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Nation & World News Bush proposes time limits on reception of Pell Grants The proposal would place an eight-year limit on all grants given to students trying for four-year degrees By Emily Ayshford Minnesota Daily (U. Minnesota) (U-WIRE) MINNEAPOLIS — Presi dent George W. Bush proposed Tues day a time limit that would restrict the number of years students can receive Pell Grants. The money saved from the time limit would go toward low-income grants for students studying science or mathematics in college, according to the proposal. The plan proposes an eight-year time limit for Pell Grants for four-year degrees, and a four-year time limit for two-year degrees. Bush outlined parts of the proposal at South Arkansas Community Col lege in El Dorado, Ark. Conditions on the time limit are still undear. Larry Bloom, manager of the Llni versity of Minnesota's undergraduate services, said that a time limit already exists on Pdl Grants. Students can only receive grants up to 150 percent of the time needed for the degree, he said. For example, students attending school full-time for a four-year degree can receive the grant for six years, and students attending part-time can re ceive the grant for 12 years. It is undear whether the eight-year time limit would apply to full- or part time students. "If it just sets a hard and fast eight year limit, that would be a negative thing," Bloom said. The maximum Pell Grant amount is currently $4,050 per year. The proposed Presidential Math and Science Scholars Fund would provide $100 million in grants to low-income students eligible for Pell Grants. Although the program would be separate from the Pell Grant pro gram, students would receive an ad ditional $5,000 to study math or sci ence. Bloom said that merit and specific areas of study have not previously played a role in determining who is eligible for grants. "It has never been there before," he said. "It has always been if you've been admitted to a school, it just looks at you economically." But any grants are helpful to stu dents, Bloom said. "Any time any needy student can get more money, that's a good thing," he said. Emily Ayshford is a reporter for the Minnesota Daily. Rice: Administration couldn’t have prevented 9-11 attacks t National security adviser Condoleezza Rice provided sworn testimony Thursday By Ron Hutcheson Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT) WASHINGTON — National securi ty adviser Condoleezza Rice acknowl edged under intense questioning Thursday that President Bush was told a month before the Sept. 11, 2001 at tacks that al-Qaida terrorists seemed to be plotting to hijack airplanes. But Rice insisted in three hours of tes timony before the Sept. 11 commission that the government couldn't have pre dicted or prevented the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. "The problem is that the United States was effectively blind to what was about to happen," she told the 10-member panel. She refused to con cede any mistakes by the Bush admin istration, standing her ground in the face of combative questioning from the commission and recent criticism from former White House counterter rorism adviser Richard Clarke. Rice's appearance in the cavernous wood-and-marble hearing room was a moment of high drama, but her sworn testimony failed to resolve questions about Bush's approach to tenorism be fore Sept. 11. Clarke told the panel last month that the president and his advis ers had failed to confront the threat and all but ignored repeated warnings of a possible attack. "There was no silver bullet that could have prevented the 9-11 at tacks," Rice said. But previously classified docu ments and other evidence compiled by the bipartisan commission show that the attacks didn't come as a com plete surprise. In a series of tense ex changes, commissioners put Rice on the defensive on some key issues. She backed away from her previous assertion that no one could have pre dicted that terrorists would use an air plane as a missile. In fact, various in telligence agencies had produced 12 reports over a seven-year time span suggesting that possibility. Democrats on the panel grilled Rice about a special CIA briefing for Bush at his Texas ranch on Aug. 6, 2001, fo cusing on the possibility of an al-Qai da attack. Although the actual document, known as the President's Daily Brief ing, or PDB, remains classified, com missioner Richard Ben-Veniste pressed Rice to disclose its title: "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States." Another commissioner, former De mocratic Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebras ka, revealed that the briefing included FBI reports of "suspicious activity in the United States consistent with preparations for a hijacking." Rice said that she and Bush didn't take additional action as a result of the briefing because the FBI was al ready investigating possible hijacking operations. Other commissioners challenged Rice's assertion that FBI agents around the country were put on high alert in the spring and summer before the Sept. 11 attacks because of a dramatic increase in intelligence pointing to a devastating terrorist assault. "To date, we have found nobody — nobody — at the FBI who knows any thing about a tasking of field offices" to escalate anti-terror efforts, former Democratic Rep. Tim Roemer of Indi ana told Rice. "Nothing went down the chain to the FBI field offices on spiking of information, on knowl edge of al-Qaida in the country." (c) 2004, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. Premier Travel • Airtare Specials! • San Jose, CR - $332.00 1 Maui - $431.00* San Juan, PR - $450.00* Auckland - $791.00’ ®ta\ and lees not included, restrictions apply. Subject (o change without notice, Eurail Passes issued on-site!!! E-mail: fares@luv2travel.com 1011 Harlow 747-0909 ^Student Travel Experts' Today’s crossword solution seeing cultures in a necu light KAieiDoscope International Week 2004 Free cultural events: International Games Kaleidoconcert International Dance School World Poetry starts next week. hosted by the UO International Student Association http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~asuoisa/inight2004.html 018733 JOIN US FOR EASTER WORSHIP! April 10, 2004 Holy Saturday 7.00pm Easter Vigil, the first service of Easter April 11,2004 The Resurrection of Our Lord, Easter Day 8:30am and 11:00am Easter breakfast-parish hall 9:30-11:00am Central Lutheran Church Corner of 18th &. Potter • 345.0395 www.welcometocentral.org All arc welcome. fashion first at sight 131 E. 5th Ave (between Oak & Pearl) 687-2805 BUFFALOEXCHANGE.COM Eric England Scholarship $2,000 to enable a University of Oregon graduate to pursue graduate studies at the U of O or elsewhere in American literature or history or a related subject. Apply to the English Department by May 7. A UO CAMPUS ALTERNATIVE SINCE 1974 a proud member of Unique Eugene
