Students are in danger of losing critical financial aid programs and dollars that help ease the rising cost of education. Recently, President Bush released his budget proposal that would cut over $3.1 billion from education program. With tuition rising over 70 percent in the last four years at UW-Madison and over 35 percent in at colleges across the country, students have to tell Congress and our President that the time to prioritize education and increase funding for federal financial aid is now.

For the past several years, students have not seen adequate funding for key programs that increase the ability of students to access to higher education. Last year, the President's proposed budget called for the elimination or reduction of 141 federal programs. In the Department of Education, 42 programs were targeted for elimination, totaling $3.5 billion in cuts. These programs included zero funding the Perkins Loan, cuts in the work study program, and level-funding the Pell Grant. Funding for key programs that aid low-income communities and communities of color are consistently decreased or zero funded. Programs like the Perkins Loans, a loan program that many students benefit from by providing low interest rates, was proposed to be zero funded in 2007 after receiving a cut of 6 million dollars the year prior. If this proposal passes along with many proposed programs targeted for elimination and reduction, students will not be able to afford an education.

This year's Presidential budget also poses a serious threat to college affordability. The President began by proposing an increase in the maximum Pell Grant award from $4,050 to $4,600 this year and to $5,400 by 2012. The Pell grant is the cornerstone of federal student assistance; it is awarded to the neediest students on campus. Although we welcome an increase to the Pell Grant program, it cannot come at the expense of vital early intervention and outreach programs that open the doors of higher education to millions of students each year. The President's budget also proposes the elimination of four key programs LEAP, SEOG, Perkins Loan, and Thurgood Marshall which help make education accessible to low income communities and students of color.

The Associated Students of Madison is joining schools from across the country to take part in the U.S. Student Association's (USSA), "One Hundred Day Agenda for Higher Education." Through this campaign we will tell elected officials that higher education programs need their support now. Students on campus will be collecting postcards, recording the testimonies of UW Madison students most affected by the cuts and going to Washington DC to lobby our representatives to show that important loan programs and all federal financial aid programs that help off-set the rising costs of higher education must be preserved for the livelihood of our students.

If you want to get involved with the Associated Students of Madison and USSA's, "One Hundred Day Agenda", please come by the student government office in the Memorial Union, Rm. 511 or contact (608) 265-4ASM.

Jennifer Knox

Board Member, United States Student Association (USSA)

Senior, Information Systems Major