[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 164 (Thursday, October 17, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8204-H8205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
                         COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Connecticut (Mrs. Hayes) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the chairman of the 
Committee on Education and Labor for his steadfast leadership of the 
reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, and introduction of the 
College Affordability Act.
  But I cannot do that without further recognizing my colleague and my 
friend, Chairman Elijah Cummings, whose family was from South Carolina, 
Clarendon County, to be exact, which is the home of the Briggs v. 
Elliott case, one of the first cases challenging school segregation. He 
understood the power of a high-quality education, and I know that he 
would be so incredibly proud of this remarkable piece of legislation 
that is being introduced this week.
  This is an achievement that reflects the priorities of the entire 
Democratic Caucus to expand opportunities and make college affordable 
and accessible for all students.
  I am proud that this bill embraces and reflects my priorities in 
Congress, including the Pell Grant Restoration Act, the Teacher Debt 
Relief Act, the Teacher Diversity and Retention Act, and the Jumpstart 
on College Act.
  These bills would respectively protect student aid of vulnerable 
students who have been defrauded; provide educators with much-needed 
student debt relief so that they can stay in the classroom; reinforce 
critical programs that help develop a diverse educator workforce; and 
provide a robust investment in dual-enrollment classes that will lower 
the cost of a degree for students who need it most.
  This bill is a year's-long effort to level the playing field for 
every demographic of students across the country, from veteran 
students, to working parents; and from small family farmers, to public 
servants. It is for students hoping to become the first in their family 
to go to college and afford it.
  This bill is for families who struggle to put enough in the bank for 
their children's education. This bill is for students who struggle to 
fill out the overly complicated FAFSA; who struggle to earn degrees and 
keep the lights on while working and raising children; who utilize the 
Pell grant and other Federal aid to make it through, and still find 
themselves in debt.
  My own journey reflects the challenges of navigating a system that 
simply is not built for everyone, of jumping through untenable hurdles 
to complete a degree. So it is deeply gratifying today to be part of 
the change that I so desperately needed as a student, to give a new, 
more diverse generation of students the supports they need to succeed.
  The College Affordability Act would immediately lower the cost of 
college

[[Page H8205]]

for students and families across the country by expanding Pell grants, 
incentivizing free community colleges, and driving States to 
substantially reinvest in their public institutions.
  The bill invests in teachers by fixing a broken Public Service Loan 
Forgiveness program and TEACH Grant system, and permanently funding 
historically Black colleges and universities and minority-serving 
institutions, all proven incubators of diverse educators.
  The bill raises the quality of higher education by holding 
accreditors and schools accountable and weeding out bad actors. The 
bill also improves the completion rate for underserved communities 
through more robust and flexible student support.
  This bill tackles the growing student default crisis by making 
student loans cheaper to take out, simpler to understand, and easier to 
pay off.
  With the passage of the College Affordability Act, for-profit 
colleges will no longer be able to look at students as mere profit 
centers to swindle out of their Pell or GI dollars.
  The bill closes loopholes to prevent veterans and low-income students 
from predatory for-profit institutions and creates more guardrails to 
ensure that every student can have the peace of mind that the degree 
they are investing in has value upon graduation.
  That is all Americans want--the opportunity to get an education that 
opens the doors to a life of achievement, fulfillment, and economic 
power, and to be self-sufficient.
  The College Affordability Act is a downpayment on the success and 
financial stability of students in my district and across the country. 
I am proud to have contributed to it and I support it here today.

                          ____________________