Campaign Promises

Departments -> Education -> Student Aid

ItemEducation
Student AidGrade
ED-32 The Promise: "Will ... ensure that the maximum Pell Grant award is increased for low-income students...will ensure that the award keeps pace with the rising cost of college inflation."
When/Where: Obama-Biden Plan to Make College Affordable for Everyone, dated 09/11/08.
Source: https://static.newamerica.org/attachments/7618-a-call-to-arms/College%20Affordability%20Fact%20Sheet.d9439c717ab24e9cbd5d2cef2db86cba.pdf
Status:The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed into law by President Obama on 02/27/09, raised the maximum Pell Grant limit to $5,350.

The FY2010 Department of Education budget included sufficient funds ($17.4B) to raise the maximum Pell Grant to $5,550 for the 2010-2011 award year and thereafter. The President's FY2011 budget proposed "to make that increase permanent and put them on a path to grow faster than inflation every year" and to make Pell Grant funding mandatory.

The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, signed into law by President Obama on 03/30/10, stipulated that for future years, awards will be "increased by a percentage equal to the annual adjustment percentage." The term "annual adjustment percentage" was defined in the Act as being "equal to the estimated percentage change in the Consumer Price Index."

This promise was fulfilled.		1.00
ED-33 The Promise: "....eliminate wasteful subsidies to private student lenders....and invest the savings in additional student aid."
When/Where: Obama-Biden Plan to Make College Affordable for Everyone, dated 09/11/08.
Source: https://static.newamerica.org/attachments/7618-a-call-to-arms/College%20Affordability%20Fact%20Sheet.d9439c717ab24e9cbd5d2cef2db86cba.pdf
Status:The President's FY2010 Budget proposal of 02/26/09 asked Congress not to reduce, but to eliminate lender subsidies under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and originate all student lending through Government-run Direct Loans as of 07/01/2010. Under the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act signed into law by President Obama on 03/30/10, subsidies to private lenders were eliminated.

This promise was fulfilled.		1.00
ED-34 The Promise: "...will simplify the financial aid process by eliminating the FAFSA and its complicated calculations altogether... The aid process will be streamlined by enabling families to apply simply by checking a box on their tax form..."
When/Where: Obama-Biden Plan to Make College Affordable for Everyone, dated 09/11/08.
Source: https://static.newamerica.org/attachments/7618-a-call-to-arms/College%20Affordability%20Fact%20Sheet.d9439c717ab24e9cbd5d2cef2db86cba.pdf
Status:On 06/24/09, Education Secretary announced plans to simplify the process for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), but not eliminate it as promised in the Obama-Biden plan cited above.

As of end-CY2016, the FAFSA program was alive and well. It remained the primary form that the federal government, states and colleges used to award grants, scholarships, work study and student loans. Grants and scholarships were free, but students had to earn the work study dollars and pay back the loans.

FAFSA's web site offers a simplified 3-step process for filling out requisite forms. To assist in this process, the site offers an IRS Data Retrieval Tool to access tax return information to be used on FAFSA application documents. As of Tax Year 2016, there was no provision for simply "checking a box" on tax forms.

This promise was not fulfilled.		0.00