Student Group Honors Rep. Miller for Working to Make College More Affordable

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC -- A leading national student organization honored Rep. George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, with their "Legislator of the Year" award today in recognition of his work to make college more affordable for America's families. Miller has made college affordability a key component of the committee's agenda to strengthen America's middle class, and helped pass legislation to cut interest rates on federal student loans during the first 100 hours of the new Congress.

The organization, the United States Student Association, which represents millions of students across the country, presented Miller with the award at a rally on college affordability as part of their National Student Lobby Day. Below are remarks delivered by Miller earlier today.

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Good Morning. I am thrilled to be here with you all today for your National Student Lobby Day, and am deeply grateful to accept this honor. I want to thank Jennifer, Gabriel, and the United States Students Association for their strong leadership. It is great to see so many of you out here braving the cold - especially so many students from California.

There is no issue more important for the future of our country than ensuring that every student in this country is able to attend college, and pursue their dreams and aspirations. But as many of you know all too well, skyrocketing college costs are putting these dreams out of reach for millions of qualified students. 

Since 2001, tuition and fees at public colleges and universities have exploded, increasing by 41 percent - after inflation.  Students are graduating with greater amounts of debt than ever before. And nearly 200,000 students each year decide not to go to college because they can't afford it.

This past November voters across this country sent a message to Washington that it was time for a new direction to make college more affordable. All of you here today were instrumental in creating the momentum that led to a historic victory both for students and for our country. You should be very proud of the change you helped create.

Helping all qualified students afford a college education is a top priority for this Congress. In just our first couple months, we have taken critical first strides to address the college cost crisis.

We overwhelmingly voted to cut interest rates on federal student loans in half, which will save millions of students thousands of dollars in interest over the life of their loans. 

We significantly boosted the maximum Pell Grant scholarship by $260 - the first increase since 2003.

We introduced the Student Loan Sunshine Act, a bill that would put a stop to unethical college loan lending practices, so that all arrangements between colleges and lenders are made in the best interests of helping students and families.

We introduced the Student Aid Reward Act, which would encourage colleges to use cost-effective direct loans, and reward participating schools with additional Pell Grant scholarship funds and graduate fellowship money for low- and middle-income students.

And we just passed the Pell Grant Equity Act, which will help expand need-based aid for students who attend very low-cost schools. No student should ever be denied the full amount of financial aid they qualify for.

And this is just the beginning. This spring, as we start to work on reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, we will continue to build on our record of putting students first. We must ensure that our federal student aid system is working as efficiently and effectively as possible. And we must ensure that all legislation meets our promises of helping students and their families pay for college, while enacting good, responsible policies.

We must also prepare you - our next generation of leaders - to compete in a global economy and stay on the cutting edge of innovation.  This means making a serious investment in educating 100,000 new scientists, engineers and mathematicians.

Again, I want to thank all of you for coming to Washington to make sure that the voices of students are heard. You are the future of our country - a future that promises to be bright and full of opportunity. With your help, we can continue to make college more affordable for all qualified students - a key part of strengthening America's middle class.

Thank you.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tom Kiley / Rachel Racusen
2181 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-226-0853