[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 20 (Monday, February 5, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H425]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              STRENGTHENING CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 9, 2023, the Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from North 
Carolina (Ms. Foxx) for 30 minutes.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, February is Career and Technical Education 
Month. I join the Nation in commending all the educators who play a 
vital role in preparing America's students for prosperity in the 21st 
century economy. However, there is often a disconnect between the 
curriculum taught at schools and the skills required for in-demand 
jobs.
  There are currently 9 million unfilled jobs in the United States, and 
job creators are struggling to find qualified workers. Career and 
technical education programs offer a practical solution to bridge this 
skills gap. These programs offer students hands-on experience and 
skills that will allow them to excel in the workforce. By equipping 
students with the competencies they need to be successful on the job, 
career and technical education programs give participants an invaluable 
head start.
  Building a strong, skilled workforce is a national priority. Now is 
the time to strengthen career and technical education.
  Mr. Speaker, last week, the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
advanced the College Cost Reduction Act, CCRA, a landmark bill that 
would lower the cost of postsecondary education and provide much-needed 
relief for countless students and families.
  For too long, colleges have been given free rein to charge exorbitant 
tuition for degrees without a worthwhile economic benefit. This 
legislation would ensure that that is no longer the case.
  Don't take my word for it. Preston Cooper from the Foundation for 
Research on Equal Opportunity, FREOPP, states: ``The College Cost 
Reduction Act would hold colleges and universities financially 
responsible for unpaid Federal student loans while delivering direct 
aid to institutions with low prices and strong student outcomes.'' 
Cooper notes the key provisions of the bill would save billions while 
lowering tuition costs. Those include loan repayment assistance.
  The bill pares down the confusing array of Federal student loan 
repayment plans to two: a standard mortgage-style plan and an income-
driven repayment plan.
  Student loan risk sharing: Colleges, rather than students, are 
responsible for the cost of repayment assistance. Schools would be 
required to compensate the government for a portion of the forgiven 
unpaid interest associated with their former students.
  Performance bonus: Schools may be eligible for new direct payments 
from the Federal Government known as Promise grants. These payments are 
determined by a formula that rewards colleges for low-income student 
enrollment, high graduation rates, low tuition prices, and strong 
graduate earnings outcomes.
  Loan limits: The bill caps aggregate student loan limits at $50,000 
for undergraduate students, $100,000 for graduate students, and 
$150,000 for students in graduate professional programs.

                              {time}  2130

  Maximum price guarantee: Colleagues must guarantee that the net 
tuition that students pay in their first year will not increase in 
subsequent years, for as long as the student is enrolled at the 
institution.
  College is an investment for families, and they should know that 
graduates are receiving a financial return.
  As such, the centerpiece of this legislation builds off of the 
Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act and measures the return on investment of 
college programs by comparing the ratio of the total price students 
were charged relative to the value-added earnings graduates receive 
from their degree.
  Not only does this metric provide a sector-neutral way to assess 
whether students are better or worse off for enrolling in a given 
program but provides a measure to which institutions can be held 
financially responsible or financially rewarded for the outcomes of 
their students.
  This means that, among other actions, institutions can reduce or 
eliminate the risk-sharing penalties by lowering their price, and in 
doing so, can become eligible for additional performance-based funding, 
like PROMISE grants that require that, at a minimum, the total price 
paid by students is at least equal to the value-added earnings of 
graduates.
  For example, Preston Cooper's analysis of the CCRA highlights several 
institutions who are promoting economic mobility and would benefit 
substantially under this legislation--the State Technical College of 
Missouri, which could receive millions in flexible performance-based 
PROMISE funding.
  In fact, Cooper's analysis finds that almost 90 percent of community 
colleges would financially benefit under the bill after accounting for 
risk sharing and PROMISE grants.
  Most importantly, the bill benefits students by ensuring that as a 
condition of receiving PROMISE grants, institutions would provide 
students an up-front, guaranteed price for their entire degree program.
  This means that for up to a maximum of 6 years, colleges would lock 
in students' tuition, making it far easier to budget needed resources, 
and also to weigh the cost of postsecondary education against perceived 
future benefits, such as their value-added earnings.
  Policy experts across postsecondary education agree that the CCRA 
will help lower college costs. Here is what others are saying about it:
  Andrew Gillen of the Texas Public Policy Foundation:
  ``Much is in the College Cost Reduction Act, but the most important 
changes revolve around transparency, financial aid reforms, 
deregulation, and accountability. . . .
  ``Overall, the College Cost Reduction Act would be a dramatic 
improvement for higher education.''
  Michael Brickman of the American Enterprise Institute:
  ``The College Cost Reduction Act provides the first substantive and 
comprehensive proposal in years to reform the way colleges and 
universities are funded and held accountable. There's a lot to like.''
  Finally, Beth Akers of the American Enterprise Institute:
  ``The College Cost Reduction Act represents the largest serious and 
comprehensive higher education reform package in decades and, in 
theory, has plenty of bipartisan appeal.''
  Everyone can agree that college is too expensive and a temporary 
Band-Aid like one-time loan bailouts simply won't cut it.
  The College Cost Reduction Act is a promise from this Congress to the 
next generation of students that we are pursuing lasting solutions to 
the value problem in postsecondary education. It is also a promise to 
taxpayers that they will no longer be forced to pay for someone else's 
debt.
  You don't have to take our word for it, though. Go listen to and read 
the mounds of evidence in support of the CCRA. I am proud of the work 
of the committee to advance this bill, and I look forward to a robust 
debate upon it reaching the House floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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