[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 6, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S1709]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CARDIN:
  S. 686. A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide 
greater access to higher education for America's students, to eliminate 
educational barriers for participation in a public service career, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today, I am introducing the Strengthening 
American Communities (SAC) Act of 2019. My bill seeks to expand access 
to debt-free public service career pathways for Americans who want to 
serve their communities, States, or our Nation. No one should be denied 
the opportunity to serve their community as a law enforcement officer, 
public health practitioner, social worker, or educator based on his or 
her ability to afford the rising cost of an undergraduate education. As 
Congress moves towards reauthorizing the Higher Education Act this 
year, I intend for my bill to be a first step towards correcting public 
sector workforce disparities by enabling people to serve their 
communities without being hobbled by massive student loan debt, and by 
providing current public servants with the financial freedom to 
continue to heed their calling to service.
  Every city, town, and rural community in the United States relies on 
individuals who choose to utilize their talents for the betterment of 
others while accepting the lower pay of public service careers. The 
very foundation of our civil society is based on these public servants 
making such sacrifices. Far too many individuals who feel drawn to 
public service do not pursue such careers--or they are forced to 
abandon such careers prematurely--due to the high cost of obtaining 
their college educations. When I had the opportunity to hear directly 
from a student at an Historically Black College and University (HBCU) 
in my home State of Maryland, I was saddened to hear from an 
academically successful sophomore who was planning to drop out of 
school because she feared further indebting herself and her family. She 
said that while she appreciated the financial assistance she did 
receive, it simply wasn't sufficient to cover her cost of attendance. 
While this student had aspirations to serve in her own community, she 
could not bear to burden her family with the cost of her education. As 
a result, my home City of Baltimore missed out on the talents of an 
engaged and aspiring public servant.
  Our current system of indebting individuals at the onset of their 
careers has led to minority underrepresentation in the public sector 
workforce. First generation college students and students from low-
income families cannot afford to take on student loan debt and enter 
into lower-paying public service careers. As a result, our Nation is 
deprived of the talents and perspectives of individuals who want to 
serve their communities but simply cannot afford to do so. As a result, 
our workforce is less representative of the people it serves. We must 
find new ways for people to earn the degrees they need to meet our 
community needs. I believe that students who make a commitment to 
public service should be afforded a debt-free pathway to the 
baccalaureate degree they need to start their public service career 
just as those individuals who have already made the decision to choose 
service over salary should not have to wait for ten years in a lower-
paying public service career before seeing any reward in the form of 
federal student loan forgiveness.
  The Strengthening American Communities Act I am introducing today 
offers a new path for future public servants to earn their 
baccalaureate degree. Through a new partnership between the Federal 
Government, States, and public and private, non-profit institutions of 
higher education, students will have the ability to receive the first 
two years of their education at a community college, Minority Serving 
Institution, or Historically Black College or University tuition- and 
fee-free. Colleges would be required to commit to ensuring student 
success, and students would have to meet certain academic standards and 
complete their education within two years. Once students start their 
junior or senior years or transfer into a four-year institution, those 
who commit themselves to at least three years of public service and 
meet certain academic standards will receive a National Public Service 
Education Grant to pay a significant portion of their college's 
tuition, fees, and room and board costs. Universities must provide 
students with opportunities to engage in public service commitments, 
academic counseling and student support services, and the opportunity 
to earn to finish their degree in fewer than two years. Depending on a 
student's financial need, under the Strengthening American Communities 
Act, they may be able to graduate with a baccalaureate degree debt-free 
before embarking on their chosen path to become a public servant.
  For those individuals who have already answered their calling to 
public service, my legislation would assist more public servants 
continue serving their communities by accelerating the existing Public 
Service Loan Forgiveness program. Under current law, these dedicated 
workers must work for 10 years in a public service career and make 120 
monthly payments on their federal student loans before they see a dime 
of federal student loan forgiveness. Economic, family, and other 
reasons can cause individuals to leave the public sector workforce and 
despite their years of service, the service these workers provided are 
not taken into consideration. I propose to accelerate the Public 
Service Loan Forgiveness program to provide more immediate student loan 
relief. For every two years of employment and corresponding monthly 
Federal student loan payments, hard-working public sector employees 
will receive a percentage of their federal student loans forgiven, with 
100 percent of the federal student loan balance being forgiven at the 
end of 10 years of service. With 99 percent of the initial round of 
PSLF applicants being rejected last year for loan forgiveness due to 
administrative barriers and misunderstanding of the rules of the 
program, Congress should work to accelerating Public Service Loan 
Forgiveness, therefore encouraging additional individuals to stay in 
the public sector workforce despite the lower-paying salaries, reduce 
their cost of borrowing for home and auto loans, and set aside 
additional money for their own retirement.
  As Congress moves forward with an overdue reauthorization of the 
Higher Education Act, I urge my colleagues to join in this effort to 
help individuals who are wholly committed to public service by 
supporting the Strengthening American Communities Act. No individual 
willing to serve his or her community in a public service career should 
be held back from that calling due to the high cost of obtaining a 
college education. No individual willing to serve his or her community 
should be forced to leave public service because of financial hardship.
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