[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
[September 27, 2007]
[Pages 1244-1246]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Signing the College Cost Reduction and Access Act
September 27, 2007

    Thank you all. Please be seated, unless you don't have a chair. 
[Laughter] I welcome you to the White House. I have the honor of signing 
a bill that will help millions of low-income Americans earn a college 
degree. I'm really looking forward to signing this bill. I love the fact 
that this country is dedicated to helping people who want to realize a 
dream.
    The College Cost Reduction and Access Act expands one of America's 
most important and successful education initiatives, the Federal Pell 
Grant Program. For the last 6 years, I've worked to make sure that we 
expand Pell grants. I know the Members of Congress feel the same way. 
Pell grants give young people a chance to pursue their dreams. They give 
our fellow citizens the chance to build a better future.
    The bill also takes important steps to put higher education within 
reach for more of the men and women who wear our Nation's uniform. I 
want to thank the Congress for answering this call. I appreciate your 
hard work on this piece of legislation, and I'm looking forward to 
signing the bill.
    I want to thank the Secretary of Education for her hard work. Margaret Spellings is dedicated 
to making sure every child can learn and every child can realize dreams. 
I want to thank you for establishing the bipartisan Commission for the 
Future of Higher Education. The Commission engages students and families 
and policymakers and business leaders in the academic community on ways 
to improve higher education and to make it more affordable and 
accessible. I appreciate you taking that on, Margaret.
    I want to thank Congressman George Miller 
from California who has joined us. He happens to be the chairman of the 
House Education and Labor Committee. When George puts his mind to 
getting something done, he can get it done. I'm about to call to--get 
him to--call him to get this No Child Left Behind Act reauthorized. 
[Laughter] But I don't want to mix messages early in the speech. 
[Laughter]
    I thank Congressman Ric Keller 
from Florida and Congressman John Spratt, who is the chairman of the House Budget Committee. I'm 
honored you all joined us. Members of the Senate need to be thanked as 
well: Senator Ted Kennedy, Mike 
Enzi, Orrin Hatch, and Lamar Alexander. They were 
going to be here, but they got votes on the Senate floor, so they're 
here in spirit.
    I want to thank the students who have joined us today. I appreciate 
you all being

[[Page 1245]]

here. These are Pell grant recipients. We believe it's important to put 
a face behind what it means to get a Pell grant. In other words, every 
one of these folks up here is benefiting from the Pell grant, so he or 
she can realize their dreams. That's what America is all about, isn't 
it?
    The other things is, this is a practical approach to dealing with 
the fact that we're--live in an age in which technology is transforming 
the way we live and work. And in order for our citizens to be able to 
seize the opportunities of a new era, they're going to have to have 
skills that can be only learned through a postsecondary education. 
That's the realities of the world in which we live. According to one 
study, 80 percent of the fastest growing jobs in America require some 
sort of education after high school. Times are changing. When we were--
when the baby boomers like me were younger--it's a different era. We're 
living in a global economy. And we've got to stay competitive as we head 
into the 21st century, and the best way to stay competitive is to make 
sure people have access to good education.
    And one of the best ways to make higher education affordable is 
through Pell grants. Pell grants make it possible for people from all 
walks of life to afford a college education. Pell grants send an 
important message to students in need: If you work hard and you stay in 
school and you make the right choices, the Federal Government is going 
to stand with you. That's what a Pell grant says.
    With us today are a number of young Americans whose lives have been 
transformed; I'm going to mention two. Robert 
Garcia, I'm mentioning him because he's a remarkable story, but also, he 
happens to be from Texas. [Laughter] His family struggled financially. 
Robert's mom sacrificed mightily to get him a good education. By the 
way, that happens all across our country. Parents are sacrificing 
mightily to make sure their children can realize a dream. With her 
support--with his mom's support, he became a leader in his high school 
band, and he graduated fifth in his class.
    A Pell grant made it possible for Robert 
to go to the University of Texas, where he has just begun his junior 
year. The lowest grade he's made so far in college is B. That sets him 
apart from the President. [Laughter] Robert wants to use his education 
to get involved in public policy, so he can help at-risk youth. Here's 
what Robert says: ``The Pell grant has saved my life.'' That's got to 
make us feel good, to hear that. ``The Pell grant has saved my life. 
They've provided me with everything I need to survive: living expenses, 
tuition, books, and food. Without the Pell grant, I wouldn't be here.''
    Kalise Robinson, she grew up in 
Washington, DC. She was shuffled through the foster care system, and she 
was mistreated for much of her childhood. But she never lost her spirit. 
She was struggling to support her children, and she asked for help, and 
she found it from a community outreach group. They helped her find 
shelter, and she got a GED. In 2005, with the help of a Pell grant, 
Kalise entered the University of District of Columbia. She currently has 
a 3.3 grade point average, and when she graduates, she wants to help 
somebody else. Kalise says: ``I came from a rough life. The Pell grant 
helped me. Wherever I go, I tell people there are options out there for 
you. If you work hard, there is help and money out there for you.'' We 
thank you both for being here. Thank you all for coming too.
    And so today is a reaffirmation of our commitment, our determination 
to help more Americans realize dreams by getting a good education. The 
bill I sign today increases funding for Pell grants by $11.4 billion 
over the next 5 years. It allows us to increase the maximum award from 
5,400--to $5,400 by 2012. And these are positive steps, and they're good 
steps. I wish we could make the Pell grant process

