Sen. Blunt pushes Pell grants during visit to SEMO University

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., pushed federal Pell grants during a visit Wednesday to Southeast Missouri State University, pointing out he helped secure adding funding for the grants and providing students with access to the grants year round.

Pell grants help many students afford college, he told about two dozen students, university and vocational officials and community leaders during a meeting in the Academic Hall Dome Room.

Blunt said year-round access to Pell grants will help students finish their college education earlier and without as much debt.

Unlike student loans, Pell grants typically don't have to be repaid.

The senator, who chairs the Senate appropriations subcommittee, sad he helped push through a 3 percent increase in Pell Grant funding. "It was important I thought to have an increase," he said.

This summer, students for the first time in years will be able to access the grants to pay for summer classes. The grants previously have been used to pay for fall and spring semester classes.

Blunt said the federal grant program "dramatically increases the chance of completing degrees." Any disruption of such grants makes it harder for students to earn college degrees, he said.

"Keeping people on the track they are on makes a big difference," he said. "I am glad we could reinstate it. I think it will make a big difference," he told reporters after the meeting.

"There will be 20,000 Missouri students in school this summer that we believe would not have been there without year-round Pell," Blunt told the reporters. About 1 million college students will be taking classes this summer as a result of access to Pell grants, he said.

"Pell eligibility really matters," Blunt said. A third of all college students or about 130,000 students in Missouri receive Pell grants, he said.

Libby Guilliams, incoming director of the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center, welcomed the added federal funding. She said 65 percent of adult students at the career center receive Pell grants.

Greitens, Senate

At the conclusion of the meeting, Blunt answered questions from reporters on various issues.

The senator said he is not calling for beleaguered Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens to step down. Greitens faces felony charges for using a charity donor list for his 2016 political campaign and tampering with a computer data for allegedly taking and transmitting a nonconsensual photo of a partially nude woman with whom he had an extramarital affair in 2015.

Some state lawmakers have called for the governor to resign or face impeachment.

But Blunt said, "It is not my job to make that decision." He said the legal process and the legislative process need to "run their course."

Blunt also responded to criticism about how the Senate operates.

A number of U.S. House members including Rep. Jason Smith of Southeast Missouri's 8th District repeatedly have called for the elimination of the filibuster in the Senate, contending the rule allows a minority of lawmakers to block bills.

Blunt said, "This is not a new thought. I have been in the House and there is nothing more fun in the House than beating up the Senate."

The senator said he is not looking to eliminate the filibuster, but would like to find ways to improve Senate operations while still protecting the rights of the minority party.

"A majority in the Senate has never been enough to get most things done," Blunt said, suggesting the importance of bipartisan agreement.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641