college affordability a major platform," Bill Andresen, the head of Penn's Washington lobbying office, said. "I don't think there's any question that the outcome of the election will have a major impact on college students."

Others say, however, that should the Democrats take control, they will still have to face the budget constraints that have been a factor in recent decisions not to expand the programs.

Sandy Baum, a senior policy analyst at the College Board and professor of economics at Skidmore College, agreed that a Democratic victory would make rejuvenating the Pell grant program more likely, but said it was no sure thing.

"I don't think there will be a fundamental change," she said. "The Democrats will face budget constraints just as the Republicans do."

The Federal Pell Grant Program provides grants - which do not need to be repaid - to undergraduate students who demonstrate a certain level of financial need. Pell grants represented 9 percent of total U.S. student aid last year, and at Penn, hundreds of students receive them.

Stafford loans are guaranteed by the federal government and therefore allow students to borrow at a lower interest rate, which had previously been based on an adjustable formula. However, last July they were locked into a fixed rate of 6.8 percent.

According to a recent report issued by the College Board, total Pell Grant funding is 80 percent higher than it was a decade ago. But after a relatively lengthy run of Republican support, funding for Pell grant fell last year for the first time since 2000, dropping from $13.6 billion to $12.7 billion. The average Pell grant issued to students also dropped $120, from $2,474 to $2,354.

Despite inflation and the ever-rising cost of education, the report continued, the last time the maximum yearly grant a student can receive was increased was from 2003 to 2004, when it went up by $50 to $4,050.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Education have not returned phone calls for comment placed this week. The Bush administration has made reducing the federal deficit a priority, and it fell to about $250 billion in the fiscal year that ended September 30, down from a high of over $400 billion in 2004. That effort has put pressure on government departments to reduce spending.

The locked-in interest rates have not benefited students either, Baum said.

"Students are definitely paying higher interest rates on their loans than they were a year ago," she said.

Ed Kealy, executive director of the non-profit, non-partisan Committee for Educational Funding, said that a Democratic victory Tuesday would likely lead to a bolstering of the Pell grant program and all-around education finance reform. If the Republicans hold on to both houses, he said, he does not expect any additional funding to be earmarked for the grants.

"If the Democrats take back the House and the Senate possibly, or even one of them, there could be, then, a better opportunity for growth," he said.

Andresen, of the Penn lobbying office, believes that if the Democrats were to take both houses, then bolstering the Pell grant program would be a slam dunk. If they take back just one house, though, he said reform would still be possible.

The climate for education finance reform is better among Republicans in the Senate than the House, he said, so if the Democrats manage to win a majority in just the House, there could be compromise.

"I think there is enough of a consensus in Washington that something needs to be done," he said.

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