President George W. Bush's budget request for the 2007 fiscal year includes a plan to eliminate the Perkins Loan Program.
The Perkins Loan Program provides needy students with loans at a fixed interest rate of 5 percent that only takes effect after the student graduates. Without the loans, students would likely turn to more expensive Stafford Loans, credit cards, and banks.
Bush made a similar attempt last year, but Congress rejected it.
"If Perkins was saved in the last budget, it will be saved again," Director of Student Aid Stephen Joyce predicted.
In addition, Bush's budget would keep the maximum Pell Grant at $4,050, even though the program's budget has a current surplus of $273 million.
"He's eliminating a subsidized loan source that is very useful, especially for Bowdoin students," Joyce said.
Students who are currently using Perkins would not be required to pay back their loans faster than normal, but would not be able to take out any future loans.
Bush's budget would also eliminate Upward Bound and Talent Search, two central components of the TRIO program. Bowdoin runs an Upward Bound program to help prepare low-income students for post-secondary education.
"Under the plan, over 450,000 low-income and first generation high school students across the country will lose critical support for college. Without Upward Bound and Talent Search, 91 percent of those students are not likely to go on and earn degrees," noted Bridget Mullen, Bowdoin's director of Upward Bound. "With TRIO, they're four times more likely to attain a bachelor's degree by age 25."
"Dismantling TRIO programs, particularly in this economy where a post-secondary education is so critical to moving out of poverty, is simply short-sighted," she said. "The good news is that TRIO programs have enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress. I'm hopeful that Congress will once again respond to the calls from their many constituents who understand the importance of TRIO."
The 2007 federal fiscal year begins October 1, so a budget must be approved before then. If not, a temporary budget would be extrapolated from the 2006 budget until a settlement is reached.