The maximum Pell Grant would increase by $50 and the budget for the National Institutes of Health would rise slightly under a spending bill for the 2006 fiscal year that was approved on Thursday by a House appropriations panel.
The bill would spare several higher-education programs that President Bush has proposed eliminating, including three popular college-preparation programs for students from low-income families and a program of vocational and technical education that provides $400-million annually to community colleges. The bill would also wipe out a $4.3-billion shortfall that has plagued the Pell Grant program.