June 2, 2000

GOP Lawmakers Rebuff Democratic Push to Spend More on NIH and Pell Grants

By JEFFREY BRAINARD and RON SOUTHWICK

Congressional Republicans last week beat back Democrat-sponsored proposals for large increases in spending for Pell Grants, biomedical research, and science programs in 2001.

The House of Representatives Appropriations Committee rejected calls by Democratic members to increase the maximum Pell Grant to $3,800 and financing for the National Institutes of Health to $2.7-billion for 2001. The Republican-led panel approved a plan to raise the maximum Pell Grant, which supports low-income