[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 8, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S16815-S16816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, today marks the 30th anniversary of the 
enactment of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and I am pleased to take 
this opportunity to comment on what is, in my view, a truly landmark 
piece of legislation in this country.
  Every nation puts a premium on education in order to develop the 
skills and talents of its people in order to succeed in a modern, 
complex economic society. That is true whether the country is governed 
as a democracy or a dictatorship or somewhere in between--each is 
concerned with enhancing the skills of its people in the workplace. 
Improving the skills of the American worker and providing education 
opportunities for all are goals which epitomize the spirit of what it 

[[Page S 16816]]
means to be an American. They are worthwhile, honorable goals that have 
always been a priority of this Senator.
  The Higher Education Act, enacted in 1965 to provide disadvantaged 
students with greater educational opportunities, recognized the shared 
benefit of providing every American a chance to maximize his or her 
potential. As a result of the passage of this legislation, doors have 
been opened to millions of citizens who otherwise would not have had 
the access or the resources to obtain a higher education. Although the 
act has been amended over the years through the reauthorization 
process, the central purposes of the legislation has remained the 
same--to ensure access, choice and opportunity in higher education.
  In light of the tremendous success of this legislation, I am 
disturbed by the draconian budget cuts being advanced by the current 
congressional leadership which would effectively undermine the 
directives of the Higher Education Act. It is particularly distressing 
when you realize that those who are now seeking to draw back from the 
American commitment to education through the cuts included in budget 
reconciliation are, at the same time, propounding the necessity for 
America to compete more successfully in the world's economy. In my 
view, they are asserting a basic contradiction. Our success as a 
competitor in the world's economy rests upon educating our future 
generations.
  Republican budget proposals would dramatically decrease educational 
opportunity in order to finance tax cuts for the wealthy and to meet 
arbitrary deficit reduction targets. In my view, Republican budget 
proposals clearly renege on our historical commitment to improving 
access to higher education by placing an undue burden on students and 
their families over the next 7 years. It makes little sense to cut 
investments in programs which give people the skills to function in a 
modern, complex society. It makes even less sense to do so in a 
document which is repeatedly purported to be a budget for our Nation's 
future.
  As you know, the Senate was successful in eliminating several of the 
more onerous provisions in the education portion of the budget 
reconciliation--including the .85 percent tax on colleges and 
universities on their Federal student loan volume, the 6-month 
post graduation interest-free grace period on student loans, and the 
interest increase on PLUS loans. However, I remain concerned about what 
will be contained in the final package.

  I also regret that efforts to retain current law with respect to the 
Federal direct lending program were unsuccessful. The Republican budget 
plan severely curtails the Federal direct lending program by placing a 
20 percent cap on loan volumes. The Department of Education estimates 
that by the close of the current academic year, direct lending will 
represent between 35-40 percent of this year's student loan volume. 
Should this provision become law, nearly half of the students involved 
in the direct loan program will have their financial aid disrupted, 
subjecting them to additional conversion fees and the tremendous 
anxiety involved in having your financial aid in question.
  I have heard from students and educators from across Maryland who 
have expressed their deep concern about proposed modifications to the 
direct lending program. One of the first campuses to offer direct 
lending to its students is in my hometown of Salisbury. The president 
of Salisbury State University, as well as the chancellor of the 
University of Maryland System--which enrolls more than 130,000 
students, strongly support the direct lending program as beneficial to 
both students and university administrators.
  Mr. President, education in this country has always provided an 
essential ladder of opportunity for our people and the Higher Education 
Act has been and continues to be a critical rung in this ladder. In a 
nation which believes that a person's merit and talent should take them 
as far as they can go, we must continue to foster a path which allows 
them to maximize this potential. Many of us here today have benefited 
from this philosophy and have achieved certain levels of success as a 
direct result of the opportunities afforded by such principles. It is 
ironic, at best, that many of those who have utilized these 
opportunities to advance themselves are now trying to severely limit 
them for others through draconian budget measures.
  As we commemorate the enactment of the Higher Education Act of 1965, 
it is important to understand that the value of programs authorized by 
this bill cannot be measured simply in terms of dollars spent. Without 
Federal support, millions of Americans would not have been able to 
attend college or receive the advanced training required to make them 
contributing, productive members of society. If this Nation is to 
continue to thrive in an ever-evolving global economy, we must not 
underestimate the value of the Federal Government's commitment to 
higher education. The celebration of the passage of this bill affords 
us the opportunity to reaffirm the Federal role in making certain that 
education remains a top national priority.

                          ____________________