Amid Federal Upheaval, a Pell Shortfall Looms

Amid all the chaos and upheaval for federal higher education policy, the Pell Grant program is running out of money. In January, the Congressional Budget Office projected a $2.7 billion budget shortfall for the program next fiscal year, its first shortfall in over a decade. By fiscal year 2026–27, the CBO projects that the program will be short $10 billion unless Congress puts more money toward the grants. The Pell Grant provides need-based federal financial aid for more than 30 percent of American college students. College access advocates have worried for years about the program’s financial health and warn that without a funding increase, low-income students will lose essential funding that already fails to keep up with rising tuition costs and inflation.