Higher education experts and college access advocates are urging Congress to set aside nearly $40 billion in funding for the Pell Grant program this upcoming fiscal year, as the Congressional Budget Office projects the need-based scholarship will face a historic multibillion-dollar shortfall. If annual Pell appropriations remain flat at about $22.5 billion and the deficit is left unaddressed, the program will be short by nearly $17 billion in September 2027, according to the CBO; that number could reach as high as $132 billion by 2036.