[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 74 (Tuesday, May 2, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1465]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. Tester, Mrs. Capito, and Ms. 
        Baldwin):
  S. 1397. A bill to modify the Federal TRIO programs; to the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I rise today to introduce the 
Educational Opportunity and Success Act, which would reauthorize and 
strengthen the Federal TRIO Programs. I want to thank Senators Tester, 
Capito, and Baldwin for being original cosponsors. Senator Tester and I 
are cochairs of the Congressional TRIO Caucus.
  I have been a longtime champion of TRIO, which helps students get the 
supports they need to prepare for, succeed in, and graduate from 
college. Prior to my election to the Senate, I worked at Husson 
University in Bangor, many of whose students are the first in their 
families to go to college, and I saw firsthand the importance of 
programs like TRIO.
  Maine's 30 TRIO Programs serve more than 7,500 students throughout 
the State and are focused on increasing educational opportunities for 
first-generation and low-income students, as well as students with 
disabilities. I have been inspired by the stories of TRIO students from 
all across Maine and have seen how TRIO opens doors to the 
opportunities that come with pursuing and completing postsecondary 
education.
  For example, Myles Ouellette, who currently resides in Van Buren, ME, 
credits TRIO not only with helping him to complete postsecondary 
education but also with saving his life. Myles participated in Upward 
Bound and Educational Talent Search at Van Buren High School. He 
enlisted in the Army after high school and developed an addiction to 
painkillers following an injury. After being released from prison, he 
enrolled in the University of Maine at Augusta, where he participated 
in the TRIO Student Support Services Program. With help and support 
from this program, Myles earned a bachelor's degree in applied science. 
He then went on to complete an MBA in healthcare management from Husson 
University. According to Myles, Maine TRIO helped him find his life's 
purpose and empowered him to reach his full potential.
  Congress created the TRIO Programs because it recognized that low-
income, first-generation college students often face significant 
obstacles in accessing and completing higher education. Our bipartisan 
bill would reauthorize these programs, modestly increase grant sizes, 
and make it easier for administrators to reach students who would 
benefit from TRIO. It updates the way that programs are evaluated and 
streamlines the application process. In addition, the bill would 
increase stipends for students participating in TRIO Programs and 
create a new stipend for veterans participating in the Veterans Upward 
Bound Program.
  The Educational Opportunity and Success Act would also institute a 
commonsense process for correcting TRIO applications with minor errors 
and prevent the Department of Education from rejecting applications 
simply on the basis of formatting criteria. In 2017, the Department 
initially rejected dozens of Upward Bound applications based on 
arbitrary, nonsubstantive formatting criteria, such as line-spacing and 
font size irregularities. One of these applications was from the 
University of Maine at Presque Isle, which had used one-and-a-half 
spacing instead of double spacing in text appearing in graphics on 2 of 
its application's 65 pages.
  The Department's bureaucratic decision would have denied 960 
disadvantaged Maine high school students the chance to fulfill their 
academic potential. After months of advocacy, I worked with the 
Department and my Appropriations colleagues to reverse this ill-
conceived policy, and the University of Maine at Presque Isle received 
a well-deserved TRIO grant to serve those students.
  TRIO Programs have changed the lives of first-generation students in 
Maine and across the country. The Educational Opportunity and Success 
Act would improve these important programs and help ensure they are 
reaching the students who need them most. I urge my colleagues to 
support this bipartisan bill.

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