The bill is now waiting to be signed or vetoed by President Bush. However, many people are confident he will make the bill a law, said Brad Carroll, press secretary for U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

“We need to be making it easier, not harder, for working families and students to afford college,” Stabenow said in a press release.

The legislation would specifically affect Federal Pell Grants, which offer assistance to undergraduates who demonstrate need through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

“Next year the maximum Pell Grant will go up by $500, and a gradual increase will continue until 2012,” Carroll said.

The grant would maximize to $5,400 in the last academic year.

According to a press release, the bill comes at no cost to taxpayers and is available thanks to lower subsidies to private banks.

As tuition costs have risen in the last 20 years, federal financial assistance has not. Mark Burnham, MSU’s associate vice president for governmental affairs, said action like this has been needed for some time.

“There has been a long-term need for greater support — financial aid support,” Burnham said.

“It’s a concern about how the federal government can play a role in making higher education as affordable as possible.”

The legislation also would cap federal student loans at 15 percent of a borrower’s discretionary income, along with providing higher education funding to those states with more students, Carroll said.

The Pell Grants won’t go into effect until Oct. 1, so funding won’t be affected until the 2008-09 academic year.