[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 112 (Friday, July 13, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1520-E1521]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   COLLEGE COST REDUCTION ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 11, 2007

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2669, the 
College Cost Reduction Act. Too many of our country's promising young 
men and women do not go to college because of the prohibitive cost of 
tuition. Many of those students who decide to attend institutions of 
higher education require loans to finance their education. A college 
education has always been expensive. But it is quickly becoming 
unaffordable for students and their families. Tuition rates at four-
year colleges have increased by approximately 35 percent

[[Page E1521]]

over inflation during the last five years. The rising cost of tuition 
causes approximately 200,000 students annually to delay beginning 
college or forgoing the chance to study for a higher degree altogether. 
This disturbing trend must change. The adoption of H.R. 2669 will help 
make college as affordable as possible for every qualified student who 
would like to earn an advanced degree, without new costs to taxpayers.
  H.R. 2669 would authorize an increase to the maximum value of the 
Pell Grant scholarship by $500 over the next five years. The 
legislation would also cut interest rates in half on need-based student 
loans, reducing the cost of those loans for millions of student 
borrowers. H.R. 2669, moreover, would prevent student borrowers from 
facing unmanageable levels of federal student debt. It does this by 
guaranteeing that borrowers will never have to spend more than 15 
percent of their yearly discretionary income on loan repayments and by 
allowing borrowers in economic hardship to have their loans forgiven 
after 20 years.
  H.R. 2669 also promotes the development of the next generation of 
high-quality teachers and public servants. It does this by authorizing 
tuition assistance for excellent undergraduate students who agree to 
teach in public schools and authorizing loan forgiveness for college 
graduates that enter public service professions.
  Of particular importance to my constituents is the Upward Bound 
program which seeks to increase high school completion, college 
participation, and graduation rates among low-income and first-
generation college students. H.R. 2669 would provide $228 million in 
funding over four years for Upward Bound, restoring critical funding 
for programs that were not funded in fiscal year 2007, as well as fund 
over 100 new programs. Students from minority communities--including 
the Asian and Pacific Islander American community--make up nearly 50 
percent of all Upward Bound participants.
  What is more, this legislation would make significant and needed 
investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic 
Serving Institutions and other minority serving institutions. I commend 
my colleague from California (Mr. Miller) for his commitment to 
assisting the minority serving institutions. I do, however, have two 
concerns with respect to this aspect of H.R. 2669. I respectfully 
request that they be favorably considered as this legislation proceeds 
through the legislative process.

  First, section 311 of H.R. 2669 establishes categories of minority 
serving institutions that would be eligible to participate in a Centers 
of Excellence grant program that would provide funds to help recruit 
and prepare teachers. Institutions that traditionally serve Asian and 
Pacific Islander American students would benefit from eligibility for 
such grants. Unfortunately, the category Asian American and Pacific 
Islander-Serving Institution does not appear in the bill. I 
respectfully request that my colleagues support my efforts to make 
Asian American and Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions eligible for 
these grants.
  Second, section 411 of H.R. 2669 establishes a College Access 
Challenge grant program for eligible students from underserved 
populations who enter and complete college. The term ``State'' is 
defined under this section as each of the several States of the United 
States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Students who attend 
institutions of higher education in the U.S. territories of Guam, 
American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands and the Freely Associated States (FAS)--the 
Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, 
and the Republic of Palau--would be prohibited from participating in 
this grant program as a result of the limited definition for the term 
``State.'' I respectfully request that my colleagues support the 
efforts to expand the definition of the term ``State'' in this section 
of H.R. 2669 to include the U.S. territories and the Freely Associated 
States.
  I support this bill. Its provisions will help ensure that many 
talented young Americans can afford the benefits of a college 
education. I urge my colleague to support H.R. 2669.

                          ____________________