[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 124 (Tuesday, October 5, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10437-S10439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DODD (for himself, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Clinton, 
        Ms. Collins, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Johnson, and Mrs. 
        Murray):
  S. 2887. A bill to improve the Child Care Access Means Parents in 
School Program; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I am pleased to rise today with Senators 
Snowe, Kennedy, Collins, Murray, Durbin, Lautenberg, Clinton and 
Johnson to introduce legislation which would supply greatly needed 
support to

[[Page S10438]]

college students struggling to balance their roles as parents with 
their roles as students. The Child Care Access Means Parents in School 
Act, CCAMPIS, would increase access to, support for, and retention of 
low-income, nontraditional students who are struggling to complete 
college degrees while caring for their children.
  The typical college student is no longer an 18 year old recent high 
school graduate. According to a 2002 study by the National Center for 
Education Statistics, only 27 percent of undergraduates meet the 
``traditional'' undergraduate criteria of earning a high school 
diploma, enrolling full-time, depending on parents for financial 
support and not working or working part-time. This means that 73 
percent of today's students are considered nontraditional in some way. 
Clearly, nontraditional students--older students with children and 
various job and life experiences--are filling the ranks of college 
classes. Why? Because they recognize the importance of college to 
future success. It is currently estimated that a full-time worker with 
a bachelor's degree earns about 60 percent more than a full-time worker 
with only a high school diploma. This amounts to a lifetime gap in 
earnings of more than $1 million.
  Today's nontraditional students face barriers unheard of by 
traditional college students of earlier years. Many are parents and 
must provide for their children while in school. Access to affordable, 
quality and convenient child care is a necessity for these students. 
But obtaining the child care that they need is often difficult because 
of their limited income and nontraditional schedules, compounded by 
declining assistance for child care through other supports. Campus 
based child care can fill the gap. It is conveniently located, 
available during the right hours, and of high quality and lower cost. 
Unfortunately, it is unavailable at many campuses. Even when programs 
do exist, they are often available to only a fraction of the eligible 
students. That is where the Dodd-Snowe CCAMPIS Act comes in.
  The Dodd-Snowe CCAMPIS Act increases and expands the availability of 
campus based child care in three ways. First, it raises the minimum 
grant amount from $10,000 to $30,000. For most institutions of higher 
education, $10,000 has proven too small relative to the effort to 
complete a Federal application. Grant offices on campuses often pass 
small grants over in favor of those that appear more cost effective.
  Second, the Dodd-Snowe CCAMPIS Act ensures that a wider range of 
students are able to access services. Present language defines low-
income students as students eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant. 
This language excludes graduate students, international students, and 
students who may be low-income but make slightly more than is allowed 
to qualify for Pell grants. CCAMPIS will open eligibility for these 
additional populations.
  Third, the CCAMPIS Act raises the program's current authorization 
level from $45 million to $75 million so that we not only expand 
existing programs, we create new ones.
  Research demonstrates that campus based child care is of high quality 
and that it increases the educational success of both parents and 
students. Furthermore, recipients of campus based child care assistance 
who are on public assistance are more likely to never return to welfare 
and to obtain jobs paying good wages.
  Currently, there are approximately 1,850 campus based child care 
programs but over 4,000 colleges and universities eligible to 
participate in the CCAMPIS program. Currently, CCAMPIS funds only 343 
programs in 25 states and the District of Columbia. Meanwhile, the 
number of nontraditional students across America is increasing. As 
these numbers increase, the need for campus based child care will be 
increasingly unmet.
  This is a modest measure that will make a major difference to 
students. It will offer them new hope for starting and staying in 
school. I am hopeful that it can be considered and enacted as part of 
the Higher Education Act. I look forward to working with my colleagues 
to move this important measure forward.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2887

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. CHILD CARE ACCESS MEANS PARENTS IN SCHOOL PROGRAM.

       (a) Minimum Grant.--Section 419N(b)(2)(B) of the Higher 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070e(b)(2)(B)) is amended 
     by striking ``$10,000'' and inserting ``$30,000''.
       (b) Definition of Low-Income Student.--Section 419N(b)(7) 
     of such Act is amended to read as follows:
       ``(7) Definition of low-income student.--For the purpose of 
     this section, the term `low-income student' means a student 
     who--
       ``(A) is eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant for the 
     fiscal year for which the determination is made;
       ``(B) would otherwise be eligible to receive a Federal Pell 
     Grant for the fiscal year for which the determination is 
     made, except that the student fails to meet the requirements 
     of--
       ``(i) section 401(c)(1) because the student is enrolled in 
     a graduate or first professional course of study; or
       ``(ii) section 484(a)(5) because the student is in the 
     United States for a temporary purpose; or
       ``(C) is from a family with an income that is less than 275 
     percent of the poverty line (as defined by the Office of 
     Management and Budget, and revised annually in accordance 
     with section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant 
     Act) applicable to a family of the size involved.''.
       (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 419N(g) of 
     such Act is amended by striking ``$45,000,000 for fiscal year 
     1999'' and inserting ``$75,000,000 for fiscal year 2005''.

