House Passes Largest Investment in Student Aid Since GI Bill
Chairman George Miller of the Education and Labor Committee, the sponsor of the bill, spoke in favor:
| Rep. Miller: "We remember just a year ago, just a year ago we were here in the reconciliation process when $11.9 billion was taken out of this very same account. But rather than to use it for the benefit of the students, that $11.9 billion went to pay for the tax cuts to the wealthiest people in this country. We took $11.39 billion out this same account and we gave that to the pell grant students, to the most needy students in this country who need it the most. That's the difference an election makes." |
The College Cost Reduction and Access Act would help millions of students and families pay for college at no new cost to taxpayers, boosting college aid by roughly $20 billion over the next five years. Under the legislation, the maximum value of the Pell Grant scholarship would increase by $1,090 over the next five years, reaching $5,400 by 2012, up from $4,050 in 2006, thus restoring the Pell's purchasing power. Some students would see an immediate boost of almost $500 in their Pell Grant scholarship in the 2008-2009 school year alone. Roughly 5.5 million low- and moderate-income students would benefit from this increase.
The legislation would also cut interest rates on need-based student loans in half, from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent, over the next four years. Once fully phased-in, this would save the typical student borrower -- with $13,800 in need-based student loan debt -- $4,400 over the life of the loan. About 6.8 million students take out need-based loans each year.
The College Cost Reduction and Access Act would also ease the financial burdens college costs impose on students and families and expand college access for low-income and minority students by:
- Making loan payments more manageable for students;
Providing tuition assistance for excellent undergraduate students who agree to teach in high-need subjects in high-need schools;
Making a landmark new investment in minority serving institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic Serving Institutions, for critical support services that help recruit and retain students;
Encouraging and rewarding public service by providing loan forgiveness for college graduates that go into public service professions, such as military officers, first responders, firefighters, nurses, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, early childhood educators, public defenders, librarians, and others; and
Developing new strategies to help colleges contain costs and making online information on college costs for students and parents more user friendly.
No one should be denied the opportunity to go to college simply because of the price, yet unfortunately, that has been what many American families have been forced to do. Tuition at four-year public colleges has grown by 35 percent in the last five years. Students and families are taking on increasing amounts of debt, and each year nearly 200,000 students are holding off going to college, or skipping it altogether, because they cannot afford it.
Fact sheet on the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (pdf) >>
Learn who would benefit from this legislation (pdf) >>
Read the full text of the legislation (pdf) >>
Speaker Pelosi:
"With strong bipartisan votes in the House and Senate, Congress today passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, the single largest investment in college financial aid since the GI Bill in 1944."As we promised when Democrats regained the majority in Congress, the New Direction Congress made increasing access to college a top priority and will now send this crucial legislation to the President for his signature.
"With the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, we have made an historic investment in America's college students and America's economic competitiveness, all in a fiscally responsible way.
"This legislation cuts the interest rates on student loans in half, saving nearly 7 million students who take out need-based federal loans about $4,400. It increases the maximum Pell Grant scholarship more than $1,000, giving 5.5 million students help to afford the expanding cost of college. The bill makes an investment in the 2.3 million students who attend Historically Black College and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Asian American and Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions, and other minority serving schools. It also ensures that we have highly qualified teachers in our classrooms - a key proposal of House Democrats' Innovation Agenda - by providing upfront tuition for highly qualified teachers who agree to teach in a high needs school.
"Education is the single best investment that we can make in the future of our country. With the passage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, Congress is making sure that our nation's young people will be driven by their dreams, not weighed down by debt."