The White House and Senate Republican leaders have agreed to a fiscal 1986 budget compromise that raises the family-income ceiling for eligibility for federal student aid to $60,000.
According to early reports, the budget compromise calls for the elimination of impact aid “B” payments, general revenue sharing, and cash subsidies for students from moderate- and upper-income families participating in the school-lunch program.
The new income cap for federal financial assistance to college and university students is the major new element of the budget package--a compromise that calls for a more modest increase in military spending and savings in Social Security payments.
The Administration had initially proposed a family income of $32,500 as the eligibility ceiling for federally subsidized loans.
The agreement would reportedly establish a limit for the total amount of federal aid a student could receive, though it would be higher than the $4,000 limit sought by the Administration.
As the Senate Budget Committee recommended, the major elementary- and secondary-education programs would be frozen--without allowing for inflation.
This compromise marks a key step in the long road to final Congressional approval of a budget for the year that begins Oct. 1.
The package, which the Republicans claim would save $52 million in fiscal 1986, is likely to reach the Senate floor later this month, after the Easter recess.
