[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 28, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H1168-H1169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   COLLEGE ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Bishop) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise to state my opposition to 
H.R. 609, a higher education reauthorization bill that is much more 
than a day late and a dollar short.

[[Page H1169]]

  As a former college chief administrator, I am deeply proud to 
represent my district, my State, and the higher education community on 
the Education and Workforce Committee; but I am not particularly proud 
of the reauthorization bill we produced.
  We have had the past 8 years to build on the Higher Education Act of 
1998. Today, we have an opportunity in this reauthorization bill to 
give young Americans and aspiring students more opportunities to attain 
the dream of a college education.
  Indeed, we have a choice to expand access and the reach of the 
Federal Government's helping hand to those who cannot afford 
skyrocketing tuition, rising fees, room and board, textbooks, and so 
many other soaring costs and sacrifices associated with going to 
college.
  But the choice we made late last year to cut student loans to the 
tune of $12 billion weakened our commitment to students. With those 
cuts in the budget reconciliation bill, we sent a message to America's 
students and their families that they are no longer among this Nation's 
top priorities.
  As a consequence, the rapidly expanding gap between the amounts of 
available student aid compared to the cost of attaining a college 
education is growing out of control. And yet, while this 
administration's response is that colleges should simply charge less, 
it is not making the same demands of other industries that are equally 
critical to our economy's infrastructure and competitiveness.
  This month, as high school seniors across the land receive their 
college acceptance letters, their proud parents are calculating how 
they can squeeze college costs into their budget. It is an uphill climb 
for most families that is made tougher by the President's budget cuts, 
which freeze Pell grants for a fifth year in a row; recalls the Federal 
portion of the Perkins Loan Revolving Fund that could extract another 
$600 million out of the student aid system each year; and freezes 
funding for SEOG and work study.
  If we want to maintain our edge in the global economy, we cannot 
afford to undercut the administration's competitiveness initiative. But 
the promise of a more competitive workforce is simply incompatible with 
budget proposals to freeze Pell grants for a fifth year in a row and 
recalling a portion of the Perkins Loan Revolving Fund.
  This hypocrisy builds on the Republicans' record on student aid: $12 
billion in cuts to student loans; failure to extend the tuition 
deduction for higher education; and a 3-year long impasse over this 
reauthorization bill. Deep cuts in the President's budget will most 
likely carry over into the budget resolution we consider next week, 
further compounding the Republican hypocrisy. Similarly, the 
reauthorization bill moves America in the exact opposite direction of 
where our competitive workforce should be heading.
  In fact, cuts to student aid threaten to return the state of higher 
education to the pre-World War II era, when only 5 percent of Americans 
had earned a college degree, compared with nearly 30 percent today. If 
we are to sustain our leadership and competitive edge in the global 
economy, we cannot afford to enact policies which will lead to only the 
elite being able to afford to go to college.
  The so-called ``education President'' has put forward a woefully 
inadequate budget, and our leaders in this Chamber have presented a 
short-sighted reauthorization bill that falls short of what America's 
students, their parents, and our workforce deserves.
  Mr. Speaker, I will be offering several amendments this week to 
address some of the shortfalls of H.R. 609. One bipartisan amendment, 
cosponsored by my colleague on the Education and Workforce Committee, 
Mr. Souder, would strike intrusive language in the bill dictating how 
colleges should carry out transfer credit policies.
  An amendment sponsored by another colleague on the committee, Mr. 
Holt, would correct a problem with the State tax allowance tables that 
deprive over 1 million students out of their fair share of Pell grants 
and reduce, if not eliminate, their eligibility for other types of 
need-based aid.
  I will also offer amendments to preserve the Perkins Loan Revolving 
Fund, extend the expired tuition deduction claimed by middle-class 
families, and increase oversight on the administration and grading of 
ability to benefit exams.
  Mr. Speaker, I am hopeful that the Rules Committee will make these 
amendments in order. They are not partisan or political but, rather, 
commonsense amendments, making a weak bill better and keeping America's 
college students a top priority for this Nation.

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