mr. chairman , i move to strike the last word . 
mr. chairman , i thank the gentleman from ohio ( mr. boehner ) xz4000360 and the gentleman from florida ( mr. keller ) xz4002120 , both of the education and the workforce committee . 
i , too , agree that pell grants are a fundamental part of our efforts to ensure low- and middle-income students have the opportunity to pursue postsecondary education . 
as the gentlemen have pointed out , republicans have a proud history of providing funding for the pell grant program . 
i am particularly pleased that in this bill , we will erase the $ 4.3 billion shortfall that had existed within the program , and put the program on a solid financial footing . 
we are also increasing the pell grant maximum award to $ 4 , 100 , the highest level in the history of the program , and it is very evident from the chart there . 
and i would point out that if you take a look at that chart , where we became the majority party in 1994 , and you can see the rapid ascendency of the pell grant program . 
as the gentleman from florida ( mr. keller ) xz4002120 is aware , increasing the pell grant maximum award , even incrementally , is costly . 
each $ 100 we add is estimated to cost $ 420 million . 
as the number of low-income students pursuing college continues to increase , the demand for pell grants will grow as well . 
mr. chairman , i am pleased to have worked closely with the gentleman from ohio ( mr. boehner ) xz4000360 and the gentleman from florida ( mr. keller ) xz4002120 to provide the resources necessary to help low- and middle-income students gain access to college through pell grants . 
as for the conference negotiations , obviously i can not guarantee any particular outcome . 
however , i will make a good-faith effort to increase the maximum pell grant award , provided resources are available to do so . 
i thank the gentleman for engaging in this colloquy , and i look forward to working with him in the future to continue to support this important program . 
