Congressman David Wu (OR01) - Press Releases - Wu Makes His Mark On Higher Education

Washington, DC-- Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 609, the College Access and Opportunity Act of 2005, a bill to amend and reauthorize higher education programs receiving federal dollars.

H.R. 609 continues Congressman David Wu's Preparing Teachers for Tomorrow's Technology initiative he authored and passed in 2002. The initiative trains teachers on the use of technology in the classroom. The bill also includes several pieces of Congressman Wu's higher education legislative package announced last year. His legislative package is designed to provide common sense solutions to the problems facing students pursuing higher education and to support our nation's institutions of higher education.

Congressman Wu successfully amended H.R. 609 seven times. His successes are particularly noteworthy in light of severe budget cuts and limited opportunities for Democrats to offer amendments.

"Since my first day in Congress, I have worked to make higher education more accessible for students and to support our colleges and universities," stated Congressman Wu. "However, at the end of the day, even in light of my successes, this bill represents a missed opportunity to help American families pay for college. We can, and must do more, to ensure our students continue their education and are able to compete in the global economy."

Ø the federal government will work with colleges and universities to educate the next generation of scientists, engineers and city planners in environmental and resource conservation, energy efficiency and sustainable development; and

Congressman Wu also introduced an amendment to fund an increase of the maximum Pell Grant award to $8,000 over a five year period. His amendment would have provided real relief to American families who are struggling to pay for higher education, but the amendment was not allowed to be debated on the House floor.

Since 1993, the maximum authorized Pell Grant has been $5,800, though the maximum amount funded for Fiscal Year 2006 was only $4,050. While college costs rise every year, H.R. 609 freezes the maximum authorization at $6,000 through 2013. In 1976, the Pell Grant funded up to 72% of the average cost of a public 4-year institution; today, it provides less than 40% of the costs. Congressman Wu intends to keep fighting to increase the funding level, placing college within reach of more families.

Congressman Wu has served on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce since his first election to Congress in 1998. This year he was named co-chair of the Community College Caucus.

Community colleges and four-year institutions across the country will now have access to federal funds to create partnerships to assist community college students in continuing their education at four-year institutions. Congressman Wu based his legislation on a program Portland State University (PSU) created to address the needs of students who pursue their education in non-traditional ways. PSU discovered students would take classes at a community college in the morning, go to work, and then take night classes at PSU, or vice versa. Those students had to deal with two sets of administrations, two sets of paperwork, and two sets of financial aid.

In response, PSU partnered with Portland Community College to decrease this administrative burden. The partnership allows a community college student to register in a dual enrollment program. Enrollees' class credits, financial aid, and administrative paperwork seamlessly transfer between the schools. Such partnerships ultimately encourage more students to continue their education at 4-year institutions to earn bachelor degrees the competitive global economy demands.

Colleges and universities around the country will be able to use federal dollars from teacher recruitment grants to establish dual degree programs. Congressman Wu's dual degree amendment mirrors a new program Oregon State University began to encourage more students to pursue teaching degrees. The program allows students to earn two bachelor's degrees at the same time, one in their chosen field and the other in education. Congressman Wu believes these programs will attract a broader population of teacher candidates and directly address teacher recruitment needs for more secondary science, mathematics and technology teachers.

Graduates will now be able to consolidate their student loans with the lender of their choice, taking advantage of competitive interest rates and loan terms. H.R. 609 includes a core provision of Congressman Wu's Student Loan Fairness Act which repeals current law denying graduates with loans from a single lender the right to seek out the lowest cost consolidation loan.

Colleges, such as Portland State University, with lending practices deemed to have a low loan default rate will have the flexibility to offer students access to their full loan amount to purchase books, supplies, pay housing deposits and make other educational startup expenses. H.R. 609 includes Congressman Wu's Paperwork Reduction and Flexibility Act that allows low default rate colleges and universities the flexibility to disburse the entire amount of a student loan to first time borrowers in a single payment and waive a burdensome 30-day withholding requirement. Currently students often have to finance the first few months of college start-up expenses using other lines of credit such as unsecured loans or credit cards that typically have higher interest rates than student loans.

Congressman Wu passed an amendment to address the rising cost of college textbooks. He believes one way a college education can be more accessible for all students is to make textbooks more affordable. The amendment lists specific steps textbook publishers, college bookstores, faculty and institutions of higher education should take to make college textbooks more affordable for students.

Congressman Wu also won the support of House Education Committee members to charge the U.S. Department of Education's Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance with the duty of investigating rising textbook prices. The committee is an appropriate vehicle to build on the recommendations included in H.R. 609 and to make further recommendations to Congress, publishers, bookstores, colleges, faculty and students on what they can do to make textbooks more affordable.

The federal government will work with colleges and universities to educate the next generation of scientists, engineers and city planners in environmental and resource conservation, energy efficiency and sustainable development:

Congressman Wu, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR) and Congressman Vernon Ehlers (MI) jointly introduced and passed an amendment directing the U.S. Secretary of Education to convene a summit of higher education experts on sustainability. The amendment was inspired by Portland State University’s leadership in the area of sustainability. Congressman Wu, Congressman Earl Blumenauer and PSU together will request the summit be held in Portland, Oregon.

Institutions of higher education will now have access to federal grant funds to restore and maintain historically significant campus buildings. Congressman Wu's amendment clarified existing law that allows institutions to use federal funds to construct, maintain and renovate classrooms for many purposes, including making them more technologically advanced. Many institutions can now invest in older campus buildings to not only better serve students, but also to salvage an important piece of local and American history.