The Associated Press is reporting that President Bush's 2009 federal budget proposal will include a $2.6 billion dollar expansion of the Pell Grant program.

The Pell Grant helps low income students and families pay for college. At the moment it pays up to $4,731 per year to offset college expenses for students who qualify based on financial need. That amount is expected to rise over the next few years to about $5,400 per year that the Pell Grant will pay.



The new Pell Grant funding comes in the wake of cuts to federally funded student loan programs. While the Pell grant funding will increase by $2.6 billion, the Associated Press says that 47 other education programs will either be cut or eliminated. The cuts come to about $3.3 billion. That means that education finding overall will drop by $700 million.

Among the programs being cut: the Perkins Loan programs.

Bush's 2009 budget leaves education spending flat, with no increase for inflation.