[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 92 (Tuesday, June 5, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H4742-H4743]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HIGHLIGHTING NEW JOBS AND HIGHER WAGES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, this month, the Federal Reserve estimated GDP 
will hit 4.8 percent in the second quarter of 2018. Under the former 
administration, GDP never hit even 3 percent.
  Thanks to tax reform and regulatory relief passed by this unified 
Republican government, Americans are experiencing economic expansion 
after 8 years of stagnation. According to the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics:
  One million jobs have been created since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 
was enacted--223,000 were added last month;
  In May, average hourly earnings increased by 2.7 percent; and
  Unemployment is at its lowest since 2000.
  The Conference Board also reports consumer confidence is at a 17-year 
high.
  Democrats apparently haven't learned the key to economic progress, 
promising to raise taxes if given the chance. However, tax cuts and 
repeal of onerous Obama-era regulations have been pivotal for our 
economy. Now, nearly every measure of success is in our favor.


                The PROSPER Act is Good for Our Country

  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I want to talk a little bit today about the 
PROSPER Act and share some articles that have been published that help 
explain why the PROSPER Act is so good for our country, so good for 
students, and needs to be passed.
  The first article is an article in Forbes by Preston Cooper, May 23, 
2018.
  Mr. Speaker, I include the entire article in the Record.

                      [From Forbes, May 23, 2018]

        What Betsy DeVos Should Have Said About the PROSPER Act

                          (By Preston Cooper)

       Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos testified before the 
     House Committee on Education and Workforce on Tuesday. 
     Representative Bobby Scott, the Democratic ranking member on 
     the committee, asked DeVos about his concerns with the 
     PROSPER Act, House Republicans' bill to reform the federal 
     role in higher education. DeVos' answer could have been 
     better. Here's how the exchange between the two proceeded:
       Rep. Scott: Madam Secretary, the PROSPER Act provides for a 
     $15 billion cut in student aid, is that right?
       Secretary DeVos: I've heard that opined. I'm not sure I 
     agree with that, but . . .
       Scott: Do you have another number?
       DeVos: Pardon me?
       Scott: Do you have another number?
       DeVos: It's an approach to giving students much more 
     flexibility in pursuing their higher education.
       Scott: $15 billion cut. Do you have another number?
       DeVos: I have heard that opined, that that is the case. I 
     said I don't necessarily share that perspective.
       Here's a better answer that DeVos could have given to 
     Scott's question. (The below exchange, in case it's not 
     clear, is entirely fictional.)
       Rep. Scott: Madam Secretary, the PROSPER Act provides for a 
     $15 billion cut in student aid, is that right?
       Secretary DeVos: That's not quite accurate, Congressman, 
     but it's a common misconception. The Congressional Budget 
     Office score of the PROSPER Act did estimate a $15 billion 
     reduction in student aid over the next ten years, but only on 
     the mandatory side of the budget. Democrats and many in the 
     media latched onto this number, which appeared on page two of 
     the score, and ignored what the other thirty-five pages said. 
     But as I have read the entire CBO score, I can tell you that 
     the PROSPER Act does not cut federal spending on higher 
     education.
       The PROSPER Act expands the federal government's flagship 
     student aid program for low-income students, the Pell Grant. 
     To encourage timely completion, the bill provides a $300 
     bonus to Pell Grant students who take on more than a full-
     time course load. Most importantly, the bill makes several 
     regulatory changes aimed at expanding both student and 
     institutional eligibility for the program. As a result, under 
     the PROSPER Act, an additional 1.1 million students annually 
     would receive Pell Grants by 2027.
       All of these changes cost money, of course. But the Pell 
     Grant is unique among federal programs in that it is funded 
     partially on the mandatory side of the budget, and partially 
     through the annual appropriations process. The $15 billion 
     reduction in student aid that you cited, Congressman, only 
     reflects changes on the mandatory side. If you include the 
     estimated increase in appropriations due to Pell Grant 
     expansion in your calculations, you'll find that the PROSPER 
     Act will increase, federal spending on higher education by 
     $12 billion over the next ten years.
       While the PROSPER Act increases higher education spending 
     overall, it's true that the bill finds savings in certain 
     areas. In a time when the national debt surpasses $21 
     trillion, it's important to live within our means. Changes to 
     student loan repayment options are the largest single source 
     of savings in the PROSPER Act. These changes mostly focus on 
     limiting loan forgiveness, which in practice delivers its 
     benefits mostly to graduate borrowers with very large loans. 
     The bill makes these changes while retaining income-driven 
     repayment options for borrowers to ensure monthly payments 
     remain affordable.
       The PROSPER Act therefore redistributes federal funds from 
     graduate students and those with high student loan balances, 
     who tend to be higher-income, to the low- and middle-income 
     undergraduate students who receive Pell Grants. These 
     priorities are also reflected in the administration's budget 
     proposal, which would make the student loan program more 
     generous for undergraduates and pay for it by asking higher-
     earning graduate borrowers to pay a little more.
       In conclusion, the PROSPER Act does not cut federal higher 
     education funding by $15 billion. It increases funding by $12 
     billion by making new investments in the Pell Grant program 
     for our nation's most vulnerable

[[Page H4743]]

     students. Recognizing budget constraints, the bill partially 
     offsets the cost by reining in poorly-targeted and expensive 
     loan forgiveness programs. While I welcome debate over 
     specific provisions of the PROSPER Act, I hope those are 
     priorities that Democrats on the committee can get behind.

  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Cooper explains that there is a common 
misconception about PROSPER that is being exploited, unfortunately, by 
many colleges and universities and our Democratic friends.
  He says: ``The Congressional Budget Office score of the PROSPER Act 
did estimate a $15 billion reduction in student aid over the next 10 
years, but only on the mandatory side of the budget. Democrats and many 
in the media latched onto this number, which appeared on page 2 of the 
score, and ignored what the other 35 pages said. But as I have read the 
entire CBO score, I can tell you that the PROSPER Act does not cut 
Federal spending on higher education.''
  ``The PROSPER Act expands the Federal Government's flagship student 
aid program for low-income students, the Pell grant. To encourage 
timely completion, the bill provides a $300 bonus to Pell grant 
students who take on more than a full-time course load. Most 
importantly, the bill makes several regulatory changes aimed at 
expanding both student and institutional eligibility for the program. 
As a result, under the PROSPER Act, an additional 1.1 million students 
annually would receive Pell grants by 2027.''
  ``. . . you'll find that the PROSPER Act will increase Federal 
spending on higher education by $12 billion over the next 10 years.''
  ``Changes to student loan repayment options are the largest single 
source of savings in the PROSPER Act. These changes mostly focus on 
limiting loan forgiveness, which in practice delivers its benefits 
mostly to graduate borrowers with very large loans. The bill makes 
these changes while retaining income-driven repayment options for 
borrowers to ensure monthly payments remain affordable.''

                              {time}  1215

  ``In conclusion, the PROSPER Act does not cut Federal higher 
education funding by $15 billion. It increases funding by $12 billion 
by making new investments in the Pell Grant program for our Nation's 
most vulnerable students. Recognizing budget constraints, the bill 
partially offsets the costs by reining in poorly-targeted and expensive 
loan forgiveness programs.''
  I welcome the debate over specific provisions in the PROSPER Act, and 
I hope that those priorities are ones that the colleges and 
universities will get behind, and that our colleagues on the other side 
of the aisle will get behind.

                          ____________________