  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I am extremely pleased to join my colleague 
from Connecticut, Senator Dodd, to introduce the Child Care Access 
Means Parents in School Act of 2004. Senator Dodd and I have worked 
together to ensure access to quality child care, and this bill 
represents the next step in our shared commitment to this important 
issue. This legislation provides grants to colleges in order to provide 
child care for low-income students.
  Countless college students have recently returned to college. At this 
time, we should remind ourselves that many Americans face obstacles 
that prevent them from participating in higher education. The absence 
of affordable and accessible child care is, unfortunately, one such 
obstacle.
  For many parents with young children, the availability of on-campus 
child care services is central to their ability to attend college. 
Campus-based child care is conveniently located, available at the hours 
that fit students' schedules and often available at a lower cost than 
community-based child care centers. Student parents rate access to 
campus-based child care as an important factor affecting their college 
enrollment. Unfortunately, such services are often in very short 
supply, particularly for low-income parents who may find the cost of 
existing services prohibitive.
  Higher education is becoming ever more crucial to getting a job in 
today's global job market. The majority of new jobs require education 
beyond high school. Getting the skills necessary to meet the demands of 
today's marketplace simply requires higher and higher levels of 
educational achievement. For many low-income students who are parents, 
the availability of campus-based child care is key to their ability to 
receive a higher education and thus achieve the American dream. Student 
parents are more likely to remain in school, and to graduate sooner and 
at a higher rate if they have campus-based child care. Child care 
services are particularly critical for older students who choose to go 
back to school to get their degree or to improve their skills through 
advanced education. Children placed in campus-based child care also 
reap numerous benefits, given its high quality. In fact, children in 
high-quality child care exhibit higher earnings as adults, higher rates 
of secondary school graduation, lower rates of teen pregnancy, and a 
reduced need for special education or costly social services.
  Research shows that programs such as the High/Scope Perry Preschool 
Program in Ypsilanti, Michigan and the Chicago Child-Parent Centers 
demonstrate overwhelmingly that quality child care is a wise investment 
and is cost efficient. According to analysis of these programs the 
public saves $7 for every $1 invested in child care. These savings 
counted only the benefits to the public at large--in reduced costs of 
crime, welfare and remedial education

[[Page S10439]]

and in taxes paid when the preschoolers became adult workers--without 
even taking into account participants' increased earnings or the 
increased contribution to economic growth those earnings represent.
  The Child Care Access Means Parents in School Act of 2004 will amend 
title IV of the Higher Education Act to help provide campus-based child 
care to low-income parents seeking a college degree. Under the bill, 
the Secretary of Education will award 3-year grants to institutions of 
higher education to support or help establish a campus-based child care 
program serving the needs of low-income student parents. The Secretary 
will award $75 million in grants--equal to 1 percent of total Pell 
grant funding--based on an application submitted by the institution, 
and the grant amount will be linked to the institution's Pell grant 
funding level. This bill ensures that a wide range of low-income 
students are able to access child care services.
  Under the bill low-income students are defined as students eligible 
to receive a Federal Pell Grant, or students who would be eligible to 
receive a Pell grant if they were not in the United States temporarily, 
and students who are from a family with an income that is less than 275 
percent of the poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and 
Budget). Students typically qualify for Pell grants if their income is 
under $30,000 per year and in Maine, this means approximately 17,000 
students could have access to high quality child care services while 
they earn their college degree. This bill will make a true difference 
in the lives of many low-income students who need child care to attend 
school.
  This bill raises the minimum CCAMPIS grant to $30,000 and authorizes 
$75 million as research has found that the existing minimum grant of 
$10,000 is often too small relative to the effort for many institutions 
to complete a federal application. We have found that grant offices on 
campuses often pass small grants over in favor of those that are most 
cost effective.
  Because the bill we are introducing today will help bring the 
American dream within the reach of American parents who need child care 
in order to attend college, I urge my colleagues to support this 
important legislation which will truly make a difference in the lives 
of many American parents.
                                 ______