ABA Journal: Revived under Obama, Pell grants for prisoners program expires soon
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A poll taken this year and commissioned by Justice Action Network, an Ohio-based prison reform organization, found that 92 percent of Democrats and 79 percent of Republicans agree the criminal justice system should be rehabilitative, focused on helping inmates become productive citizens once they are released.
But withholding money also has bipartisan appeal. When Pell grants were initially banned, both Democrats and Republicans argued it was unfair to divert money from law-abiding students. In 1994, roughly 23,000 inmates were receiving a total of about $35 million in Pell funding. That comprised less than 1 percent of $6 billion awarded to students that year.