Members of the SGA expect a proposal to increase the number of newspapers available on campus to be presented to senators during tonight’s SGA meeting at the Cape Cod Lounge of the Student Center.

The meeting, which begins at 7 p.m., calls for the allocation of an additional $10,627 to the already $11,250 in approved funds for the USA Today Collegiate Readership Program. The program supplies students with free Boston Globe, New York Times and USA Today newspapers.

According to SGA Speaker Jared Nokes, the total increase calls for about $1.25 to be added to the current $2.50 per student charge previously approved for the program. He said a proposal went before the SGA’s Ways and Means Committee this past Sunday that called for increased funding for the program throughout the remainder of the semester.

The proposal was rejected by a vote of five to four. Nokes said the next step is for the senate to either pass or reject the proposal, possibly at tonight’s meeting. If the motion is passed, the campus will see an increase in papers by Monday morning.

Ways and Means Chair Patrick Higgins was one of the five members of the committee to reject the proposal. Higgins said he did not believe allocating an additional $10,627 for the remaining 37 days of the semester would be a wise for the SGA. According to him, about $11,000 was set-aside at the end of the spring semester for a “pilot program” to see if the readership program would be successful.

“We were basically giving it a dry run,” he said.

According to Higgins, the extra allocation Nokes wants doesn’t fit into the original plan.

“Do you do a $22,000 dry run?” Higgins asked.

However, according to Nokes, even when USA Today provided additional complimentary newspapers throughout the pilot program period, a total of 1,500 papers available on campus every weekday was still insufficient. Nokes said now the pilot program is completed; there are currently only 450 newspapers available.

“By about 9 a.m., they’re gone,” he said.

According to Nokes, if the proposal passes, money would be allocated from the long-term reserves of the SGA, which can be used to provide loans to student clubs. The reserves ensure financial stability, he said, but the SGA has the money to spare.

Higgins said the program, if the proposal passes; it’s likely to become a $25,000 to $30,000 commitment for next semester and each additional semester in future.

“In light of the fact that we fund R.S.O.’s a couple thousand dollars a piece, I don’t know if I feel comfortable funding newspapers at $50,000 to $60,000 [each year],” he said. “You can do a lot more than buy newspapers with $50,000.”

Senator Olaf Aprans, another member of the Ways and Means Committee who rejected the proposal agreed.

“That’s $50,000 to $60,000 that’s going to R.S.O.’s,” he said. Aprans said students could also read newspapers online or visit the library.

According to Higgins, the long-term implications of the proposal could drain the SGA’s reserves in seven to eight years. Higgins said the SGA is liable for every student RSO on campus.

“I don’t think we should be gambling with this amount of money,” he said.