HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE APPROVES s17.5 BILLION ED BUDGET - Cont.

Sep 21, 2026

Article reports that the House Appropriations Committee approved a $17.5 billion fiscal 1986 budget for the Education Department by voice vote, despite criticism and limited discussion. The approved level is described as a $1.5 billion cut from the department’s current amount and higher than the Senate subcommittee’s earlier recommended $15.5 billion proposal. Key student aid programs, including Guaranteed Student Loans and Pell Grants, are set to be frozen or reduced, with TRIO receiving one of the few increases.

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House Appropriations Committee approves $17.5 billion ED budget

Student aid and Pell Grant changes

Program freezes and select increases

Governor calls for state and federal cooperation in higher education

HIGHER EDUCATION DAILY Vo1。13,No。189 Friday,September 27,1985 # HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE APPROVES s17.5 BILLION ED BUDGET With little fanfare or debate,the House Appropriations Committee yesterday byvoice vote approved a $17.5 billion budget for the Education Department infiscal 1986。 That level would represent a $1.5 billion cut from ED's current $19.1 billionand is $800,000 less than the level recommended by the Senate Labor,Health andHuman Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee(HED,Sept.20)。 Yet the House committee amount,marked up in closed session by the Labor,Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee earlier this month,is farmore than the $15.5 billfon fiscal 1986 budget recommended by President Reagan. Not An Easy Mark"This bill is under the 1985 level,"House Labor,Healthand Human Services and Education Appropriations Chairman William Natcher,D-Ky.,said of the budget proposal."Let me tell you,it took some doing to getit there." Rep.Silvio Conte,R-Mass.,ranking minority member on the panel,agreed,Healso predicted that a budget along the lines proposed by the panel would besigned by President Reagan."This is a very,very tight budget,"he said. Much of the panel's recommended budget cut would come at the expense of theGuaranteed Student Loan(GSL)program,which would be reduced from $3.8 billionto $2.7 billion,also the amount recommended by Reagan.The Senate subcom-mittee called for $3.3 billion for GSLs in 1986. GSL Supplemental ExpectedBut because GSL funds are distributed as anentitlement and available to all students who qualify,Natcher said he “abso-lutely"expected that a supplemental appropriation would be necessary for theprogram somewhere down the line. The Pell Grant program would be frozen at $3.8 billion under the House plan.Other student aid programs would be frozen as well,including the $412 millionSupplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program,the $592 million CollegeWork Study program,the $217 million National Direct Student Loan(NDSL)program and the $76 million State Student Incentive Grant program。 Under the Senate subcommittee proposal,the Pell Grant program would be slashed$300 million and the NDSL program would be increased $1 million.The remainingstudent aid programs also would be frozen. Program development,which includes aid for developing institutions,interna-(more) # HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS APPROVES $17.5 BILLION ED BUDGET(Cont.) tional education,the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education andcooperative education,would be frozen overall at its 1985 appropriation of$200 million under the Senate and House panel recommendations. Special programs for the disadvantaged,known as TRIO,would get one of the fewincreases recommended in the postsecondary budget,jumping from $175 million infiscal 1985 to s176.4 million.The Senate panel asked for a freeze for theprograms. And veteran's cost of instruction would be frozen at its 1985 level of $3 mil-lion in both the Senate and House plans. In other parts of the ED budget,the panel would freeze the National Instituteof Education(NIE)and the National Center for Education Statistics(NCES)at$51 million and $8.7 millon,respectively.The Senate panel-also recommendeda freeze for the research agencies. Up Or A Freeze?Vocational education programs would be frozen at $831million and adult education programs would stay at s101 million under the Housecommittee's plan.The Senate panel recommended an increase for the twoprograms from $940 million to $946 million in fiscal 1986. Graduate programs,which include opportunity fellowships,public service fel-lowships,national graduate fellowships,legal training for the disadvantagedand law school clinical experience programs,would receive $20.25 million underthe panels plan,a freeze from fiscal 1985. The House committee did not go along with a $500,000 increase in the nationalgraduate fellowship program included in the Senate panel's recomm

FAQs

How did the House Appropriations Committee approve the Education Department budget?

It approved the $17.5 billion fiscal 1986 budget by voice vote, described as done with little fanfare or debate.

What is the overall impact of the House budget level compared with the current Education Department budget?

The approved level is presented as a $1.5 billion cut from the department’s current $19.1 billion budget.

Which major student aid programs are frozen or changed under the House plan?

The Pell Grant program is frozen at $3.8 billion, and multiple other programs are also frozen, including Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants and College Work Study.

Sep 21, 2026

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