[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 18 (Thursday, February 24, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S831-S832]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           NATIONAL TRIO DAY

 Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today to bring my colleagues' 
attention to the celebration of National TRIO Day. National TRIO Day 
was designated by concurrent resolution on February 24, 1986, by the 
99th Congress and is celebrated on the last Saturday of February each 
year as a day of recognition for the Federal TRIO Program.
  The Federal TRIO Program--consisting of the Talent Search, Upward 
Bound, Upward Bound Math/Science, Veterans Upward Bound, Student 
Support Services, Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement 
Program, and Educational Achievement Centers--was established over 30 
years ago to assist low-income students overcome class, social, and 
cultural barriers to higher education.
  Currently, 2,000 colleges, universities, and community agencies 
sponsor TRIO Programs, and over 780,000 low-income students between the 
ages of 11 and 27 benefit from the services of the TRIO Programs. Most 
come from families in

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which neither parent graduated from college. These students, motivated 
by their hopes and aspirations, are living symbols of the American 
dream. Helping to lift them out of poverty benefits not only benefits 
the students themselves, but our entire nation.
  There are 62 TRIO Programs in Wisconsin and I have seen these 
programs work at the local level. One inspirational story involves Dr. 
Lo from La Crosse, Wisconsin. As a child, Dr. Lo fled a refugee camp in 
war-torn Laos with his family and came to live in Wisconsin. Dr. Lo, 
with hard work and the benefit of two TRIO programs, graduated from UW-
La Crosse with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology and went on to 
earn a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine degree from Bastyr University in 
Seattle, Washington. He returned to Wisconsin to contribute to the La 
Crosse community through private practice at the La Crosse Natural 
Health Center, Habitat for Humanity Family Selection Committee, and as 
a member of the Equal Opportunity Commission for the city of La Crosse.
  There is no limit to what TRIO participants can accomplish. Program 
graduates have become successful in all spheres of society and have 
gone on to enjoy careers as doctors, lawyers, astronauts, television 
reporters, actors, state politicians and Members of Congress, to list a 
few. Indeed, two of our colleagues in the House of Representatives, 
Representative Henry Bonilla and Representative Albert R. Wynn are 
graduates of the TRIO Programs.
  I have long supported TRIO and will continue to push for increased 
funding for these important programs. I am proud to celebrate National 
TRIO Day and call much deserved attention to these vital programs. I 
also encourage my colleagues to visit the TRIO Programs in their states 
and learn for themselves how successful these programs are for our 
Nation's students.

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