Recognizing the 50th Anniversary of the Pell Grant

Floor Speech

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Ms. SANCHEZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Pell Grant program.

When Congress created the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant in 1972, they did so to provide direct financial aid to working families, like my own, who faced numerous challenges in paying for college.

My parents arrived in the U.S. in pursuit of the promise of the American dream for themselves and their seven children.

When I was accepted into UC Berkeley, the question of how to pay for it loomed large over my parents and me. It took me 20 years to pay off my school loans, which I always considered an investment in myself.

However, at 17 years old, taking out student loans was terrifying. And these days, paying for college has only gotten harder. Most of the families receiving Pell Grants earn incomes of $40,000 or less. That is why the federal Pell Grant program eases families' student loan burden and is critical to ensuring folks can pursue higher education.

My district is made of families like my own-working families trying to ensure their children have access to the economic mobility that college can provide. In the 38th district of California, a little over 15,000 students are receiving almost $59,000,000 in Pell Grant awards. That's only a portion of the 7 million students that can attend college because of Pell Grants.

As we approach the 50-year mark on the Pell Grant program, I encourage the United States to celebrate ``National Pell Grant Day'' on June 23. Let us recognize the current students and successful graduates who have benefited from the program.

Madam Speaker, I hope we can count on another 50 years of bipartisan support for low-income students through the Pell Grant program. I urge my colleagues to support the bipartisan resolution declaring June 23, 2022, National Pell Grant Day this year, and in the future.

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