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Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I rise today to introduce the Educational Opportunity and Success Act, which would reauthorize and strengthen the Federal TRIO Programs. I want to thank Senators Tester, Capito, and Baldwin for being original cosponsors. Senator Tester and I are cochairs of the Congressional TRIO Caucus.

I have been a longtime champion of TRIO, which helps students get the supports they need to prepare for, succeed in, and graduate from college. Prior to my election to the Senate, I worked at Husson University in Bangor, many of whose students are the first in their families to go to college, and I saw firsthand the importance of programs like TRIO.

Maine's 30 TRIO Programs serve more than 7,500 students throughout the State and are focused on increasing educational opportunities for first-generation and low-income students, as well as students with disabilities. I have been inspired by the stories of TRIO students from all across Maine and have seen how TRIO opens doors to the opportunities that come with pursuing and completing postsecondary education.

For example, Myles Ouellette, who currently resides in Van Buren, ME, credits TRIO not only with helping him to complete postsecondary education but also with saving his life. Myles participated in Upward Bound and Educational Talent Search at Van Buren High School. He enlisted in the Army after high school and developed an addiction to painkillers following an injury. After being released from prison, he enrolled in the University of Maine at Augusta, where he participated in the TRIO Student Support Services Program. With help and support from this program, Myles earned a bachelor's degree in applied science. He then went on to complete an MBA in healthcare management from Husson University. According to Myles, Maine TRIO helped him find his life's purpose and empowered him to reach his full potential.

Congress created the TRIO Programs because it recognized that low- income, first-generation college students often face significant obstacles in accessing and completing higher education. Our bipartisan bill would reauthorize these programs, modestly increase grant sizes, and make it easier for administrators to reach students who would benefit from TRIO. It updates the way that programs are evaluated and streamlines the application process. In addition, the bill would increase stipends for students participating in TRIO Programs and create a new stipend for veterans participating in the Veterans Upward Bound Program.

The Educational Opportunity and Success Act would also institute a commonsense process for correcting TRIO applications with minor errors and prevent the Department of Education from rejecting applications simply on the basis of formatting criteria. In 2017, the Department initially rejected dozens of Upward Bound applications based on arbitrary, nonsubstantive formatting criteria, such as line-spacing and font size irregularities. One of these applications was from the University of Maine at Presque Isle, which had used one-and-a-half spacing instead of double spacing in text appearing in graphics on 2 of its application's 65 pages.

The Department's bureaucratic decision would have denied 960 disadvantaged Maine high school students the chance to fulfill their academic potential. After months of advocacy, I worked with the Department and my Appropriations colleagues to reverse this ill- conceived policy, and the University of Maine at Presque Isle received a well-deserved TRIO grant to serve those students.

TRIO Programs have changed the lives of first-generation students in Maine and across the country. The Educational Opportunity and Success Act would improve these important programs and help ensure they are reaching the students who need them most. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill.

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