U.S. Rep. McCollum Supports Major Aid Package to Benefit Minnesota Students & Families

Letter

U.S. Rep. McCollum Supports Major Aid Package to Benefit Minnesota Students & Families

Dear Friends,

This week, the U.S. House passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (H.R. 3221), which will end the giveaway of $87 billion in corporate welfare to financial institutions for processing paperwork. Those funds instead will be reinvested to expand the Pell Grant program, increases assistance to community colleges, and to support early learning to ensure more low-income children are prepared to start kindergarten. A savings of $10 billion will also be used for deficit reduction. Unfortunately, only six Republicans were willing to join more than 250 Democrats to pass H.R. 3221. More than 165 Republicans voted to protect the taxpayer giveaways to lenders.

The Republicans were successful in passing language punishing ACORN, a not for profit organization that works to empower low-income Americans, by prohibiting the group from receiving any federal funding. I voted against this political stunt - which is particularly ironic since the majority of Republicans voted to support corporate welfare for financial institutions, while targeting low-income people that did not receive $1 in H.R. 3221.

To go more in depth, H.R. 3221 terminates the Family Federal Education Loan (FFEL) program and transfers all new federal student lending to the Federal Direct Loan Program where the federal government provides the capital to originate a loan. The financial crisis exposed the vulnerability of the FFEL program and the potential risks to college students and their families. The change to Direct Loans will result in a more reliable and efficient student loan system. Removing the unnecessary middleman also eliminates wasteful government giveaways to bankers and yields $87 billion dollars in savings to taxpayers over the next ten years.

The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act also makes strategic investments to allow for more students to attend and graduate from college with less debt. $40 billion will be used to increase the annual Pell Grant Scholarship program, making college more affordable and ensuring that Pell Grants keep up with inflation. This means that over the next ten years, more than $75.5 million in additional funding will be provided to students in Minnesota's Fourth Congressional District. Additionally, this legislation strengthens and expands the Perkins Loan Program and simplifies the complicated and time-consuming Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to help improve college access.

Another major component of this bill is a significant investment in community colleges to retrain workers, prepare students for 21st century jobs, and introduce students to post-secondary education. These investments will improve the quality of education for over 100,000 students that are enrolled in Minnesota community colleges. H.R. 3221 expands online learning opportunities and encourages partnerships between community colleges, states, business, job training and adult education programs.

Finally, this bill ensures that the next generation of students has the skills they need to pursue a post-secondary education. The creation of an Early Learning Challenge fund will help states, like Minnesota, reform early learning to increase quality programs for low-income students. The Green Schools initiative invests in school modernization, renovation, and repair projects that will allow students to learn in healthier, safer, and more energy efficient schools.

Investment in early learning, financial aid, and community colleges is a top priority for me and I am proud to support this historic bill.

Sincerely,

Congresswoman Betty McCollum
Serving Minnesota's Fourth Congressional District

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