Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 1846 - Higher Education Technical Amendments Act of 1987

(House)
(Rep. Williams (D) Montana and 22 others)

The Administration opposes enactment of H.R. 1846. The bill should not be considered under suspension of the rules. The bill should be amended to delete a number of undesirable non-technical provisions. The most seriously objectionable provision would grant discretion to college financial aid administrators for the 1987-88 school year to adjust eligibility calculations and change awards in the Fell grant program.

Under current law, this discretion would be available begining with the 1988-89 school year. The administration has proposed that the discretion in current law be repealed because it would inequitably allow similarly situated students to receive radically different basic grants and substantially increase Pell grant costs. Moreover, providing discretion during the current year could severely disrupt the current delivery of Pell aid, and would likely increase 1987 Pell program costs by $170 million, none of which is budgeted.