[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 103 (Thursday, July 22, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8707-S8709]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SCHUMER:
  S. 2728. A bill to create a penalty for automobile insurance fraud; 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today with Senators Stabenow and 
Lautenberg to introduce the Getting Results for Advanced Degrees (GRAD) 
Act.
  The percentage of individuals pursuing graduate education has 
increased dramatically in recent decades as individuals seek the 
education and skills needed to participate in a technologically complex 
and global economy. In the last 25 years alone, graduate enrollment in 
the United States has increased by 39 percent. In the fall of 2000, 
there were 1.85 million graduate students enrolled in American schools.
  The economic benefits of graduate education are significant. The 
median earnings of workers who possess a graduate or professional 
degree are more than 3\1/2\ times those of high school dropouts.
  Despite the impact of graduate education on individuals' economic 
well being, and on the economic strength of our national economy as a 
whole, graduate education is, for many, financially out of reach. In 
2001-02 the average graduate school tuition at public institutions was 
$4,491 and $15,233 at private institutions. In a 2002 borrower's 
survey, the average debt reported by graduate students was $45,900. 
This is an astounding figure.
  To respond to the need for a highly educated workforce, I have put 
together a series of proposals that will make graduate education more 
accessible and affordable to qualified applicants regardless of income 
level, the Getting Results for Advanced Degrees Act (GRAD). The purpose 
of the GRAD Act is to encourage students to pursue graduate education 
and to assist them in affording it.
  Specifically, the GRAD Act increases the authorization level of the 
Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program to $50 
million and the Jacob Javits Fellowship Program to $35 million. The 
GAANN fellowship program helps to support graduate study in areas of 
national need such as chemistry, computer and information science, 
engineering, mathematics and physics. The Jacob Javits Fellowship 
Program helps support graduate study in the arts, humanities and social 
sciences.
  To encourage greater participation by minority students in graduate 
studies, the Act creates the Patsy T. Mink Fellowship Program to offer 
assistance to underrepresented minority students pursuing a doctoral 
degree. The Patsy T. Mink Fellowship Program will help address the 
important problem of underrepresentation of students from certain 
minority groups in graduate education.
  To help students afford the costs of graduation education, the GRAD 
Act expands the tax-exempt status of scholarships to treat reasonable 
room and board allowances as part of permitted higher education 
expenses. The Act revises the cost of attendance calculations for 
financial aid for students with dependents to reflect the true cost of 
living expenses for themselves and their children. The Act increases 
the amount of earnings students can set aside without having to apply 
those earnings to the cost of attendance. The GRAD Act also increases 
the unsubsidized Stafford loan limit for graduate and professional 
students from $10,000 to $12,500 so they are less likely to have to 
turn to more expensive private loans.
  The Getting Results for Advanced Degrees Act will help students meet 
the financial challenges faced in pursuing graduate studies. The Act 
strengthens programs that support graduate students in areas of vital 
importance to our Nation and makes assistance available to 
underrepresented minority students pursuing a doctoral degree. By 
helping students to pursue and afford graduate education, the GRAD Act 
will help individuals, families and the nation as a whole, realize the 
important benefits of graduate education.
  I hope more of my colleagues will join me in support of graduate 
education by signing on this bill. By working together, I believe that 
the Senate as a body can act to ensure that more individuals are able 
to pursue graduate education and assist our Nation in meeting the 
challenges faced in a global economy.

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