[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 5, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1646-S1647]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            GEAR UP Program

  Madam President, on another topic, this is a remarkable time for our 
Nation's economy. Sometimes with all of the noise, chatter, and just 
the chaos that is part of Washington these days, we forget the fact 
that our economy is doing so well that we are seeing a record number of 
people employed, and we are seeing the highest employment rate for 
African Americans and Hispanics at any time in recorded history.
  I attribute some of this--not all of it--to the tax reform bill that 
we passed over a year ago. Since that time, 3 million jobs have been 
added here in America--3 million jobs.
  Wages are on the rise. Labor is tight. It is hard to find people to 
work, particularly in places like West Texas in the Permian Basin 
around Odessa and Midland, which has the lowest unemployment rate in 
the country because of the energy boom there that has been long 
associated with that part of our State and that part of our country.
  Workers are seeing more of their hard-earned money in their paycheck 
because tax rates are lower. As I said, unemployment hit its lowest 
rate in nearly 50 years. That is something to celebrate.
  Today we find ourselves in the unique position of having more job 
openings than jobseekers. It is an indication of how great our economy 
is doing and a reminder that we need to continue to invest in our 
workforce.
  One of the biggest reasons these jobs are unfilled isn't because 
there aren't willing candidates. Let me say that again. The reason 
these jobs are unfilled isn't because there aren't willing candidates. 
It is because the candidates who are available lack the right skills.
  For many students, postsecondary education seems like a pipe dream. 
Many of my constituents in Texas come from families who have never 
attended college and, thus, are the first generation of young students 
who hope to achieve a higher education.
  There is a great program that I am supporting. I introduced 
bipartisan legislation with our colleagues here called the Gaining 
Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program,

[[Page S1647]]

also known as GEAR UP. That program is working to change the landscape 
and the educational opportunity for many young people still in middle 
school and high school.
  This grant program is designed to increase college and career 
readiness through a range of academic, social, and planning support.
  Starting in seventh grade, you have to start making decisions about 
what your middle school and high school education will be. If you guess 
wrong and don't take the appropriate math class, for example, then you 
can't finish the curriculum you need in order to go to the college you 
want to go to.
  One reason GEAR UP has been so successful is that it recognizes that 
college and career readiness begins early, not when you are graduating 
from high school but when you are in seventh grade, literally.
  GEAR UP is also unique because it doesn't use a blanket approach to 
support students. What works well in one State or in one school 
district may not be the best in another, so local leaders and parents 
have the flexibility to cater to their students' needs.
  The best part of GEAR UP is that it actually works. It is a 
government program that works. GEAR UP students graduate from high 
school at a higher rate than their peers, regardless of ethnicity or 
income, and they attend college at a higher rate.
  Texans have benefited from $885 million in GEAR UP grants over the 
last 20 years. We have seen incredible results, but I believe there are 
additional steps we can take to ensure that local leaders and parents 
have the increased flexibility they need to tailor the programs to the 
needs of these students.
  Over the last few weeks, I have had a chance to travel my State and 
talk to students, teachers, administrators, and community leaders in 
Texas about the legislation I have mentioned, the GEAR UP for Success 
Act.
  In Harlingen, for example, in the Rio Grande Valley, I held a 
roundtable with superintendents and community leaders from across that 
area to learn about the impact of GEAR UP there. They say that they 
have seen great results in terms of improved graduation and 
participation in postsecondary education, and they are full of ideas 
about how to build on the progress they have already seen.
  I also got a chance to spend some time with the students themselves. 
As I mentioned, this program begins with seventh graders, and I had a 
chance to meet several members of the class of 2024--you heard that 
right, 2024--who have just begun their journey because they are in 
seventh grade. You can see the excitement in their eyes and that hunger 
for success.
  Particularly in the Rio Grande Valley, with a large Hispanic 
population, as I have said, many students whose parents did not go to 
college realize that college and education generally is the key to the 
American dream. Because of GEAR UP, these students don't view college 
now as a farfetched fantasy. They view it as part of their life plan, 
and they are excited about it. That is no doubt, at least in part, due 
to the older students I was able to meet. We talked about where they 
were hoping to go to college and what they want to major in.
  One of the neatest things about the GEAR UP program is that the older 
students will actually mentor some of the younger students in the GEAR 
UP program and talk about what a difference it made in their lives and 
in their education.
  All of these students have bright careers ahead of them. One of them 
told me he wants to be a U.S. Senator. I said: You realize that you 
have to wait until you are 30 years old to do that. He is willing to 
wait. It was a pleasure to spend time with all of them.
  Last month I was in my hometown of San Antonio at Gus Garcia Middle 
School, and I held another roundtable with students and school 
administrators to learn about how GEAR UP has impacted their 
communities. There was one student, in particular, whose life story 
illustrates just how much this program can help.
  Francisco Hernandez told me that he and his family were once 
homeless, but with the support he received from GEAR UP and Sam Houston 
High School, he was able to turn his life around and make his dream of 
going to college a reality.
  Not only is Francisco now a student at San Antonio College with a 
promising career ahead of him, he is also, as I suggested a moment ago, 
a mentor for younger students. Students like Francisco are a reminder 
of how important it is to support programs like GEAR UP.
  These pieces of legislation, these programs, and these grants we vote 
on here in the Senate have an impact on the lives of real people, but 
they are also reminders of how we must find ways to do more and to 
better serve these students.
  This bill, as I said, the GEAR UP for Success Act, will provide 
greater flexibility to school districts on how they use GEAR UP funds. 
In some instances, they told me that the local match was a prohibitive 
problem. So what we intend to do is to cut that local match requirement 
in half.
  There is, as I said, no one-size-fits-all program to prepare all 
students for life after high school. Each school district knows its 
students' needs better than Washington ever could. So they should have 
the flexibility to design and implement programs that will work best.
  This legislation will also improve GEAR UP research and evaluation at 
both local and national levels so we can figure out what the best 
practices are and what is working and what isn't, and it will reduce 
the administrative burdens for those who receive the grant so they can 
focus less on paperwork and more on successful student outcomes.
  The young Texans I have heard from over the last few weeks are 
inspiring, and they are excited about their future. That is the way we 
want them to be. I hope Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray 
will include the GEAR UP for Success Act in their efforts to 
reauthorize the Higher Education Act this Congress so we can continue 
to support students like this across the country.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Hawaii.