President's New Budget Is Not Friendly to Black Higher Education

Last week President Bush unveiled his proposed budget for 2007 and there was not much good news on programs to help blacks gain greater access to higher education.

The major point was that the president proposed to keep the maximum Pell Grant award at $4,050, the same level that has prevailed for the past five years. Bush also proposed to eliminate the $65 million Perkins loan program for low-income students, a proposal made in last year's budget that was rejected by Congress.

The president also wants to eliminate funds from student outreach programs such as Upward Bound, Gear Up, and Talent Search. These are programs that seek to encourage disadvantaged students to enroll in higher education. The president also tried to eliminate these programs last year but Congress rejected the cuts.

In addition, under the new budget proposal, funding for black colleges and universities would be frozen at 2006 levels.

Copyright © 2006. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.