College Access and Opportunity Act of 2005
COLLEGE ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - March 30, 2006)
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Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Democratic alternative to H.R. 609, the College Access and Opportunity Act that would help more students and families pay for higher education.
With millions of American families struggling to pay for college, it is critical that Congress act to make college more affordable. Unfortunately, H.R. 609 does little to increase the access and affordability of higher education and actually cuts $8.7 billion from student aid programs. This bill would, among other things, freeze the authorized level of maximum Pell Grant scholarships $200 above the current level through 2013. With the cost of tuition rising more than 6 percent every year, a flat-lined $200 increase provides no relief for the 37,500 students in my home state of Connecticut that receive Pell Grants.
According to the College Board, the typical student who borrows to finance a bachelor's degree at a public college or university graduates with $15,500 of debt and at private nonprofit institutions graduates with $19,400 debt. To assist students and families struggling with this debt, Congress passed legislation in 2002 that lowered the interest rate cap on student loans to 6.8 percent starting in July of 2006. However, the bill on the floor today would raise the interest rate cap to 8.25 percent. As a result, the typical student borrower, with $17,500 in debt, would be forced to pay as much as $2,600 more in interest on those loans.
In contrast, the Democratic alternative would cut interest rates in half for students with subsidized loans--from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent--which means $2.5 billion in interest rate relief for middle and low income families. The Democratic substitute would also create a pilot program for year round Pell Grants, simplify the student loan application process, and provide loan forgiveness for nurses, highly-qualified teachers in bi-lingual and low-income communities, librarians, first responders and other public servants.
As a nation, we must invest in higher education if we are going to boost America's economic competitiveness and continued prosperity. Hardworking families and students deserve better. I urge my colleagues to join me in rejecting the underlying bill and supporting the Democratic alternative that would truly make college more accessible and affordable to more Americans.
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