Providing For Consideration Of H.R. 3221, Student Aid And Fiscal Responsibility Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, House Resolution 746 provides for a structured rule for consideration of H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009.

The rule makes in order 24 amendments, which are listed in the Rules Committee report accompanying the resolution. Each amendment is debatable for 10 minutes, except the manager's amendment and the Kline substitute, which are each debatable for 20 minutes.

The rule also provides one motion to recommit, with or without instructions.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 746 and the underlying bill, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which was passed by the House Education and Labor Committee with bipartisan support.

I thank Chairman Miller, as well as my colleagues on the committee on both sides of the aisle for their leadership in this historic legislation that puts America's students and their families first. Education is the key to progress and prosperity, both for individuals as well as collectively as a Nation.

Every day we hear from our constituents about their inability to afford college or their excessive student loan debt that burdens their families. Just yesterday I talked to a young woman who attends a university in my district, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and she is graduating with $50,000 in debt.

This Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act tackles this problem head-on by making the single largest investment in higher education in history without costing taxpayers any more.

Following the unprecedented Federal support for education in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which increased Pell Grants and funding to K-12 schools through special ed and Title I, this landmark legislation will transform the way our student loan programs operate and generate $87 billion in savings over the next 10 years that will be used to help increase Pell Grant scholarships, keep interest rates low on Federal loans, and create a more reliable and effective financial aid system for families at no cost to taxpayers. Converting all new Federal student lending to the reliable, effective, and cost-efficient Direct Loan Program enables these critical investments to make our economy strong and competitive while reducing the deficit and bringing college in reach for countless American families.

I strongly believe in President Obama's goal that the United States become the world leader in the proportion of college graduates by 2020. But like the rest of the country, lower-income students in my home State of Colorado are too often left behind because their families can't afford to pay for college.

Over the next 10 years, this bill invests more than $589 million in Colorado alone to increase the maximum Pell Grant scholarships to $5,550 a year in 2010 and $6,900 in 2019. And starting in 2011, the scholarship's value will be preserved by indexing it to inflation plus 1 percent. Under this bill, students in my district could see a dramatic increase in their Pell Grant awards over the next 10 years.

Applying for financial aid should help, not hinder, college access, yet an estimated 1.5 million college students who likely were eligible to receive Pell Grants didn't even apply for financial aid because they found the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the FAFSA document, too confusing to fill out. This bold legislation makes it easier for families to apply for financial aid through a streamlined FAFSA form that is simpler and shorter by reducing the number of questions and allowing applicants to use the information from their tax returns.

In addition, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act strengthens and expands the Perkins Loan Program that provides low-cost Federal loans to every U.S. college campus and keeps interest rates low on subsidized Federal student loans by making them variable beginning in 2012. These interest rates are currently set to jump from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent in 2012. For the 5.5 million borrowers across the Nation who take out subsidized student loans every year, these changes mean real savings and offer much-needed relief, more money that can go into textbooks, living expenses, and paying additional college tuition above the student loan amount.

We also know that too many students enroll in college but drop out and don't graduate. College access should lead to college success. However, only half of students who enroll end up with a bachelor's degree. This has enormous economic implications for college dropouts and our economy as a whole because workers with bachelor's degrees earn 54 percent more on average than those who attend some college but don't finish.

This legislation invests $3 billion to bolster college access and completion through innovative programs that focus on financial literacy and help retain graduate and undergraduate students, as well as a $2.5 billion investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds stay in school and complete their studies. Colorado, as an example, will receive at least $10.5 million over the next 5 years from the increased funding for the College Access Challenge Grant Program.

In recognition of our troops' heroic service to our country, H.R. 3221 gives servicemembers more freedom to attend the college of their choice under the GI Bill and also helps our troops afford an education by providing loan forgiveness for members of the military who are called up to duty in the middle of an academic year, and we all know how disruptive that can be, and helping them complete school and get their degree is an important element that this bill provides to those who serve our Nation proudly.

As a member of the Community College Caucus, I am thrilled that this legislation recognizes the critical role that these open-door institutions play in our communities both as gateways to higher education as well as providers of a highly skilled workforce to fill the needs of our local economies and prepare kids for the growth sectors of our economy and for jobs in the ever-changing and evolving economic sectors. Community colleges are an essential component of America's workforce development, and that is recognized by this bill.

