Courtesy: Gregory Urquiaga/UC Davis
Gary S. May
Unless Congress acts, one of the most effective anti-poverty initiatives in history will soon be forced to turn its back on millions of students.
The Pell Grant program has served as a cornerstone of upward mobility in America, making higher education accessible to more than 80 million lower- and middle-class families since 1973.
Here in California, nearly 1 million students received a Pell Grant last year, with the vast majority attending public colleges and universities.
As chancellor of UC Davis, I have witnessed firsthand the power of Pell Grants to transform lives and help build generational wealth. They open the door for talented students not only to attend college but also to graduate without unmanageable debt so they can launch their careers.
The irony of the current Pell Grant crisis is that it is rooted in good intentions. Just last month, the U.S. Department of Education moved forward with proposed rules to implement the new Workforce Pell Grants. This milestone signals a historic expansion of the program into high-quality, short-term training for the trades.
This progress, alongside the 2021 FAFSA Simplification Act, which expanded eligibility for college students, represents a vital investment in economic opportunity. I applaud these efforts to prepare young people for the careers of the future, but while Congress expanded the promise of Pell, it failed to allocate the money to keep the program solvent.
Pell faces an immediate $5.4 billion shortfall this year and a projected gap of up to $132 billion over the next decade. Without action, students could see their grants slashed as early as 2028.
While the Trump administration’s proposed 2027 budget would shore up Pell Grant funding for one year, it does not address the long-term cliff. With the proposed elimination of TRIO funding for low-income, first-generation students and cuts to programs like federal work-study, millions of Americans will lose the opportunity to attend college.
Failing to strengthen Pell funding would be devastating. The latest data shows that almost one-third of all college students receive Pell Grants. Here at UC Davis, 38% of our most recently admitted class receives Pell Grant funding. Those students achieve at a remarkable rate: 87% graduate with an undergraduate degree.
We know that a college degree is the ultimate engine of upward mobility. Those with undergraduate degrees earn 2.3 times as much as high school graduates, a gap that has grown over the past 20 years. Post-secondary education remains the baseline for anyone looking to escape poverty and build generational wealth.
Pell Grants aren’t just a driver of personal opportunity; they are a high-return investment by American taxpayers. Research shows these grants are so effective at boosting economic success that they actually pay for themselves. By increasing both four-year and overall graduation rates while steering students into higher-paying fields, the grants generate enough new tax revenue for the federal government to recoup its entire investment in less than a decade.
Cuts to Pell Grants won’t just create a student aid crisis; they will exacerbate a looming workforce disaster. A Georgetown University study reveals the U.S. will face a shortage of 4.5 million people with degrees by 2032, precisely when the students currently facing the Pell cliff should be entering the workforce.
Such shortfalls will impact every sector and every region of the American economy. They will mean fewer nurses and doctors to provide care for an aging population, fewer engineers to build our infrastructure, and fewer teachers to prepare the next generation.
We cannot afford to let this engine stall.
Congress must invest in our nation’s future, ensuring that the American dream rests on talent and drive, not family finances.
