Providing for Consideration of H.R. 609, College Access and Opportunity Act of 2005

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 609, COLLEGE ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - March 29, 2006)

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California, my colleague, for yielding me this time, and I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this rule and on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, scarcely 2 months ago, the Republican majority voted to cut $12 billion from Federal student aid programs. That is what they did. And not a single member of the Democratic minority voted for those cuts. This raid on student aid represents the single largest cut in the history of these critical Federal programs.

Mr. Speaker, it is wrong to force America's college students and their families to pay the price for the majority's irresponsible management of our Nation's budget. It is wrong to make students and families who are already struggling to pay for college foot the bill for tax cuts for the super-rich.

In February, President Bush submitted his budget for fiscal year 2007, which this House is likely to take up next week and which continues to cut America's Federal investment in higher education.

For the sixth year in a row, President Bush has broken his promise to raise the maximum Pell Grant to $5,100. Instead, his budget freezes the maximum level at $4,050, well below what is needed for low-income students to pay for college. Once again, the President's budget eliminates Federal funding for Perkins loans and sharply cuts back funding for campus-based grants like the SEOG and work study.

Financially needy students are further denied opportunities to achieve a college education by a budget that eliminates programs that directly help them prepare for college, including GEAR UP and Upward Bound.

So here we are today, preparing to bring H.R. 609 to the House floor. Does this bill restore the purchasing power of the Pell Grant? No, it does not. Instead, it increases the maximum Pell Grant by just a measly $200 over 6 years.

When Pell Grant first began, it covered 84 percent of the cost at a 4-year public college. Today, because of inadequate funding, the Pell Grant covers only 42 percent of the cost, forcing millions of students to go deep into debt, work long hours, or forget college altogether. Does this bill guarantee that only the minor authorized increase for the Pell Grant in H.R. 609 will actually be funded at this level? No, it does not. Assuming Republican priorities remain the same, we will continue to see budgets and appropriations that fall far short of what is needed to make college affordable for all of America's qualified students.

Mr. Speaker, there is still time for the Republican leadership to do the right thing. We can strengthen and improve this bill, but only if the Rules Committee makes in order amendments like the Miller-Kildee alternative.

Mr. Speaker, this bill, as written, misses the mark. We must help more of our students get to college and afford to stay there. If we fail to truly make this our number one priority, then we fail our students, our families, our communities and the Nation, and we inflict long-term damage on America's ability to compete, our economy and America's future prosperity.

What a rotten legacy this Republican Congress is leaving future generations: enormous Federal debt and the slashing of important vital programs to give all Americans the opportunity to pursue higher education.

I would say to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, your priorities are wrong. Your priorities will do damage to our students and will undercut our Nation's ability to remain an economic superpower. You have already slashed away at Federal funding for elementary and secondary education despite all the new Federal mandates that have been imposed on our schools by No Child Left Behind. Now here we are shortchanging higher education. When is enough enough?

Don't tell us you do not have the money. You have money for tax breaks for Donald Trump and the super-rich, but you don't have money when it comes to helping working families.

Mr. Speaker, I would say to my colleagues that if education is your priority, then you need to vote against this bill, send this bill back and force this Republican majority to do what is right. Do not listen to the rhetoric about somehow we are improving Pell Grants and we are providing more assistance to our younger people. The fact of the matter is the purchasing power of Pell Grants is at an all-time low. We could do better.

Without significant changes in this bill, I regret that I cannot support H.R. 609. I urge my colleagues to vote against the rule. This should be an open rule. If anything should be debated on this House floor, it should be education.

Last night, we had many Members offer amendments, and here we are with a restrictive rule. We should spend a week on education. We should not be rushing this in a day or two. Let's spend a week. It is that important. I urge my colleagues to vote against the rule and vote against the bill.

http://thomas.loc.gov/