Wild Rose, WI -- U.S. Senator Russ Feingold today emphasized the need
to support federal student loan and grant programs, and he applauded the
proposed increase in the individual Pell Grant award included in the new
budget President Clinton proposed to Congress. Feingold also outlined his
efforts to combat the scholarship scams that prey on students who are
trying to defray the high costs of higher education.
"Making higher education more accessible and easing the debt burden on
students have got to be higher congressional priorities," Feingold said.
"Pell Grants give students up-front, direct support to continue their
education, so I’m very pleased that the President’s budget includes an
increase in the individual maximum Pell Grant."
Feingold has also worked to stop the rapid spread of scholarship scams,
where students who are promised "free money" to use toward their tuition
are being tricked into paying so-called processing fees that are never
returned, for a scholarship that is never received. To crack down on these
scholarship scams, Feingold became an original cosponsor of the College
Scholarship Fraud Prevention Act of 1999. This bill, which unanimously
passed the Senate late last year, encourages the Justice Department to
pursue and prosecute more scam artists, and provide an additional ten
years’ imprisonment and add additional fines in fraud cases which involve
offering of education services.
"The bottom line is that we should be offering incentives to higher
education in this country, not roadblocks," Feingold said. "As this
Congress continues, I’ll keep pushing for the higher education funding
that the students of today need to build a successful future for
themselves, and brighter future for the nation."
Feingold's 29th Listening Session of 2000, and
533rd since he was first elected in 1992, was held at Wild Rose
High School, beginning at 8 a.m.
