Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - March 20, 2007)

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By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. Specter):

S. 936. A bill to reform the financing of Senate elections, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:

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By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. COLEMAN):

S. 945. A bill to ensure that college textbooks and supplemental materials are available and affordable; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, when we talk about college affordability, the discussion typically focuses on tuition costs, Pell grants and student loans. But we cannot talk about college affordability without also including college textbook costs in the same conversation.

Picture a bright, hard-working college student at the beginning of a new term. The student, who comes from a family of modest means, has managed to pay for tuition through a combination of grants, scholarships, student loans and part-time work. The student goes to her college bookstore to buy her textbooks. She walks out of the bookstore with her textbooks and wonders how she will be able to pay the $500 charge she just put on her credit card to buy the required books for her classes.

According to GAO, college textbook prices have risen an average of six percent each year since 1987 and at twice the rate of annual inflation over the last two decades. Textbook prices have been following increases in tuition and fees. Since December of 1986, textbook prices have increased by 186 percent and tuition and fees grew by 240 percent. GAO found that the primary contributing factor is the investment publishers have made to develop and produce supplemental materials such as CDs and Web-based tutorials.

The cost of textbooks and supplies as a percentage of tuition and fees depends on the type of institution the student is attending. GAO determined that the average estimated cost of books and supplies for full-time freshman students at four-year public schools was $898 in 2003, or about 26 percent of the cost of tuition and fees. At two-year public institutions, where the average student is more likely to be low-income, the average estimated cost was even higher due to lower tuition and fees at these schools. A first-year student at a two-year school spent a comparable amount--$886 on average, but that is nearly three-quarters of the cost of tuition and fees. Students at public two-year schools are trying to find an economical way to pursue higher education, but could easily be sidelined by high textbook costs.

What can be done to keep textbooks affordable for college students? Publishers, schools and bookstores can take any number of steps to help keep the cost of textbooks down. Schools, and in particular, professors, have tremendous power to help cut down the overall cost of textbooks. I was shocked to learn that many professors do not know the retail price of the textbook they are choosing for their class. The earlier a bookstore receives textbook information from a professor, the greater the ability of the bookstore to obtain cheaper used versions of the required text.

There are other actions that publishers and professors can take to help keep down the cost of textbooks, and that is why I am introducing the bipartisan College Textbook Affordability Act, cosponsored by Senator Coleman.

First, the bill requires transparency. Publishers must provide the price of a textbook in writing whenever a publisher's representative provides information on a textbook to a professor. The professor must also be provided the history of revisions for a textbook or supplemental material and whether the textbook or supplement is available in an alternative format, such as paperback, one- or two-colored editions, and loose-leaf editions. Publishers insist that access to such information is readily available to professors. If this is truly the case, then this bill will simply codify what publishers claim is already their industry's normal practice and would not be an undue burden placed on the industry.

Under the bill, textbooks and supplemental materials that are sold as a bundle must also be sold separately. The GAO report found that instructors are often unaware that the course materials they have chosen will be sold as a bundle.

The legislation also requires schools to do their part in managing textbook costs for students. Schools are required to include the international standard
book number, or ISBN number and the retail price of all required and optional materials in the course schedule for the upcoming term. This requirement would help ensure that bookstores receive book orders in time to stock up on any available used books and would provide students with plenty of time to search for lower-priced textbooks via alternative sources such as online booksellers or other students.

When asked, schools must also provide bookstores with access to the course schedule, ISBN numbers for required and optional course material, the maximum student enrollment for a course and the current enrollment numbers. Access to this information would allow bookstores to better estimate the amount of inventory they should maintain for each course. A school in my home state, Illinois State University, recognized the importance of giving students and bookstores early access to such information. ISU's online course schedule provides students with ISBN numbers, and bookstores are given access to course enrollment numbers as well as required and optional course materials.

Combined, these actions can help drive down the cost of textbooks and help make college more affordable for students. The college affordability conversation cannot focus only on raising federal grants and lowering student loan interest rates. There is no question that federal aid has not kept up with rising college costs. However, we must also look at why college costs, including textbook costs, continue to increase year after year.

I have heard stories of students, especially community college students, who decide to drop a semester or a year because they simply cannot afford the textbooks. This is just unacceptable. Textbook costs are a part, and in some cases a large part of college costs, and we must do what is within our power to ensure that students do not put their education on hold just because they cannot afford to buy the textbooks.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the bills were ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

S. 945

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