JFF President and CEO Maria Flynn co-authored an opinion column in The Hill praising the America COMPETES Act because it includes a provision that would expand the Pell Grant to cover short-term training and education programs.

Calling the proposal “long overdue,” she and Jeremy J. Wheaton, the president and CEO of ECMC Group, wrote, “Pell has not consistently kept pace with the evolving demands of the labor market and the needs of today’s students.”

“By welcoming short-term Pell,” they added, “policymakers are at last beginning to understand the need for rapid skill-building strategies if the United States is to remain competitive.”