Urge Your Congressional Representative to Support Key Student Aid Programs

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 04:00:00 GMT

Dear WAICU Advocates,

The House Appropriations Committee is currently reviewing funding priorities for FY 2026, and we need your help to ensure vital student aid programs like the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Federal Work-Study (FWS), and the Pell Grant remain strong. SEOG and FWS provide critical financial support and help reduce student borrowing. While the Pell Grant continues to support millions of low-income students and is more widely known, FWS and SEOG are also critical programs for students at private, nonprofit institutions, yet they have been targeted for cuts in the last two funding cycles.

As part of the appropriations process, Members of Congress can submit requests for funding levels for priority programs. We urge you to contact your Congressional Representative and ask them to advocate for the funding of these programs by writing to the Appropriations Committee.

Specific requests from Members of Congress to prioritize these programs can make a difference in funding decisions during the appropriations process and help protect SEOG, FWS, and Pell.

In addition to a $200 inflationary increase in the Pell Grant maximum, to $7,595, we are also requesting an inflationary increase for each program:

SEOG increase from $910 million to $966 million

FWS increase from $1.23 billion to $1.31 billion

For the most impact, please contact your representative by April 21.

Take Action to urge Congress to Continue Support of Federal Student Aid

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 04:00:00 GMT

The U.S. Senate will vote soon on a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government funded. Messages and calls made to members of Congress in advance of the Senate vote will be particularly impactful. It is expected that the Senate will pass the resolution prior to midnight on Friday, March 14 to avert a government shutdown.

Even if the CR passes, we still need your Representative and Senators to seek assurances from their leadership and the Administration that the federal student aid programs (and other programs of importance to your campus, including research funding) will not be cut and that funding levels for the upcoming academic year be set immediately.

Given that the vote will be coming up soon, a phone call may reach the member more quickly. However, all contacts either by sending a message through our platform or a phone call are valuable.

Thank you!

WAICU Advocates

Current Actions

Urge Your Congressional Representative to Support Key Student Aid Programs

Take Action to urge Congress to Continue Support of Federal Student Aid