Students nationwide are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to financial aid. Recipients of the Pell Grant, including more than 6,000 MSU students, are facing the possibility of an oversight that would provide no increase in next year’s aid package.

There were bills passed by the U.S. House and Senate earlier this month that would give the Pell Grant program an increase of $1.7 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively, raising the maximum grant to $4,000 - up $250 from last year and still better than President Bush’s proposal in April. Bush’s plan would have only increased the maximum grant by $100.

But the Pell Grant program is already $1.7 billion in debt, so the proposed increases would go toward paying off what’s already owed.

As tuition increases impact students across the nation, in some places rising more than 10 percent, financial aid is needed more than ever to allow people to continue to go to school. MSU’s 8.9 percent increase has many students feeling the pinch of a tighter budget, and this loss of financial aid only to deepens the blow.

The American Council on Education blames the shortfall in part on the recent economic downswing, which enabled more students to qualify for the program. The year’s allotment was simply overrun, officials said.

Students are struggling to make ends meet, and many may find themselves unable to do so without proper funding from their part of the Pell Grant program. To them, going to school and getting an education is a top priority. U.S. lawmakers need to take a long, hard look at the value of our higher education and decide where their priorities lie.