Rep. Courtney Joins Speaker Pelosi in Ceremonial Enrollment

Press Release

Rep. Courtney Joins Speaker Pelosi in Ceremonial Enrollment

Landmark CCRAA Heads to White House for President's Signature

Rep. Courtney joins Speaker Pelosi at the CCRAA Enrollment Ceremony

Washington, Sep 18 - Congressman Joe Courtney today joined Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) for the enrollment ceremony of H.R. 2669, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which makes the largest investment in higher education since the historic GI Bill.

"This ceremony should be regarded as an historic moment in the legacy and future of our higher education system," stated Congressman Joe Courtney who is a member of the House Education and Labor Committee. "The single greatest investment we can make for our nation is in providing greater access to an affordable college education, which is precisely what we have accomplished today."

"I applaud Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Reid, Senator Kennedy and Chairman George Miller, for keeping their promise to build a stronger middle-class and a greater opportunity for all Americans," added Courtney.

The Second Congressional District of Connecticut, which Congressman Joe Courtney represents, is often called the higher education district of Connecticut. The high concentration of higher education institutions makes this legislation an important victory for eastern Connecticut's working families and students.

Congressman Courtney aided in crafting the landmark legislation. During review of the legislation in June, Congressman Courtney won support for an initiative to make college more affordable for students in eastern Connecticut and across the nation. The Connecticut Congressman offered an amendment to increase funding for the Pell Grant program by an additional $900 million above an already increased proposed funding level.

Trea McPherson, a senior at the University of Connecticut, was on hand for the ceremony. McPherson has been an effective advocate for college students in Connecticut and nationwide in an effort to reduce college costs.

The CCRAA increases the maximum value of the Pell Grant scholarship by $1,090 over the next five years, reaching $5,400 by 2012. Close to 6 million low- and moderate-income students across the country would benefit from this increase.

To reduce the cost of loans for millions of student borrowers, the legislation will cut interest rates in half on need-based student loans, from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over the next four years. The rate cut will save the typical student borrower a total of $4,400. About 6.8 million students take out need-based loans each year.

In addition, the legislation will prevent students from facing unmanageable levels of federal student debt by guaranteeing that borrowers will never have to spend more than 15 percent of their yearly discretionary income on loan repayments and by allowing borrowers in economic hardship to have their loans forgiven after 25 years.

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act includes a number of other provisions that will ease the financial burden imposed on students and families by the cost of college, including:

* Tuition assistance for excellent undergraduate students who agree to teach in the nation's public schools;
* Loan forgiveness after 10 years of public service and loan repayment for college graduates that go into vital public service jobs; and
* Landmark investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions and other minority serving institutions.

President Franklin Roosevelt signed the GI Bill into law in 1944. The original law enabled 7.8 million veterans of the Second World War to participate in education or job training programs.

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