Whereas one of the top priorities for our families and our
country is ensuring that young people get the education they need, from early
childhood to higher education, to succeed at work and in life;
Whereas the economy and future of the United States depend
on maintaining a highly skilled and educated workforce with the ability to
compete in an increasingly high-tech global economy;
Whereas millions of hard-working middle-class families now
struggle to afford the rising cost of higher education, which averages $12,127
per year at a public 4-year college and $29,026 per year at a private 4-year
college for the 2005–2006 school year;
Whereas between 2000 and 2005, the cost of tuition and
fees increased 57 percent at public 4-year colleges and 32 percent at private
4-year colleges;
Whereas during the 1985–1986 school year, the maximum
Federal Pell Grant covered 55 percent of the cost of tuition, fees, room and
board at a public 4-year college, but during the 2005–2006 school year the
maximum Federal Pell Grant covers only 33 percent of such cost, leaving today’s
students burdened with more debt or unable to afford a college education at
all;
Whereas at the same time that college costs are rising
substantially, President Bush recently signed into law the largest cut in
student loan programs in the history of the Nation and now proposes a budget
for fiscal year 2007 that would eliminate new funding for Federal Perkins Loans
and freeze the maximum Federal Pell Grant award at $4,050, where the maximum
Federal Pell Grant has been since 2003, reducing the real value of the maximum
Federal Pell Grant to the families who depend upon it;
Whereas the President’s budget also breaks promises to our
children, their parents, and their schools;
Whereas school districts must meet tough new standards
under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107–110; 115 Stat.
1425), but the President’s budget underfunds this effort by
$15,400,000,000;
Whereas all children deserve an education that will
prepare them for the 21st century global economy, but the President is
proposing to leave 3,700,000 children behind by failing to fully fund title I
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.)
at the level promised in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001;
Whereas in 1975 Congress committed to fully funding the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), in order
to provide an appropriate education to students with special needs, yet for the
second year in a row the President's budget retreats on that commitment by
reducing the Federal Government's share of the cost for educating students with
special needs, placing a greater financial burden on States and local school
districts;
Whereas research shows that every dollar invested in
high-quality early childhood education yields $13 in benefits to the public,
but the President’s budget would eliminate Head Start services for 19,000
children;
Whereas despite the importance of education, the President
now is proposing a $2,100,000,000 cut to Federal education funding, which would
be the largest cut in the 26-year history of the Department of
Education;
Whereas the President’s budget proposes to eliminate or
substantially reduce funding for 42 existing education programs, including Safe
and Drug-Free Schools and Communities State Grants, Educational Technology
State Grants, Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Programs, Gaining
Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR-UP), and Federal
TRIO Programs;
Whereas every child deserves a safe, healthy, supervised
place to go after school, but the President's budget denies these opportunities
to 2,000,000 disadvantaged students by funding 21st Century Community Learning
Centers at less than half the level promised in the No Child Left Behind Act of
2001; and
Whereas the education cuts in the President’s budget would
eliminate the ability of many working families to ensure a quality education
for their children, deny many young people the opportunities that flow from a
college education, reduce the competitiveness of the United States workforce,
and harm the Nation’s economy: Now, therefore, be it
1.It is the sense of the
Senate that—
(1)Congress should
act to make college more affordable by—
(A)increasing tax
benefits to offset college costs, such as expanding the Hope Scholarship Credit
and the deductibility of college tuition;
(B)substantially
increasing the size of Federal Pell Grants to better reflect the increase in
the cost of higher education; and
(C)making student
loans more affordable by reducing interest rates and fees for students and
families;
(2)Congress should
keep its promises to the children of the United States, particularly by fully
funding the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act, and the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.); and
(3)Congress should
reject the cuts in the President’s education budget for fiscal year
2007.
2.This resolution may be
cited as the American Competitiveness through Education
Resolution
or the ACE Resolution
.