College Cost Reduction Act of 2007

Floor Speech

COLLEGE COST REDUCTION ACT OF 2007 -- (Senate - July 17, 2007)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

AMENDMENT NO. 2329 TO AMENDMENT NO. 2327

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.

The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

The Senator from Alaska [Ms. MURKOWSKI] proposes an amendment numbered 2329 to amendment 2327.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To increase the amount appropriated for the college access partnership grant program)

On page 55, line 23, strike ``$25,000,000'' and insert ``$113,000,000''.

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, we are talking today about the Higher Education Access Act. When we talk about higher education and the importance of higher education in this country, it is all about access. We can have incredible universities, we can have wonderful schools within our State systems, but if the students do not have access to them due to financial constraints or whatever the limitations may be, we have not truly provided for access, we have not truly provided for our young people to better themselves to the fullest extent possible.

There are many significant provisions contained within the Higher Education Access Act. I am pleased to have been able to participate in the good work of the chairman and the ranking member in moving this through the HELP Committee.

There is one provision contained within higher education that establishes a provision called the College Access Partnership Grant Program, again, speaking to how we truly provide for access to our colleges.

The budget instructions directed the HELP Committee to save some $750 million for deficit reduction. This is what the Senator from New Hampshire was referring to a moment ago. The Higher Education Access Act saves $930 million.

This amendment, the amendment that I am proposing this afternoon, would redirect $176 million from deficit reduction to making sure that more American students, more of our young people, are able to access and to succeed in college.

Think about how many initiatives we have on this Senate floor to provide for a better America, a better country, to make us more competitive in the world market. How do we do it? We have been focusing on our young people and providing them with the opportunities. We have been focusing on aspects of education, whether it is through an emphasis on accountability, such as we have seen in the No Child Left Behind, or the more recent focus we have made in focusing on science and engineering so that our young people are truly competitors in that world market today. We need to be serious about investing in our children's education and truly in their future.

What this amendment would do is expand the borrower benefits that are offered to low-income students, the very students we know are not graduating with college degrees. Our statistics don't lie to us. We know those in the lower income category are not going into college in the first place, so many of them, and then many who do are not successful in completion. Of the 75 percent of high school seniors who continue their studies, only 50 percent of them receive a degree 5 years after enrolling in postsecondary education, and only 25 percent of them receive a bachelor's degree or higher. So we are not seeing completion. But for the lower income families, 21 percent who enroll in college complete a bachelor's degree as compared to 62 percent of higher income students who enroll.

So what is the problem? What are we doing wrong? What are we not doing enough of, need to do more of, and how can we truly provide this college education that for generation after generation has been what families seek for their children--go on to college, go on and make yourself a better contributor to American society.

In my State of Alaska--unfortunately, I am not quite sure what our statistics are now--when I was serving in the legislature we were seeing only about 30 percent of our high school graduates going on to college--only about 30 percent going on to college. Why are they not going? Part of it is due to finances.

As we all know, the cost of a college education is going through the roof. My husband and I are saving for our two boys, and with one of them approaching his junior year in high school right now, it is a reality check for us as a family as to how we are going to make college a reality for our children. I know across this country families struggle with that.

So there is so much, again, in the Higher Education Access Act that does promote and does allow for benefits to the students. The funding we are talking about in my amendment would expand the borrower benefits currently offered in States such as mine to low-income and to Pell-eligible students in all the States. This is a college access partnership program. And what it would do is give the States the ability to help more of their low-income students attend and to succeed in college. We don't want them to just get the help to get there and then give it up after a year because the finances are hitting them or they do not know where else to turn.

What does this college access partnership grant actually do? What we are attempting to do is provide for that outreach, provide for the education not only to the students but to the families so that they know what is available, they know what the financing options are to them, and they are helped with the financial literacy and with debt management. I don't know how many of you have had to go through a college application recently, but it can be a daunting task. And if you are perhaps from a family who hasn't had an opportunity to do this before, it may be so daunting that you are precluded from doing it.

Financial literacy: We all know that sometimes the language that is contained in the application, just in understanding what it is that you need to do to fill out the application, can be mind numbing. So it provides the information.

The outreach activities: We need to make sure we are reaching out to those students who may be at risk of not enrolling or, again, in not completing their postsecondary education. They need to know what their options are. So we need to go to them, and we need to help them. We have a program in Alaska called the Alaska Advantage Higher Education Financial Aid Program. We try to go out and let the students know what is available and try to help them ahead of time.

This program would also provide for assistance in completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the FAFSA application. I understand that we are talking about an eight-page application. We have eliminated some of, I guess, the complications, if you will, with that application through the HEA legislation itself, but let's not let the application be a barrier. Let's figure out ways to help the students from the very beginning; professional development for guidance counselors at middle schools and secondary schools, and financial administrators and college admissions counselors at institutions of higher education, to improve their ability to assist the students and the parents. I know from my personal situation that when you have a good guidance counselor who can help you along the way, you are one of the lucky ones. If you are one that is just kind of given the packet and told to go at it, kid, you may or may not feel that you have that support. We want to be able to provide for the support, that professional development to assist the students.

The program would also provide assistance in applying to institutions of higher education, applying for the Federal student financial assistance and other State, local, and private student financial assistance and scholarships. There is so much that is available out there, if you know where to look. And sometimes you just are not quite sure which rocks you need to turn over in order to provide for your finances for college. So this would, again, lay out the options and assist you with that.

It would also provide activities that increase the student's ability to successfully complete the course work required for a postsecondary degree, including activities such as tutoring and mentoring. We need to recognize that access to college is not just about getting in the door. It is gaining the benefits that are afforded you through the college program, through that university program, through the programs that are going to benefit you. So our job is not done just with the successful application. If individuals need that assistance in working through some of the bureaucracy, let's try to help.

Finally, it provides for activities to improve secondary school students' preparedness for postsecondary entrance examinations. These are all things, in different areas, where we can make a difference with students in letting them know what is out there and what is available to them.

Mr. President, as we look to ways that we can truly help with access to higher education, we know we need to help students with the financial end of it, but we also need to provide some assistance with the navigation, and this College Access Partnership Program does just that. Through this amendment, we are providing for additional funding to be included into that program to make it meaningful to all of the 50 States so that they can truly provide that help and assistance.

I would certainly urge my colleagues to support the amendment.

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