[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 4, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S5715]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            HIGHER EDUCATION

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I rise just to take a moment of the 
Senate's time to alert the membership, and also those who are 
interested in education, about the President's speech at Princeton 
University, which is taking place at 10:40 today. That will be a very 
important speech about this Nation's commitment in the area of higher 
education. What we are going to see at our universities, over the 
period of the next 7 years, is an expansion of the number of students 
by some 12 percent.
  As we debated the recent budget resolution, there was going to be a 
continuing deterioration in the support for the Pell grants. Under the 
proposal that the President is advancing today, effectively what he is 
going to be putting before the Congress is a guarantee for continuing 
education for any high school students who get a B average in their 
senior year, to go to a community college and be able to put together 
an expanded Pell grant plus some refundable credits so that students 
will be able to attend community colleges.
  More than 66 percent of the Nation's community colleges will be 
eligible. This, I think, is a strong commitment to provide incentives 
to young people to continue their education. It is a national 
commitment to make sure that education has the priority that I believe 
most families believe it should have, in terms of our Nation's 
commitment.
  At an appropriate time I will present for the Record a statement and 
additional comments, but it does seem to me this is a bold initiative 
in the area of education that ought to have appeal to every working 
family in this country who dreams about educational opportunities for 
its children.
  I thank the Senator from Nebraska and I yield whatever remaining time 
I have.

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