Funding Comes from the CARES Act, Passed by the Senate Last Month
Texas Border Business
WASHINGTON – Several schools in the Rio Grande Valley will receive a total of $57,964,936 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.
| School | Total Aid | Student Aid Portion | City |
| University Of Texas – Rio Grande Valley | $34,334,258 | $17,167,129 | Edinburg |
| Texas Southmost College | $3,608,280 | $1,804,140 | Brownsville |
| South Texas College | $20,022,398 | $10,011,199 | McAllen |
Sen. Cornyn’s website has additional resources for Texans during the coronavirus outbreak here.
Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, is a member of the Senate Finance, Intelligence, and Judiciary Committees.
