And Where Does NASA's Extra $1.6 Billion Come From?
Trump targets Pell Grant money for NASA’s budget boost, AP/Washington Post
“The Trump administration wants to shift money for Pell Grants for college education to fund new spending, including a $1.6 billion bump for NASA to return American astronauts to the moon by 2024. Under a budget amendment sent to Congress Monday evening, the administration would use an additional $1.9 billion in surplus Pell Grant money to fund other budget priorities, including an infusion of new cash for NASA “so that we can return to Space in a BIG WAY!” President Donald Trump tweeted. ,,, Officials insisted the re-allocation of the Pell Grant money would have no impact on those currently receiving grants, which help low-income students pay for college. “This does not cut any spending for Pell Grant programs as the budget continues to ensure all students will get their full Pell Grant and keeps the program on sound fiscal footing,” Office of Management and Budget spokesman Wesley Denton said in a statement.”
Here is the fact sheet for the Pell Grant Program. It has carried a several billion dollar per year surplus for several years. Page 20 and 21 shows this. Page 21 shows the graphic for the surpluses over the last several years. That $1.6 billion dollars will not deprive one single student of an award.
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mis…
While what you say is true, I found it interesting that the cumulative surplus has been steadily going down over the last several years. When the next economic downturn hits, based on the data in that chart, it’s quite likely that there will be huge shortfalls which will wipe out this cumulative surplus.
They really ought to have Bridenstone talk up how moving some of that surplus will generate STEM jobs for college students receiving pell grants, when he has to present them before a skeptical House.
Yes, that money has just been sitting there for years doing nothing because the program was over funded.
That’s overly simplistic and misleading.
The Pell Grant program was “overfunded” because the economy improved under Obama and continues to improve under Trump, thus students needed less grant money to afford college. The surplus will come in handy when the next economic downturn occurs and the number of students who need the grants increases.
In any event raiding the Pell Grant fund isn’t going to happen as long as Democrats control the House.
NASA isn’t going to develop a lander, transfer vehicle or much of anything else under current spending amounts. Either the bump comes now or sometime in the future.
After looking over the years of NASA “plans” from at least 2005, all NASA is doing is offering a very expensive sci-fi story. Back in 2016 they were saying they were going to have SLS flights in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 with not one but three separate manned cis-lunar flybys.
Somehow no one ever complained about how completely unreasonable that plan was. Then they offered a new “plan” to get us back by 2028 (well actually that plan as described would have only “allowed” us the get back to the Moon, but that didn’t prevent them from having a nice little graphic of someone standing on the Moon).
Good luck with that. Sadly, just part of the continuing denial inside NASA. Being incapable of true change, it’s always about more money, all about avoiding painful choices. More of the same failed strategy of wishful budgetary thinking.
Given the ever growing sad state of this countries lower education system and now the enhanced erosion of the upper education system the fact that this money has not been used more efficiently or better in bolstering the education of the citizens does not surprise me one bit. Now, taking it, basically eliminating it from potential usage in education, to pay for any other program, even NASA, just sends the message loud and clear that the future of this country will not be filled with the highly educated, but cannon fodder. Why not divert a couple billion from the military’s $800 billion annual budget and show that this country is not completely based on a culture and future of violence? This country and humanity will deserve everything they get in the next 50 years – and my prognostication is that it will not be very good.
The money is there for the simple reason that the number of students that the Obama Administration expected to go to college didn’t go. The surplus Pell Grant has nothing to do with the sad state of education, and throwing more money at education isn’t going to fix it.
Do you have a source where it shows there is a surplus in the Pell Grant funds, or are you just an Obama hater?
Oh, and paying teachers an “appropriate” salary would not help either, nor making sure all schools have the tools and resources they need, is what I assume you also mean. Not that that money was initially there for that reason, but to keep it in education says more about how this country views its future than not.
AIUI the maximum amount that someone can get from the Pell Grant is about $6000. So grant applications have declined since the applicant have to come up with the rest of the annual college tuition of about $10k for state colleges, $25k for public colleges and $35k for private colleges. There is no point in applying for the Pell Grant if you don’t already have the money for the rest of the tuition plus other college expenses.
note – monetary values are for 2019 look up with Google.