Senator Cornyn Announces Federal Coronavirus Grants To Texas A&M and Blinn

Texas A&M president Michael Young told the faculty senate on Monday how the university began planning to distribute what was announced on Tuesday was $20 million dollars in federal coronavirus grant money for students.

 

Senator John Cornyn announced A&M received a total of $40 million and Blinn College $14 million. Half of the grants to both schools will provide students with emergency financial aid grants. Cornyn says the institutions have discretion in how to award the grants.

 

Statement and comments from Senator John Cornyn provided by his office:

Texas A&M University and Blinn College will receive a total of $53,958,354 in federal grants to respond to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, U.S. Senator John Cornyn announced. The grant funding comes from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund authorized by the CARES Act, which Sen. Cornyn supported in the Senate last month. At least fifty percent of each grant must go towards providing students with emergency financial aid grants to help cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus, and the CARES Act allows each institution discretion in how to award this assistance to its students.

“No Texan should have to give up their education because of the economic effects of the coronavirus,” said Sen. Cornyn. “In addition to allowing students to defer their federal student loan payments for six months, the CARES Act provides targeted funding to Texas institutions to help students continue their education – even if that means taking classes online.”

In total, Texas institutions of higher education were awarded more than $1 billion of the $14 billion available.

 

Screen shot of e-mail from Senator John Cornyn’s office.

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