Federal Funding Bill Includes Stabenow’s Legislation to Reinstate Year-Round Pell Grants

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) today announced that the fiscal year 2017 federal appropriations bill includes her legislation to reinstate Year-Round Pell Grants for college students in Michigan and across the country. Stabenow’s bill includes provisions that will allow low and moderate income students to use Pell Grants for three semesters each academic year, rather than the current law’s limit of two semesters.

“I am committed to supporting the 257,000 students in Michigan who rely on Pell Grants to afford a college education,” said Senator Stabenow. “This bill will provide more students with a fair shot to go to college and get ahead, regardless of their financial situation.”

Earlier this year, Senator Stabenow joined Senator Hirono (D-Hawaii) in sponsoring the Year-Round Pell Grant Restoration Act with Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.).

Before Congress cut Year-Round Pell Grants in 2011, over one million students across the country, including close to 35,000 in Michigan, used Pell Grants to pay for college for three semesters in an academic year. Research shows that students who take courses continuously over the summer were three times more likely to complete a degree.