[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 40 (Monday, October 5, 1998)]
[Page 1930]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Senate Action on the ``Higher Education Amendments of 
1998''

September 29, 1998

    I am delighted that the Senate today passed the Higher Education 
Amendments of 1998. This legislation marks an important step forward in 
my effort to help more Americans enter the doors of college. In today's 
global economy, what you earn depends on what you learn. This bill will 
make it easier for millions of Americans to get the higher education 
they need to succeed in the global economy. It also demonstrates how we 
can make progress on education policy when we choose bipartisan 
cooperation over division.
    By adopting the new low interest rate for student loans we proposed 
last winter, this bill will save American students and their families 
billions of dollars in interest payments. But this bill does much more 
to help all Americans go to college. It responds to the challenge I 
issued in the State of the Union to create a ``High Hopes'' initiative, 
where colleges reach down to middle school students in high-poverty 
areas to give them the support they need to be ready for higher 
education; incorporates our ideas on recruiting and training top-notch 
teachers for our public schools; builds on our efforts to deploy 
cutting-edge technology so that our students can learn anytime, 
anywhere; and modernizes the delivery of student aid by creating the 
Government's first-ever performance based organization, a recommendation 
made by the Vice President's National Performance Review.
    I look forward to signing this bill into law, and I urge Congress to 
provide the accompanying funding for these new critical initiatives so 
that they can work effectively to give America's students the quality 
education they deserve.