[[Page 1246]]

last year round. I think that would be helpful. I want to work with the 
Members of Congress to see if we can't get that done. That recognizes 
the realities for Pell grant recipients.
    The bill also helps ease the burden on men and women in uniform who 
have taken out loans for higher education. We believe that when you're 
wearing the uniform, we need to help you; that you're making a 
sacrifice, and it's okay for the Government to help you in dealing with 
your loans when it comes to higher education. And so those on active 
duty will now have new flexibility to defer payments on their loans.
    These are important steps. This bill does, however, create new and 
duplicative programs that divert resources from the Pell grants. This 
bill makes some spending commitments that aren't paid for yet, and I 
look forward to working with the Congress to ensure Pell grant increases 
that are not fully funded in this bill are paid for with offsets in 
other areas. And we're going to continue working with Congress to make 
sure the Pell grants stay strong.
    I also want to make--do want to mention No Child Left Behind, if you 
don't mind, Mr. Chairman. [Laughter] Chairman 
Miller was one of the main reasons why this bill got off the House floor 
in the first place. He's one of the main leaders to make sure the bill 
got to my desk.
    And the reason I bring it up is, in order to make sure we've got 
more children ready for college, the No Child Left Behind Act needs to 
be reauthorized and strengthened. Just this week, we saw what happens 
when you have high standards and you measure, measure for results. Those 
results were reported out through the Nation's Report Card. About 
700,000 people were tested nationwide to determine whether or not 
standards are being met. Eighth graders achieved their highest scores 
ever in math, while fourth graders set records in both reading and math. 
African American and Hispanic students posted alltime highs in a number 
of categories. In other words, that achievement gap is beginning to 
close in America. It's something that we all want to see happen.
    There is nothing more important than making sure our children get a 
good education. Today we've taken an important step in that direction. 
I'm hoping we can get the No Child Left Behind Act reauthorized and 
strengthened. I appreciate the Members 
being here today. I thank you for your hard work on this. I'm 
honored to sign this piece of legislation, the College Cost Reduction 
and Access Act.
    Thanks for coming.

[At this point, the President signed the bill.]

    Thank you all.

Note: The President spoke at 11:32 a.m. in Room 350 of the Dwight D. 
Eisenhower Executive Office Building. H.R. 2669, approved September 27, 
was assigned Public Law No. 110-84.