With Hillary Clinton visiting New Hampshire Technical Institute today to hear from students and teachers, voters across New Hampshire will see a stark contrast with the agenda of One-Term-Wonder Congressman Frank Guinta. Though thousands of New Hampshire students – including a third of those enrolled at NHTI – rely on Pell Grants to pay for college, Congressman Guinta voted for a budget that would freeze Pell Grant awards. Last month, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ran a University of New Hampshire campus newspaper ad that took Guinta to task for turning his back on New Hampshire students.
“While Hillary Clinton and Democrats are trying to make college more affordable for New Hampshire students, Congressman Guinta has made his party’s radical agenda priority number one,” said DCCC spokesperson Meredith Kelly. “New Hampshire residents deserve better than a representative who votes to make it even harder for students to afford college.”
Rep. Guinta Voted For The FY 2016 Republican Budget Which Would Freeze Maximum Awards For Pell Grants. According to the Republican Budget Summary “One of the biggest advantages anyone can have in life is a strong education … Increasing eligibility [for Pell Grants] to those with higher incomes drains resources from those who need the most help…this budget freezes the maximum award for the 2015-2016 award year throughout the budget window.” [Republican Committee on the Budget, 3/17/15; H. Con. Res. 27, Vote #142, 3/25/15]
Roughly 30% NHTI Students Benefited From Pell Grants. In 2010, NHTI-Concord’s Community College had 1,610 Pell Grant Recipients; enrollments for those years were 4,556. [U.S. Department of Education, accessed 4/21/15; American Association of Community College, accessed 4/21/15]
Pell Grants Help Community College Students Pay For Tuition, Books And Living Expenses. “The Pell Grant program enables more than three million community college students with financial need to pay for tuition, books, transportation, and living expenses.” [Association of Community College Trustees, accessed 4/13/15]
Cuts To Pell Grants Would Hit NH-01 Families Particularly Hard. According to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, New Hampshire’s 1st District received 24,508 Pell Grants worth more than $63 million in school year 2014-2015 – the most of any New Hampshire Congressional district. [NAICU, accessed 4/21/15]