US: Lean education, research spending bill approved

A US Senate panel voted last week to approve a bill that would cut spending on the National Institutes of Health by $190 million in the 2012 fiscal year while maintaining a maximum Pell Grant award of $5,550, writes Kelly Field for The Chronicle of Higher Education.

To pay for the Pell programme, the bill would end the interest subsidy on undergraduate student loans during the six-month grace period after a student graduates. Other student aid programmes, including Federal Work-Study and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, would receive the same level of support as they did in 2011. The 2012 fiscal year begins on October 1.
Full report on The Chronicle site