Guest Opinion: Federal TRIO Programs Deserve Continued Support

Guest Opinion: Federal TRIO Programs Deserve Continued Support

Washington, D.C. - The correspondence just keeps pouring in. None of my offices from Pocatello to Washington, D.C. have been spared from this onslaught of letters, faxes, emails and visitors all with one singular purpose: to urge me to save the Federal TRIO programs called Talent Search and Upward Bound from their proposed death in the President's fiscal year 2006 budget.

It is easy to understand why so many are concerned about the potential end of these two valuable TRIO programs that help over 3,500 low income Idaho students prepare for college. Parental income is one of the top predictors of whether or not a child will succeed in college or even go to college in the first place. Upward Bound and Talent Search help students exceed societal expectations and predictions by providing tutoring in college preparatory classes and help in navigating through the sometimes daunting maze of required forms and tests known as the college admission process.

Like so many of you, I fully appreciate the worth and importance of these TRIO programs, and that I will do everything I can to ensure that these programs continue to receive funding. To that end, along with Representative Donald Payne of New Jersey, I formed the Congressional TRIO Caucus in the 108th Congress and am proud to continue to serve as the co-chair of that Caucus in the 109th Congress.

The Caucus is made up of over twenty of my colleagues from many different states and political persuasions. Several Caucus members are former graduates of TRIO themselves. We recently held a well attended briefing on Capitol Hill to increase support for TRIO and add new members to the Caucus. So far, the briefing has been a resounding success judging from the amount of encouraging phone calls my Washington D.C. office has received.

As you may know, the President's budget is only a suggestion of appropriate government funding levels. It is the job of Congress to actually set these levels and make sure that tax payer dollars are spent in the most effective way possible. While the cost of Upward Bound and Talent Search may seem an unnecessary expense to some, I would ask them to consider the long term savings in public assistance generated by graduates of TRIO who go on to earn college degrees and become highly-motivated, self sustaining citizens.

To all of you who have contacted me regarding TRIO, thank you, your voices did not go unheard. I will continue to be a strong supporter of all of the TRIO programs and look forward to working with my colleagues on the Appropriations committee to ensure that these programs remain alive and appropriately funded for years to come.

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/id02_simpson/TRIO_oped.html