In less than two weeks, Congress will have to make a decision that affects almost 9 million college students around the nation.

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act, passed in 2007, bears a name that would seem to advocate lower tuition rates for college students.

However, provisions in the act could cost 9 million college students around $1,000 annually, should Congress neglect it.

This $1,000 is the result of the act’s provisions regarding funding and eligibility for Pell Grant—federally subsidized loans.

The important aspect of Pell Grant is that they do not require repayment. Through these grants, the government can award a student up to $5,550 for annual college tuition and fees.

Should Congress choose to not revise the act, the average interest rate on Pell Grant would double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 for the nine million students currently using loans to pay for school.

While that change might not be enough to mobilize protests or boycotts, it is enough to drastically affect the already poor economic climate for college students and graduates.

According to the White House’s website, for the first time in history, American college students now owe more in student loans than they do in credit card debt.

Only adding to the difficulty of obtaining a college education, according to FinAid.com, a website that tracks tuition and loan trends, the average national tuition has risen by 8 percent on an annual basis in recent years. That eight percent raise is three times the national inflation rate, and is indicative of the challenges college students and graduates must face after they leave school.

In order for Congress to revise the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, and consequently keep interest rates at the current 3.4 percent, they would have to revise the fiscal 2013 budget, which has already been passed by the House of Representatives.

Revising this budget to keep Pell Grant funding consistent would necessitate cuts in other programs. Representatives on both sides of Congress are refusing to compromise, ultimately leaving the effects on the 9 million college students dependant on Pell Grant for education.

This is an issue that should be concerning to Eastern students.

The consequences of not revising the 2013 budget could be detrimental to incoming college students as well as the futures of those currently enrolled at universities across the country.

The massive effect that cuts to Pell Grant would have still has not warranted significant media attention, and it therefore falls on college students to take a stance on the issue.

As far as political decisions go, cuts to Pell Grant will have a very direct and substantial effect on Eastern students.

With that in mind, it is increasingly important that students take a stand before it’s too late.

Whether writing state representatives, informing other students about the issue or even just investigating the issue itself, any awareness and attention to these cuts get will help prevent them.