Wendy Cadge sent the below letter to Senator Dave McCormick on June 3, 2025.
Dear Senator McCormick:
I am writing to ask you to oppose the damaging cuts to the Pell Grant program that are in the House version of the reconciliation bill. These changes would limit Pell Grant eligibility for millions of undergraduate students. The House-passed reconciliation bill cuts $349.1 billion over 10 years from higher education and proposes to amend the Pell Grant program by eliminating the ability of students enrolled less than half-time from accessing the Pell Grant, the foundational program for higher education affordability for low-income students. The bill also proposes to increase the number of full-time credits from 12 to 15 hours a semester, which would mandate that students enroll in at least 15 credit hours to receive the maximum Pell Grant award and reduce on a pro-rated basis the award amounts for those enrolled in less than 15 credit hours, eliminating many from the program entirely. These changes would most harm the students who can least afford to take on more courses—working students, low-income students, and student parents, among many others.
In the state of Pennsylvania, 164,931 students currently receive the Pell Grant. If the above changes were enacted, 27,275 students would lose access to the Pell Grant award completely and 64,904 students would see their Pell Grant award reduced, forcing these students to rely more on student loans and increasing the cost of college. The estimated total loss of Pell Grant dollars to students in our state would range from $90,342,906 to $127,007,609. On my small campus alone, estimated 32 students would lose access to Pell funding critical to their degree fulfillment.
These changes are extremely harmful to students in our state and would force many to halt their efforts to earn a degree and would prevent others from pursuing postsecondary education entirely. That is why it is so important that you oppose these detrimental changes to Pell Grant eligibility and support Pennsylvania’s students.
Sincerely,
Wendy Cadge
President and Professor of Sociology
