FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 
March 22, 2018 
CONTACT: Sarah Schultz, sarah.schultz@younginvincibles.org, 202.734.6510

Young Invincibles Commends Investment in Students, Urges Congress To Do More

[Washington] -Today, the House is expected to vote on a omnibus spending package to fund the federal government through the remainder of Fiscal Year 2018. The bill is expected to become law in the next few days. The omnibus helps low-income students get through school by boosting the maximum Pell Grant by $175 and rejects proposed cuts to the reserve fund within the program, ensuring Pell remains financially secure. Additionally, it responds to the growing number of student parents by providing a $35M increase to the CCAMPIS program, which supports on-campus child care. It also increases Federal Work Study by $140M and the Federal Supplemental Equal Opportunity Grant by $107M, as well as fixing issues within the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to ensure public servants aren’t denied the benefits they earned. However, beyond higher education, the bill fails to adopt bipartisan measures to stabilize the health insurance markets or resolve the ongoing DREAMer crisis, squandering yet another opportunity to pass the popular, bipartisan DREAM Act. YI commends Congress for their strong work for students, but more must be done to fully serve the needs of America’s young people.

“This appropriations bill is an important investment in higher education, one that is long overdue and much-needed for young people in our country,” said Young Invincibles’ Government Affairs Director Reid Setzer. “Investing in this diverse set of higher education programs acknowledges that today’s students simply aren’t getting what they need to succeed right now. It responds to the shifting demographics of today’s students, many of whom are parents themselves, work while going to school, and take care of other family members. They are constantly being asked to do more with less aid, while trying to navigate the system on their own and graduate. This spending package increases opportunities for work-study, on-campus childcare, and support for first-generation students through programs like TRIO. It also boosts the maximum Pell Grant, which has dramatically diminished in purchasing power over the last decade. This is a good start, but still just a start. To address over $1.4 trillion dollars in student debt and millions of students struggling to achieve a degree, we urgently need to build on this progress.

Outside of higher education, this bill falls short on the priorities of young people. It doesn’t provide solutions to stabilize the health care market, when strong proposals already exist that would control the growth of premiums and lower the costs for young people. It also does nothing to address the crisis for DREAMers, prolonging the unnecessary instability and suffering of young people who work, learn, and raise families in the only country they’ve ever known. Young Invincibles is encouraged to see investment to help young people, but we will continue to push Congress to address these ongoing crises.”