In my district in Colorado, Front Range Community College and the Colorado Mountain College are effectively addressing the needs of both students and employers and represent an essential component for our economic development as well as a source of community pride. By encouraging historic partnerships and innovative reforms and expanding access to free and high-quality online courses, this legislation helps prepare Colorado's 117,000 community college students with the real-world experiences and skills they need to be ready for 21st century jobs or to transfer to 4-year colleges or universities to complete their bachelor's degree. Enrollment in our community colleges is up 20 percent this fall compared to last year, so this funding will help our existing system and infrastructure meet that demand.

Colorado ranks third nationally in expected growth in jobs that will require post-secondary training, and we need to dramatically increase the number of degrees, certificates, and credentials awarded. These new investments will help community colleges establish articulation agreements, expand academic training programs for high-wage occupations in high-demand industries like health care, and improve student support services.

We will also build and enhance links through dual enrollment through our K-12 system to increase collegiate access as well as giving kids who might be first-generation college goers support as they attend college through the K-12 system and take their first college courses and show that, yes, they can achieve at the college level.

Through our bolstering community colleges, we can also strengthen their labor market responsiveness and competitiveness. And to ensure that community college students learn and thrive in modern updated state-of-the-art facilities, Colorado would receive $28.7 million under capital facilities, which will leverage additional funds to help repair and construct projects for community college facilities that are primarily used for instruction, research, or student housing.

But the impact of savings realized from cutting the middleman between students and lenders goes beyond higher education. They will also help ensure that the next generation of children enters kindergarten with the skills needed to succeed in school by increasing access to birth-to-five early learning programs for children from low-income families. The Early Learning Challenge Fund would award $1 billion each year in competitive grants to States that raise the bar of early education standards, show a State commitment to meeting the needs of birth-to-five students and practices through comprehensive reform, build an effective early childhood workforce, improve the school readiness outcomes of young children, and promote parental and family involvement. Investing in high-quality early education is not only the right thing to do, but it is the smart thing to do since it yields a high return, saving taxpayers up to $14 for every dollar we spend.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet with a group of early childhood advocates from across the country, economists, business leaders, bankers, philanthropists, child development experts, who agree that smart investment in early education is critical if we want to close the achievement gap, prevent the achievement gap from arising before kids even enter kindergarten rather than trying to play catchup after the fact through improving our public schools alone. We can close the achievement gap and ensure that children from all economic and social and ethnic backgrounds are prepared to thrive in school as well as in life.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, overcrowded and crumbling schools threaten the safety and achievement of America's students and are an embarrassment for our education system.

Our schools are short of being in good condition by an estimated $255 billion. In my home State of Colorado, the backlog of school construction and maintenance needs has been estimated between $5.7 and $10 billion. That is why this legislation assists school districts with funds for school modernization, renovation, and repair projects that will create healthier, safer, and more energy-efficient teaching and learning climates.

Colorado will receive more than $42 million over the next 2 years under this bill. In 2006, I cochaired a successful campaign for a $300 million bond issue for the Boulder Valley School District in my school district to address the needs of our schools. But many low-income districts in Colorado don't have the capacity to finance the necessary school upgrades. That is why I am particularly pleased that this legislation addresses income disparities by allocating funds to States and districts based on their share of students from low-income families.

Most importantly, this legislation is fiscally responsible because it pays for itself. By ending subsidies currently given to banks and private lenders, this bill saves taxpayers $87 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

In addition to investing in our education system, this legislation also directs $10 million in savings back to the U.S. Treasury to help pay down the deficit and boost the fiscal health of the country our children will inherit. This legislation is yet another major step towards building a 21st century early childhood education system that will prepare the next generation of students for a lifetime of success.

In a global knowledge-based economy, our Nation cannot afford to waste talent and squander human capital. Each and every student who is ready and wants to go to college shouldn't give up because of the cost barriers that are in their way. This landmark legislation's historic investment in college scholarships provides increased educational opportunities to Americans across the board.

I talked to another student from the University of Colorado yesterday, Alexis Smith, who talked about her family's story. She grew up in a family with a small business in the Denver area. Their family earns between $40,000 and $60,000 a year, depending on the business. Like a lot of American families, they fall above a lot of the need-based scholarship programs and below the range that college is easily affordable. Alexis is graduating college with $25,000 in debt, including substantial credit card debt. She would not have been able to go to college without help from Pell Grants as well as Stafford loans, and her father is currently working 10 hours a day, 7 days a week at age 63 to help afford to put her and her brother through college. These are the kinds of sacrifices that Americans are willing to make.

The Federal Government is here as a partner. By passing this bill, we will be able to improve the student loan program and create savings that we can pass back along to the students in the form of increased availability of student loans as well as grants. That is why I strongly support this rule and the underlying legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and I move the previous question on the resolution.

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