Vol.13 - No.83 - DEEP STUDENT AID CUTS UNLIKELY, APPROPRIATIONS PANEL CHAIRMEN AGREE

Sep 28, 2026

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DEEP STUDENT AID CUTS UNLIKELY, APPROPRIATIONS PANEL CHAIRMEN AGREE reports that House and Senate appropriations leadership signaled resistance to drastic federal student-aid reductions. It describes hearings in which subcommittee chairs said they would not accept proposed Reagan administration cuts after testimony from the Education Department’s assistant secretary. The article outlines specific proposed reductions and the administration’s requested reforms to independent-student status, loan disbursement timing, and lender special allowances, while noting related developments in other state news about higher education oversight and disclosure requirements.

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DEEP STUDENT AID CUTS UNLIKELY, APPROPRIATIONS PANEL CHAIRMEN AGREE

Student-aid cut expectations and testimony

Proposed reforms to student aid programs

State News!

Pennsylvania: disclosure for foreign gifts

Texas: study to reshape university system

JOB OFFERS UP FOR NEW GRADS, BUT NOT STARTING SALARIES, COUNCIL SAYS

Vol.13,No。83 Monday,April 29,1985 # DEEP STUDENT AID CUTS UNLIKELY,APPROPRIATIONS PANEL CHAIRMEN AGREE If the statements of congressional appropriations chairmen are any indication,neither the House nor the Senate will accept drastic cuts in federal studentfinancial assistance. As his Senate counterpart had done the day before,House Labor,Health andHuman Services and Education Subcommittee Chairman William Natcher,D-Ky.,Thursday said his panel would not accept the Reagan administration's cuts instudent aid. After Edward Elmendorf,Education Department assistant secretary for studentaid,presented the administration's budget to the subcommittee,including a $1.7 billion cut in federal student aid,Natcher said the panel was "very muchconcerned"by the plan. "We know how you feel about education,Dr.Elmendorf, Committee member Rep.Carl Dursell,R-Mich.,appeared to agree.He said manymembers of the House were"1ooking at a freeze"in student aid rather than thecuts being proposed. Senate Labor,Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcom-mittee Chairman Lowell Weicker,R-Conn.,told Elmendorf last week that theSenate did not favor deep cuts in aid(HED,April 25)。 Elmendorf,however,continued to state the administration's case for studentaid cuts and reforms in front of the House panel.In addition to the proposed$1 billion cut in the Guaranteed Student Loan(GSL)program and an $800,000 cutin Pell Grants,Elmendorf said there were several changes that needed to bemade to the programs before the Higher Education Act is reauthorized. Chief among those changes is a tightening of theindependent student status,mandatory multiple disbursement of loan funds and areduction in the special allowance paid to lenders,Elmendorf said. The administration has proposed limiting independent student status to those 22and over unless they are orphans or wards of the court.Students 22 and overmust prove self-sufficiency to qualify.Independent student status has oftenbeen misused to avail students to additional funds,Elmendorf said,adding itis"a problem that has gone on too long,unnoticed." Multiple disbursements would reduce program abuse by distributing funds severaltimes throughout the year,in an attempt to avoid distribution to students whohad dropped out early in the semester,Elmendorf explained.A reduction in the(more) April 29,1985 # DEEP STUDENT AID CUTS UNLIKELY,APPROPRIATIONS PANEL CHAIRMEN AGREE(Cont.) special allowance of 3.5 percent above the 91-day Treasury bill rate was neededbecause lenders are making excessive profit on student loans,he added. Some of the administration's student aid proposals have already been altered ina compromise budget devised by Senate Republicans.They include increasing the$32,500 family income cap for subsidized loans to $60,000 and changing the $4,000 total aid cap to a $8,000 cost of education cap(HED,April 8).--Bill Reinhard =State News! ■ Pennsylvania state colleges and universities that receive foreign giftsworth more than s100,000 could be required to file disclosure statements withthe state under a bill introduced by state Sen.Stewart Greenleaf. The bill,s.636,is sought to help monitor conditions attached to grants givento U.S.schools by foreign governments.The bill was filed on behalf of theAmerican Jewish Congress in Philadelphia,which lodged the measure because itis concerned that foreign sources are trying to influence U.S.education. "Our experience has led us to conclude that grants from Arab states tend todiscriminate against Jewish students and faculty,"said Martin Raffel,directorof the Congress. The bill,he added,is not intended to stop or discourage foreign gifts,but tolet the public know if any conditions are attached.New York and Illinois areamong four other states who have similar disclosure laws in place. Although the University of Pennsylvania gets less than a dozen such gifts a year,Jim Shada,university director of state relations,said,"There a

FAQs

Why did the appropriations panel chairs say they would not accept student-aid cuts?

House and Senate subcommittee chairs indicated they would not accept the Reagan administration’s proposed student-aid cuts, reacting to testimony and describing strong concern about the plan’s impact.

What specific student-aid cuts and reforms were discussed?

The administration’s case included proposed reductions to Guaranteed Student Loan and Pell Grants, alongside requested changes such as tightening independent student status, altering disbursement practices, and reducing the special allowance paid to lenders.

What are the main ideas behind the proposed reform to independent student status?

The proposal limited independent student status to those age 22 and over unless they meet specific exceptions, requiring students to prove self-sufficiency to prevent misuse for additional funding.

Sep 28, 2026

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