[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 40 (Monday, April 3, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E491-E492]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               COLLEGE ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 30, 2006

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 609) to 
     amend and extend the Higher Education Act of 1965:

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, only 2 months after Congress cut $12 
billion in student loan assistance, this Republican majority wants the 
American people to understand how much they appreciate the vital 
connection between higher education and solving the most pressing 
problems of our communities and the country.
  But let me be clear--they don't. If this majority understood the 
extent to which access to a quality education is inseparable from our 
economic prosperity, national security, and civic health, they would 
not be failing to make college loans more affordable with this bill. If 
this misguided majority believed that a quality college degree were the 
cornerstone of the American dream, opening the door to job opportunity 
and professional fulfillment, they would not be freezing the authorized 
level of the maximum Pell Grant at just $200 above current levels 
through 2013. As if the cost of college will only rise by $200 in the 
next 7 years--over the next two decades, the cost of a public 
university is expected to rise to $50,000 for a public university and 
more than a quarter million dollars for a private school.
  When this historic law was first passed in 1965, President Johnson 
promised that, ``a high school senior anywhere in this great land of 
ours can apply to any college or any university in any of the 50 states 
and not be turned

[[Page E492]]

away because his family is poor.'' This legislation turns its back on 
that commitment, Mr. Chairman.
  And so, the American people should see this legislation for what it 
is--not only a missed opportunity but also an assault on America's 
middle-class and a grave threat to our global competitiveness. Indeed, 
one recent international test involving mathematical understanding 
found that American students finished in 27th place among the nations 
participating. This as low-wage employers are creating the bulk of our 
new jobs--in one recent period, Wal-Mart and McDonald's created 44 
percent of all new jobs.
  If the Republican majority in this Congress was serious about 
strengthening our higher education system, this legislation would have 
adopted some of the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences 
report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm--one of the central 
recommendations of which was to make American universities the most 
attractive setting in which to study and get a degree.
  In contrast to this legislation, the Democratic substitute would cut 
interest rates in half for the borrowers most in need--effectively 
lowering the cost of college by $2.4 billion for students and their 
families. Our substitute would offer the 3.4 percent fixed interest 
rate to students who take out subsidized loans this year. And it would 
incentivize service in the fields of nursing, for three teachers in 
bilingual and low-income communities, librarians, and first responders.
  Mr. Chairman, the critical role colleges and universities played in 
the last century's economy will pale in comparison to the role they 
will play in this century's. And this legislation should recognize 
that--not turn back the clock on access and affordability.

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