If the president is going to give a speech at a major university and open the floor to questions, it’s probably a good idea to prepare for a question or two about college financing. At yesterday’s event in Kansas, Bush faced his toughest question in a while — and couldn’t answer it.
A student, Kansas State sophomore Tiffany Cooper, asked the president, “Recently, $12.7 billion was cut from education, and I was just wondering how that’s supposed to help our futures?” Bush responded:
“Actually, I think what we did was reform the student loan program. We’re not cutting money out of it. In other words, people aren’t going to be cut off the program. We’re just making sure it works better.
And, secondly, on Pell grants, we’re actually expanding the number of Pell grants through our budget…. I think I’m right on this. I’ll check when I get back to Washington.”
When Bush does check, he’ll find that he wasn’t right on this. As Amanda Terkel noted yesterday:
Student Loans: On Dec. 21, 2005, the Senate passed $12.7 billion in cuts to education programs — “the largest cut in student college loan programs in history.” Vice President Cheney cast the deciding vote in favor of the cuts. The bill also fixed the interest rate on student loans at 6.8 percent, “even if commercial rates are lower.” Despite Bush’s claims, students will be left off the program.
Pell Grants: Pell Grants have been frozen or cut since 2002; they are now stuck at a maximum of $4,050. In his 2000 election campaign, President Bush promised to increase the maximum Pell Grant amount to $5,100. “From 2004 to 2005, 24,000 students lost their Pell grants, according to a report pre-pared by the Congressional Research Service. This was the first drop in the number of students receiving the grants in several years; the number had been growing steadily since 1999.”
Bush’s incorrect answer generated applause. I suspect the accurate answer — “I wanted more money for tax cuts” — may not have been as well received.