Published: April 2023

Congress should increase maximum Pell Grant award

Consumer Action was among more than 100 groups urging Congress to make college more affordable and reduce student debt burdens by increasing the maximum Pell Grant award to $13,000.

More than 100 groups, including Consumer Action, wrote to the U.S. Senate and House Appropriations Committees, urging lawmakers to increase the maximum Pell grant from the current $7,395 to $13,000.Pell Grants allow more than 7 million low- and middle-income students, including nearly 60% of Black undergraduates and almost half of Latino undergraduates, to attend and complete college each year. Yet, the current maximum Pell award still covers the lowest share of costs in the program’s 50-year history. Pell Grant recipients today are more than twice as likely as other students to have student loans, and recipients who borrow graduate with over $4,500 more debt than their higher-income peers. The grant increase would be an effective way to make college more affordable for millions of students, and reduce the debt burden they graduate with.

Lead Organization

The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS)

More Information

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