Providing for Further Consideration of H.R. 609, College Access and Opportunity Act of 2005
PROVIDING FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 609, COLLEGE ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - March 30, 2006)
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the rule and in strong opposition to H.R. 609, the underlying bill.
As a matter of fact, I had hoped when we started the process that we were going to see a bipartisan effort because all of us talk about how great and how important education is, and I do not think that there is a single person in this House who would not agree with that. But oftentimes I am afraid that our conversations are different than our actions.
When I look at this restrictive rule, it prevents us from discussing and debating at least 100 amendments, 100 ideas, perhaps even 100 programs at different ways to look at and try to improve access to college education for thousands and thousands of individuals in our country who will be left out and left behind, with no, or virtually no, hope of ever reaching mainstream society because they would not have had the chance.
Yet, philosophically, when we think of education, I was thinking of something that Abraham Lincoln was supposed to have said at one time, and that is, that education makes a man easy to lead but difficult to drive, easy to govern but impossible to enslave.
So we should have been trying to provide the highest level of opportunity for every individual in our country to grasp for that great opportunity.
I had two amendments that I consider to be very minor, meager amendments that I had hoped to have made in order. One of them would have restored Pell Grants to thousands of individuals who are currently incarcerated with little skill, little training, and little possibility without the additional education. And yet that amendment, and we are the most incarcerated Nation on the face of the Earth, with more than 2 million people languishing in jails and prisons, knowing full well that most of them will return within a short period of time if they do not acquire some of this great opportunity that we call education, that amendment, unfortunately, was shot down.
The second one would have provided a modest sum of money, only $25 million, for predominantly black student-serving institutions that are serving a low-income population, most of them being the first in their family to have a chance to go to college. The schools they attend do not qualify as part of the historically black college and university network, and yet they will not be allowed to get the little additional resources.
I do want to thank Mr. Pickering for his cosponsorship of this amendment. Hopefully, if it didn't make it this round, of course we will be back and hopefully, eventually, it will happen.
I did have one amendment, and I am grateful to the majority for including that idea in the manager's amendment, to have the Secretary of Education take a hard look at why there is such a heavy disparity between African American males, for example, who are attending colleges and universities and other parts of the American population.
When we look at the bill in every way that we can, and I know that I have heard my colleagues come to the floor and say that this is not a raid on student aid; that this is expanding opportunity; that this is making education more affordable, I know that they believe what they are saying. I just can't figure out which playbook they are reading from when you take a government that takes away money and gives back tax dollars to the wealthy.
Education is so vitally important that we do ourselves and we do this Nation a disservice when we prevent any individual from having an opportunity to acquire it.
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