Education is for the week weak

America's youth please take note; this is the reason you need to vote, because things they do in Washington really do affect you:

About 1.2 million college students receiving federal aid could be forced to cover a greater share of their tuition costs under new guidelines tucked into this year's omnibus spending bill, now awaiting President Bush's signature.

The proposed change came as Congress decided to freeze the maximum Pell Grant — the largest federal grant program in the nation — at $4,050 for the third consecutive year.

The new guidelines allow the Department of Education to revise the calculation for federal college aid in a way that would reduce the average allocation for the need-based grants by about $300 for about 1 million students, said Brian Fitzgerald, staff director for the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, which advises Congress.

In addition, he said, nearly 90,000 students now receiving Pell Grants would be cut off.

Although the change would have varying effects depending on a student's family income and size, it would probably have the greatest effect on families earning $30,000 to $40,000, Fitzgerald said.

I'm just glad all the money saved went to more sensible things:

Alaska Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Ted Stevens claimed credit for channeling money to the state's salmon industry, including the money to research use of salmon as a base for baby food. "The goal is to increase the market for salmon by encouraging the production of more 'value-added' salmon products," his office said.

Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican who serves on the Appropriations Committee, won dozens of special items for his state, enough to fill 20 news releases.

The targeted spending was so prolific that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had no problem filling a half-hour floor speech with examples before the Senate vote on the measure, such as a plan for $1 million for the Wild American Shrimp Initiative.

*UPDATE* Over at Redstate.org, they too are decrying massive pork barrel spending perhaps not realizing that it is their folk in charge there and their folk again who want to rush through spending bills before anyone has a chance to read them. One comment had this gem of an idea:

Cap spending. It's the problem. That's the answer

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Well, clearly that's not the answer, because things such as student loans get cut in order to make room for the Wild American Shrimp Initiative. Maybe allowing the Congress time to find what's in the spending bills would be a helpful first step.

Maybe, though, this is one issue that can bring the left and right together. Both sides seem to have proponents that say spending is out of hand. Democrats should lead the fight against the out of control Republican Congress and cast liberals as the party of smaller government. They've been in control the last four years, and it's gotten us bigger deficits and larger spending. Clearly they are not the answer.