Students in need of more money to pay their tuition may be in luck.

Three nation-wide groups are pushing petitions through the Internet in an attempt to make college more affordable.

Rock the Vote, the United States Student Association and the United States Public Interest Research Group have proposed five ideas to the U.S. Congress to make higher education more affordable and “act to eliminate financial barriers to a college education.”

The first proposal is an increase in the number of Pell Grants available, with an increase in the $2,700 maximum award for Pell Grant recipients.

“We’d like to see a Pell Grant of $3,300 maximum. The president [Bill Clinton] wants it to be $3,000,” said Ivan Frishberg, USPIRG representative.

Clinton has proposed an increase of $1.7 billion in Pell Grant funds for the 1998 fiscal year.

If this plan goes into effect, Iowa would receive 4,500 additional Pell Grants. In the 1997 fiscal year, 47,300 Pell grants were awarded and it is projected that 51,800 grants will be given to students in 1998.

The second proposal is to offer tax relief for low- and middle-income families who have children who are students in college. Democrats are asking for a $1,500 tax credit for the first two years of college and a $10,000 tax deduction, according to a news release.

Democrats are also pushing for IRAs for educational savings. The Clinton administration has proposed “extending the income cutoffs for IRA participation and expanding flexibility, so that all funds saved in IRAs can be used for higher education expenses free from early withdrawal tax penalties.”

They are also proposing a tax-free forgiveness for student loans. This will eliminate tax liability when a charitable or educational institution forgives an education loan because the student has fulfilled a commitment to perform community or public service, according to a news release.

The final proposal for more affordable higher education is to restore the student loan interest deduction that was eliminated in 1986.

Petitions have been available on the Internet since April 17 and students will have access to sign them through the end of May.

Frishberg is not sure how many petitions have been signed already, but he said it is in “the thousands.”

“We will give them to Congress, but I don’t know when. It is based on the budget process,” Frishberg said.

Frishberg said more of the federal budget should be going to educational purposes.

“It’s always said to me that education is the number one concern, but it isn’t a major part of the budget,” Frishberg said.

Once the petitions are gathered, they will be presented to Congress, and if all goes well, students will see the changes in the 1998 fiscal year, Frishberg said.

Frishberg said all students who seek better finances in college should sign the petition on the Web at www.pirg.org/student/aid/petition.