# 119-s-5451: A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require that recipients of Pell Grants be citizens or nationals of the United States.

119-s-5451, A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require that recipients of Pell Grants be citizens or nationals of the United States., is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5451
- As of: 2026-10-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5451
- Congress: 119
- Title: A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require that recipients of Pell Grants be citizens or nationals of the United States.
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-09-22
- Sponsor: Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-01

## Summary

**Limits Pell Grant eligibility to U.S. citizens and nationals.** This bill would amend the Higher Education Act to add a new ‘‘eligible student’’ definition for Pell Grants that requires meeting the existing Section 484(a)(1)–(4) criteria and being a citizen or national of the United States, and it would change Section 484(a) to point to that new definition. The change only alters eligibility language and does not create new funding or program components.

## Provisions PRIA read

- Pell Grants require U.S. citizenship: cost, high. This bill would require you to be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national to get a Federal Pell Grant. You would still need to meet the existing Pell eligibility rules in section 484(a). The bill says this citizenship rule applies notwithstanding section 484 or any other law. If enacted, noncitizen student…

## Related bills

- 119-s-2142: GOLDEN DOME Act of 2025
- 119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act
- 119-s-4378: Protecting American Taxpayers Act
- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-535: Respect Parents’ Childcare Choices Act
- 119-s-4983: Harry Reid Immigration Stabilization Act

## Sources
- [119-s-5451 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5451)

## Related
- [119-s-2142: GOLDEN DOME Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2142)
- [119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4952)
- [119-s-4378: Protecting American Taxpayers Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4378)
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-535: Respect Parents’ Childcare Choices Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-535)
- [119-s-4983: Harry Reid Immigration Stabilization Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4983)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5451 (as of 2026-10-01).