[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 7 (Monday, January 31, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ENSURING COLLEGE ACCESS FOR ALL AMERICANS ACT

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise to speak on behalf of the Ensuring 
College Access for All Americans Act. I am pleased to loin Senators 
Corzine and Kennedy as a cosponsor.
  This legislation would restore cuts to Pell grants, the principle 
Federal financial aid program for lower income college students. 
Although the President recently announced his intention to incremental 
increase the maximum grants available over the next 5 years, his 
administration has changed the formula for eligibility in a way that 
pushes thousands of American young people out of the program.
  In Illinois, 48,600 students will be affected by this change. That's 
a lot of students who are trying to piece together the financial aid 
package they need to go to school next year. Of those, close to 1,500 
young people will entirely lose eligibility for the program. Thanks to 
the changes made by this administration, students in Illinois will lose 
$5.5 million in direct Federal grants for college costs.
  I urge my colleagues to keep in mind that 90 percent of Pell Grant 
recipients are considered low-income. Nearly 1.4 million recipients 
nationwide will see a reduction or total loss of their Pell grants. The 
Department's new tax tables will eliminate or reduce aid for 26 percent 
of all Pell grant recipients. These are kids--students--who with their 
families are working hard to finance a college education.
  The students most affected by these changes are likely to work longer 
hours, borrow more money, or reduce their academic course load in order 
to balance any loss of funds. Without grant assistance, low-income 
students have to rely more heavily on student loans. Pell grant 
recipients are already four times more likely than all other students 
to take out loans, and they will graduate with twice as much debt as 
their peers.
  Why is this happening? It has been 17 years since the tax tables were 
last updated. Yes, we need timely updates, greater accuracy and 
alignment with current state tax policy, but the administration's 
proposal does not even reflect current tax levels. Under the updated 
calculation, families are getting less credit for their state and local 
taxes at a time when they are actually paying more taxes. The 
administration's ``new'' tax tables are based on Fiscal Year 2002 State 
tax information. According to the National Association of State Budget 
Officers, though, since FY 2002, states have enacted $14.1 billion in 
tax and fee increases. Because the administration's proposal is still 
based on outdated tax information, it does not take into account these 
substantial increases in what families are actually paying in State 
taxes.
  The legislation we introduce today restores fairness to the 
eligibility process. It restores opportunity for the 1.4 million low- 
and middle-income young people who are registering for classes, paying 
tuition and buying books at a time when tuition costs are rising 
exponentially. Let's make sense of the Pell grant eligibility process, 
protect the modest grant levels available for students, and extend the 
opportunity that higher education in America provides.

                          ____________________