[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 92 (Wednesday, June 7, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1167]]

    OUR COMMITMENT TO HIGHER EDUCATION: A VIEW FROM THE ``TRENCHES''
                                 ______


                         HON. ROBERT E. ANDREWS

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives
                        Wednesday, June 7, 1995
  Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend to my colleagues an 
article in The Record of Hackensack written by Dr. Robert A. Scott, 
President of Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey. In his article Dr. 
Scott advocates the importance of maintaining student loan funding 
while also encouraging alternatives such as college work study 
programs. Dr. Scott has committed his professional life to the 
betterment of higher education. I am proud to relay that this 
commitment was first developed during his undergraduate experience at 
my alma mater, Bucknell University.
  I greatly respect the accomplishments and commitment of Dr. Scott and 
recommend his article to all interested in higher education.
            [From The Record, Hackensack, NJ, Apr. 10, 1995]
           Don't Undercut Our Commitment to Higher Education
                          (By Robert A. Scott)
       The House of Representatives has voted to cut more than 
     $200 million in funding for higher education. These cuts and 
     some promises in the Contract With America contain elements 
     that could seriously weaken our commitment to social mobility 
     and civic stability through higher education.
       For more than 200 years, higher education has been an 
     important strategy for population dispersal, scientific 
     agriculture and food production, services to less populated 
     regions, veteran's readjustment, advancement of the middle 
     class, national defense, and upward mobility for low-income, 
     urban, and rural citizens.
       One of the proposals introduced by the House is to 
     eliminate the in-school interest exemption on federal loans, 
     an important feature of student loan programs for four 
     decades, and a multimillion-dollar form of federal assistance 
     to New Jersey college students. Interest exemptions are 
     essential while students are enrolled in college. Loans are a 
     part of a package of aid consisting of campus work, grants, 
     and both student and family contributions, all of which 
     require sacrifice.
       The consequences of charging debt service while a student 
     is in college, or charging for the in-school portion of debt 
     service after a student has left college, are encouraging 
     part-time study, thus delaying career entry; encouraging even 
     greater loans, in order to pay the increased debt service; or 
     delaying college entry entirely.
       I believe we rely on loans too much and that we should 
     streamline our financial system. But the House Republicans 
     propose to eliminate some of the best alternatives to loans, 
     such as work study. We should put greater priority on College 
     Work Study as an alternative to student loans. After all, 
     pursuit of a college education is a good investment.
       Over the past 20 years, federally subsidized loan volume 
     has increased more than 2,000 percent while College Work 
     Study has remained constant. Yet work study results in 
     positive student learning experiences, bonding with adults 
     who value education, no loan defaults, payment for services 
     rendered, discipline in meeting obligations, and assistance 
     to colleges trying to provide service with reduced public 
     support. Cuts in work study are a serious mistake because 
     they affect society for decades.
       I understand and recognize the need to streamline the 
     national budget, and especially to reduce the deficit, but I 
     strongly disagree with proposals to reduce opportunities for 
     college.
       From coast to coast, students are facing reduced prospects. 
     In Virginia, state officials are trying to conceive ways to 
     accommodate 68,000 more college-eligible students with less 
     state support. In California, policy-makers are trying to 
     plan for an additional 300,000 college-eligible students with 
     fewer resources.
       To cope with recent cutbacks, spaces for nearly 200,000 
     students were eliminated, thus making a potential of 500,000 
     students seeking higher education in a shrinking system. Many 
     of these students are from minority groups, which are 
     underrepresented in today's colleges and universities.
       How sad it is that the federal government now seems bent on 
     reducing access to upward mobility. This, after all, will be 
     the result if student financial aid is reduced and college 
     access is dependent more on the ability to pay than on the 
     ability to learn.
       The House position is a mistake. We should keep college 
     affordable. We should stop the growth in loans, and start the 
     growth in jobs. Work study is beneficial to students, 
     colleges, and the community. And it is much wiser than simply 
     cutting the $20 million in-school interest exemption, which 
     helped provide college access to 163,000 New Jersey residents 
     this year.
     

                          ____________________