Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2021
Latest action · Jun 16, 2021 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJun 16, 2021
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2021
This bill makes various changes to the Federal Pell Grant program, including by expanding student eligibility for Pell Grants. The bill also revises student eligibility for federal student-aid programs.
Specifically, the bill provides funding to increase the maximum Pell Grant award for each eligible student. Further, the bill requires the award amount to be adjusted for inflation.
Next, the bill allows students who receive means-tested federal benefits (e.g., Medicaid) to automatically qualify for the maximum Pell Grant award plus an additional award amount.
In addition, the bill moves the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant program into the Pell Grant program.
Next, the bill raises from 12 to 18 the total number of semesters during which a student may receive a Pell Grant.
The bill makes Dreamer students (i.e., students who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status) who entered the United States before the age of 18 and who meet certain educational criteria eligible for federal financial aid.
The bill also revises satisfactory academic progress requirements for federal student-aid programs, including by allowing a student who has not been enrolled in an institution of higher education for two years to regain eligibility for federal student aid.
Cosponsors 28
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 16, 2021 to Feb 8, 2022; 19 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Alex Padilla | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-NM | Ben Ray Luján | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-NH | Margaret Wood Hassan | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-WA | Patty Murray | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-GA | Raphael G. Warnock | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-IL | Tammy Duckworth | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-MN | Tina Smith | Original | Jun 16, 2021 |
| D-PA | Robert P. Casey Jr. | Jun 23, 2021 | |
| D-VA | Tim Kaine | Jun 23, 2021 | |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | Jul 13, 2021 | |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Jul 27, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Jul 28, 2021 | |
| D-CO | Michael F. Bennet | Jul 28, 2021 | |
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | Aug 10, 2021 | |
| D-GA | Jon Ossoff | Sep 14, 2021 | |
| D-NM | Martin Heinrich | Feb 8, 2022 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | Referred Jun 16, 2021 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jun 16, 2021Introduced in Senate
- Jun 16, 2021Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R48442 | Pell Grant Program: Major Congressional Proposals | Report | Feb 28, 2025 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 3946 | Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2021 | Identical bill | Jun 16, 2021 |
| HR 8872 | LOAN Act | Related bill | Sep 15, 2022 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to improve the structure of the Federal Pell Grant program, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Education.
- Academic performance and assessments
- Border security and unlawful immigration
- Education
- Education of the disadvantaged
- Education programs funding
- Higher education
- Immigration status and procedures
- Military personnel and dependents
- Poverty and welfare assistance
- Student aid and college costs
- Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jun 16, 2021Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
