Washington, D.C. – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today expressed support for a provision in the Higher Education Opportunity Act (H.R. 4137) introduced by Rep. Ric Keller (R-Fla.) that will redirect wasteful grants from sex offenders to the hard-working students who need them.

“With every penny of Pell Grants needed for students, it was inexcusable for the federal government to be providing any money to sex offenders,” said CCAGW President Tom Schatz.  “The elimination of this loophole in the Pell Grant program that had allowed convicted child predators to receive federal financial aid to take college courses is a welcome development for taxpayers and the higher education system.”

H.R. 4137 was signed into law by President Bush on August 14.  Prison inmates have been banned from receiving Pell Grants since 1994 and some students convicted of drug offenses are barred.  However, repeat sex criminals who have served their sentences but are deemed too dangerous to be allowed back out into society are kept in civil confinement centers and have remained eligible until now. 

Rep. Keller’s provision closes that loophole.  In Florida in one year alone, 54 of the most violent sexual offenders in one center obtained Pell Grants at taxpayer expense totaling over $200,000.  With 20 other states employing civil confinement centers, millions of dollars have been wasted. 

A March 17, 2008, report from the Associated Press said, “some institutions report that sex offenders are putting the financial aid to questionable uses by buying such things as clothes, a DVD player and music CDs -- sometimes, after they have dropped out of school. Pell Grants can legally be put toward expenses that are education-related. But the unused portion of a grant is supposed to be repaid when someone withdraws from school.”

“Rep. Keller deserves the thanks of every taxpayer for fighting to include his provision in H.R. 4137.  He has been working diligently to eliminate Pell Grants for sex offenders for many years, and his hard work has finally paid off,” concluded Schatz. 

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.