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(AP) -- Education has had it's fair share of funding hardships in recent months. Now it seems Pell Grants may be affected.

President Barack Obama sends his 2012 budget proposal to Congress Wednesday, and a summary obtained by The Associated Press indicates the administration will propose more than $1 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade. Two-thirds of that will come from spending cuts.

Among the programs expected to be trimmed are Pell Grants and other higher education programs.

Administration officials say the budget plan calls for $100 billion in savings over 10 years. Most of the savings would come through two changes: an end to a policy that allows students to collect two grants in a calendar year and a reduction in loan subsidies for graduate and professional students. The savings would keep the maximum aid award at $5,550.

The Huffington Post threw out there that the number of Pell Grant recipients increased 45% from 6.1 million in FY2008 to 8.9 million in FY2010. At the same time, the average Pell Grant increased 39% from $2,970 to $4,115. Combined, the total expenditures for the Pell Grant program doubled in just three years. Click here to read more.

Previous decreases in the maximum Pell Grant were listed by Mark Kantrowitz of fastweb.com: 

--   2008-09. An across-the-board budget cut reduced the maximum Pell Grant by $69 from $4,800 to $4,731. The $4,731 maximum Pell Grant still represented an increase when compared with the maximum Pell Grant of $4,310 in 2007-08.
--   1993-94. The maximum Pell Grant decreased by $100 from $2,400 in 1992-93 to $2,300 in 1993-94.
--   1981-82. The maximum Pell Grant decreased by $80 from $1,750 in 1980-81 to $1,670 in 1981-82.
--   1980-81. The maximum Pell Grant decreased by $50 from $1,800 in 1979-80 to $1,750 in 1980-81.

The proposed cuts to the fiscal year 2011 budget would affect the Pell Grant program during the 2011-12 academic year, so we want to know how this will affect students here in the Tri-States.

KHQA's Chad Douglas is at WIU Tuesday afternoon and will bring you more details, so check this story later and watch KHQA's News at Five, KHQA's Evening News at 6 p.m. and KHQA's Late News at 10 p.m.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)