[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 25, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H594]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIO MUST CONTINUE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 21, 1997 the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Ford] is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FORD. Mr. Speaker, 31 years ago Congress established the TRIO 
Programs as part of the Higher Education Act. Since that time it has 
been instrumental in helping millions of students overcome barriers to 
postsecondary education.
  TRIO is effective because it directs resources where they are needed 
the most. It is based on a Jeffersonian principle that education should 
be available to those who have an ability to learn rather than an 
ability to pay. Two-thirds of TRIO students come from families with 
incomes under $24,000 a year.
  My vision for education and for TRIO and for all Americans is TRIO's 
vision, a commitment to foster the ideals of equal educational 
opportunity regardless of background.
  TRIO is the heir to several successful education programs supported 
by the Federal Government over the past 200 years. From the Ordinance 
of 1785, which set aside lands in western territories for schools, to 
land grant legislation in the 19th century which established State 
universities, to the G.I. bill after World War II, to legislation 
creating historically black colleges and universities, the Federal role 
in education has moved countless Americans into the middle class, 
making our economy the most dynamic in the world.
  In 1983, a Nation At Risk, a report commissioned by the Secretary of 
Education, sent a wakeup call to the Nation. The condition of our 
educational system, the report said, was threatening our position as an 
unrivaled economic, technological and scientific power in the world. 
The report stated:

       We report to the American people that while we can take 
     justifiable pride in what our schools and colleges have 
     historically accomplished and contributed to the United 
     States and the well-being of its people, the educational 
     foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a 
     rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a 
     Nation and a people. What was unimaginable a generation ago 
     has begun to occur--others are matching and surpassing our 
     educational achievements.

  After this seminal report, which, Mr. Speaker, I would say still has 
relevance and truth today, the Nation again dedicated itself to 
improving education. States across the Nation have undertaken ambitious 
educational reform. Congress passed Goals 2000 and targeted more 
Federal resources to elementary and secondary education, especially to 
low income school districts. Congress expanded and improved Federal 
higher educational assistance, making postsecondary education 
accessible to many more young people.
  Our rededication, Mr. Speaker, to education is working. The 
Department of Education reports that more students are spending time on 
their homework than they did in the 1970s. SAT and National Assessment 
of Education Process scores are increasing.
  Mr. Speaker, it is so critical at this juncture in American history 
that we do not abandon the American student, the American school or the 
American teacher. Students in the TRIO Upward Bound Program are 4 times 
more likely to earn an undergraduate degree than their counterparts who 
did not participate in TRIO.
  Postsecondary education, Mr. Speaker, pays off. The Department of 
Education reports that every year of formal education is associated 
with a 5 to 15 percent increase in annual earnings later in life.
  Passage of welfare reform requires us to provide more education and 
training opportunities for those who will make the transition from 
welfare to work. TRIO Programs are well positioned to do this. TRIO can 
provide the support services to help welfare recipients earn a high 
school degree and participate in postsecondary education programs.
  The President's budget contains a 13.5 percent increase in spending 
in TRIO over 1996. A 30 percent increase in 1998 will enable TRIO to 
serve more than 186,000 more young people.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to take a close look at how 
TRIO is making a difference in their districts and to remember their 
commitment to the millions of young Americans who will benefit from 
this successful program.

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