To meet its promise of a better per-student benefit, Congress may have to bolster the Pell Grant program, which funds higher education for low-income students, by more than 40 percent, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Increased enrollment and harsher economic conditions are contributing to the more than $6 billion price tag, bringing the total the U.S. Education Department plans to spend on Pell Grants to $20.1 billion for fiscal year 2009.