Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Representative Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]
Introduced
Summary
Make the Pell Grant mandatory and inflation‑adjusted. This bill would lock in larger, predictable Pell awards on a set schedule and expand who can receive them while folding program changes into the Higher Education Act.
Show full summary
- Students and families: Sets a multi‑year schedule that raises the total maximum Pell Grant to $10,000 for 2026–27 and to $15,000 by 2031–32, with increases after 2031 tied to the Consumer Price Index.
- Dreamer and low‑income students: Adds a new Dreamer student category to eligibility and gives special treatment to means‑tested benefit recipients by treating their Student Aid Index (SAI) as -$1,500 for award calculations. Students with a negative SAI could receive extra grant money equal to the absolute value of that negative.
- Colleges and academic progress: Overhauls Satisfactory Academic Progress rules so institutions review progress each payment period, issue warnings and create documented probation and appeals paths, cap eligibility resets at 2, and restore Pell eligibility to 18 full semesters.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Bigger Pell Grants and set asides
If enacted, the bill would set the maximum Pell Grant each award year: $10,000 for 2026-27, $11,000 for 2027-28, $12,000 for 2028-29, $13,000 for 2029-30, $14,000 for 2030-31, and $15,000 for 2031-32. After 2031-32, the $15,000 amount would be increased each year by the Consumer Price Index and rounded to the nearest $50. The bill would authorize and appropriate such sums as may be necessary starting in fiscal year 2026 to pay these awards. It would also require that Scholarship Component funding be at least 10% of the total maximum Pell and Student Support Services funding equal 10% of the total maximum Pell.
Count unpaid periods toward loan discharge
If enacted, the bill would allow certain qualifying time periods to count toward a loan discharge even when you did not take a Title IV loan during that time. In other words, a period when you had no Title IV loan could still count toward discharge if, had you taken a loan then, that loan would have been discharged under the statute. This change would apply starting July 1, 2026, for award year 2026-2027 and later.
Extra Pell when SAI is negative
If enacted, students with a Student Aid Index (SAI) below zero would get extra Pell equal to how far below zero their SAI is. If the applicant (or applicant and spouse or applicant's parents, as applicable) received a means-tested Federal benefit in the prior two years, the Secretary would treat the student's SAI as -$1,500 for Title IV purposes. That means qualifying households could get up to $1,500 beyond the total maximum Pell under this rule. These rules would apply starting for award year 2026-2027.
Pell Grants for Dreamer students
If enacted, the bill would create a new "Dreamer student" Pell eligibility category for certain non-U.S. citizens or non-nationals who are inadmissible or deportable under the Immigration and Nationality Act. If you entered the U.S. under age 18, you would qualify only if you meet one of the listed education, enrollment, service, credential, or years-of-study tests. You could also qualify if you were or would have been eligible for the DHS deferred-action memos from 2012 or 2014. The Education Secretary would have to issue rules allowing an age waiver for compelling circumstances like economic hardship. These rules would apply starting award year 2026-2027.
Cut 10 percent share to 5 percent
If enacted, the bill would change a statutory percentage in subsection (a)(2)(F) from 10 percent to 5 percent starting for award year 2026-2027. That change would likely reduce the share of funds available to the program or component governed by that subsection. The effective date would be July 1, 2026, for award year 2026-2027 and subsequent award years.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]
WI • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3]
OH • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1]
OR • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7]
IL • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1]
WA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10]
CA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6]
MI • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Evans, Dwight [D-PA-3]
PA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Figures, Shomari [D-AL-2]
AL • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Garamendi, John [D-CA-8]
CA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4]
IL • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Garcia, Robert [D-CA-42]
CA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Grijalva, Adelita S. [D-AZ-7]
AZ • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rescom. Hernández, Pablo Jose [D-PR-At Large]
PR • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1]
IL • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Kennedy, Timothy M. [D-NY-26]
NY • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12]
PA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Magaziner, Seth [D-RI-2]
RI • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Mannion, John W. [D-NY-22]
NY • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA-7]
CA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Scott, Robert C. "Bobby" [D-VA-3]
VA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Barragán, Nanette Diaz [D-CA-44]
CA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. McBath, Lucy [D-GA-6]
GA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4]
WI • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6]
MA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Mrvan, Frank J. [D-IN-1]
IN • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Norcross, Donald [D-NJ-1]
NJ • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Pingree, Chellie [D-ME-1]
ME • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5]
IL • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Ross, Deborah K. [D-NC-2]
NC • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Sánchez, Linda T. [D-CA-38]
CA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9]
IL • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Simon, Lateefah [D-CA-12]
CA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2]
MS • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]
MI • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Vargas, Juan [D-CA-52]
CA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24]
FL • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Adams, Alma S. [D-NC-12]
NC • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Doggett, Lloyd [D-TX-37]
TX • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Takano, Mark [D-CA-39]
CA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5]
MN • D
Sponsored 6/29/2026
Rep. Hoyle, Val T. [D-OR-4]
OR • D
Sponsored 6/29/2026
Rep. Salinas, Andrea [D-OR-6]
OR • D
Sponsored 6/29/2026
Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8]
IL • D
Sponsored 6/30/2026
Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7]
VA • D
Sponsored 7/9/2026
Rep. Cisneros, Gilbert Ray [D-CA-31]
CA • D
Sponsored 7/9/2026
Rep. Keating, William R. [D-MA-9]
MA • D
Sponsored 7/9/2026
Rep. McBride, Sarah [D-DE-At Large]
DE • D
Sponsored 7/9/2026
Rep. Pettersen, Brittany [D-CO-7]
CO • D
Sponsored 7/14/2026
Rep. Craig, Angie [D-MN-2]
MN • D
Sponsored 7/14/2026
Rep. Pallone, Frank [D-NJ-6]
NJ • D
Sponsored 7/20/2026
Rep. Carter, Troy A. [D-LA-2]
LA • D
Sponsored 8/31/2026
Rep. Whitesides, George [D-CA-27]
CA • D
Sponsored 8/31/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov