Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act would grant maximum Pell Grant to children of officers killed in line of duty GovTrack.us Follow Jun 3, 2016 · 3 min read

More than 200 public safety officers — including firefighters, police officers, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workers, and law enforcement officials — are killed or die each year in the line of duty. With a major source of parental income depleted, children of these deceased can find it difficult to pay for college, as if skyrocketing tuition costs didn’t make it difficult enough already.

S. 1352 and H.R. 2350, the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act, aims to alleviate this problem. Sponsored by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA8), the bill would give children of fallen officers who qualify for Pell Grants the maximum Pell Grant amount authorized by federal law, which is currently $5,730 per year.

The Pell Grant system, a federal program run by the U.S. Department of Education, distributes financial aid for colleges that does not have to be repaid for postsecondary education tuition. Disbursements are allocated based on financial need using a formula established by Congress. What this bill does is treat any child of an officer killed in the line of duty who qualifies for a Pell Grant and gives them the maximum amount of money — regardless of their financial situation.

The Senate bill passed a few weeks ago by unanimous consent, meaning no record of individual votes were made. While GovTrack was unable to locate any sitting member of Congress who has gone on the record opposing this bill, many Republican members of Congress advocate ending or at least significantly curtailing the Pell Grant program, calling it an expensive and possibly-unconstitutional federal intrusion into education. House Republicans have called for cutting $90 billion from Pell Grants over the next decade and proposed a 10-year freeze on the maximum Pell Grant award for the next decade.

Nevertheless, many Republicans have signed onto this bill. The House bill has 38 cosponsors, counting 13 Republicans in addition to the 25 Democrats. (Not to mention being introduced by a Republican.) Supporters of the legislation call it a meaningful gesture to both honor the nation’s slain officers and help alleviate the cost of college as the expenses soar.

“Our first responders make sacrifices for communities across the nation on a daily basis. Our nation has a deep and abiding obligation to the children of first responders who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Casey, the lead Senate sponsor. in a press release. “The loss of a parent takes an unimaginable toll on a child. This legislation is a commonsense step that Congress can take to ease the burden that these children confront as they prepare to enter college.” “It is fitting that the Senate took bipartisan action to advance legislation to support the children of our fallen heroes,” said Fitzpatrick, the lead House sponsor. “No compensation can make up for their loss, but by providing a more solid footing for future education we are adding another level of assistance for the children and their families.”

GovTrack’s algorithm currently gives the bill (in its Senate form) an 88% chance of passage and enactment, the highest percentage of any bill currently pending before Congress that hasn’t yet been enacted. Then again, previous version introduced in 2013 and 2012 didn’t even receive votes. It did pass the House in 2011 on a voice vote, meaning that individual representatives’ votes weren’t recorded, though it never received a subsequent vote in the Senate. Of course, this makes it impossible to tell whether it passed the House by a landslide or a narrow margin last time around.