This morning’s announcement of Arne Duncan as our next Secretary of Education is very exciting news for school reform, students and parents across America. Mr. Duncan is an experienced and accomplished leader who is open to the new, bold and innovative ideas needed to truly improve our schools.
As the head of Chicago’s public schools, he has an impressive track record in turning around failing schools, increasing graduation rates, and significantly boosting student achievement. He has dramatically improved teacher quality and effectiveness, by working with the local teachers union to establish a performance pay system and by providing mentoring and career ladders for teachers. A longtime champion of early education, he understands that we won’t be able to close the student achievement gap unless we improve educational opportunities for every child from their earliest years on.
Mr. Duncan takes the helm at a pivotal juncture for our schools and our economy. Our schools are in need of serious improvement; families continue to face a college affordability crisis; and we need to continue to strengthen our economic competitiveness. In an education landscape filled with strong – and often sharply contrasting – ideas, I believe that he will provide the leadership needed to bring diverse stakeholders together and break through the political gridlock.
This summer, Mr. Duncan told our committee of the importance of "challenging the status quo, pushing the envelope and driving change." I look forward to working with him and President-elect Obama to provide all students with a world-class education that prepares them to compete in our global economy and pursue their dreams.
Over the summer, Duncan testified before the Education and Labor Committee with mayors and superintendents of major U.S. cities on how to improve America’s schools and close the achievement gap:
Today, the Democratic Caucus officially re-elected Rep. George Miller to chair the House Education and Labor Committee for the 111th Congress.
It is an honor and a privilege to continue to chair the Education and Labor Committee in the next Congress, and I thank my colleagues for their support.
If anything, this historic election reminded us that Americans from all regions, backgrounds and political stripes are united in our shared hopes and aspirations: A quality, affordable education for our children; a good-paying job with decent benefits; and a secure retirement after a lifetime of hard work. In a nation as great as ours, these dreams can – and must – be achieved.
I look forward to working with all members of this committee, the next Congress, and the new administration on a Main Street recovery plan that will revitalize our economy, and toward our larger goal of rebuilding and strengthening America’s middle class. Like President-Elect Obama, I’m confident we can reach this goal by working in a bipartisan way that transcends the politics of the past, and by making sure that our government is open, accountable and engages the public. Moving forward, our committee will also build on our efforts to use innovative strategies to make sure that the voices of Americans around the country are heard here in Washington.
I also know that no one is more excited about the opportunities before us than Senator Ted Kennedy. No one has fought harder for our children, workers and families than Ted, and no one could ask for a better partner in these challenging times. I am thrilled that he has returned to the Senate, and look forward to continuing to work closely with him on the important tasks that lie ahead.
Yesterday's historic election of Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden as our next President and Vice President was a true victory for every child, student, worker and family in America. I congratulate Senators Obama and Biden, and I look forward to working closely with them to change the direction of our country and get our economy moving forward again.
During the past two years, the Education and Labor Committee has focused on strengthening our nation's middle class – a priority that Senators Obama and Biden clearly share, as demonstrated by their careers and the focus of their historic campaign.
With our country facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and our global leadership at risk, this mission is more important than ever.
In the next Congress, this committee will be dedicated to working with the new Obama-Biden administration and members of both parties of Congress to rescue our economy by rebuilding and strengthening America's middle class. We must get started right away by passing a Main Street recovery plan that will get Americans back to work and provide immediate relief to families and workers struggling with long-term unemployment and depleted state budgets.
We will dedicate ourselves to improving our nation's schools and continue our efforts to make college more affordable and accessible, so that every student has the opportunity to succeed. We are committed to rebuilding our country's roads, bridges and schools, and to green retrofitting and other modern energy programs that will create millions of good-paying jobs and reestablish America's technological leadership.
We will fight to restore workers' rights, so that every American can benefit from economic opportunity. And we will make the preservation and strengthening of retirement savings a priority, so that all Americans can enjoy a secure retirement after a lifetime of hard work.
Today marks a new beginning. Together, we can rescue our economy, restore the promise of the American Dream, and ensure that, in a nation as great as ours, the interests of students, workers, families and retirees are at the heart of our nation's priorities.
More students than ever before are receiving Pell Grants to help pay for college and that number is on the rise, according to a new report released today by the College Board. The study also shows that, with college costs rising, students are continuing to access the federal student loans for which they are eligible. Over the past year, the average tuition and fees for in-state students at four-year public colleges and universities increased by 6.4 percent to $6,585 for the 2008-2009 school year.
"With college costs still rising and families facing growing uncertainty in today's economy, federal student aid is more important than ever," Chairman George Miller said. "Over the past two years, the Democratic Congress has made college affordability a top priority -- providing historic investments in federal student aid and safeguarding federal student loans from the turbulence in the nation's financial markets. This study reinforces that these efforts are critically needed to help make college more affordable and accessible for students and their families.
"This report also shows that the Pell Grant scholarship -- which Congress has significantly boosted in the past two years -- is playing an increasingly important role in expanding college access, especially for low- and middle-income students. As we work to get our economy back on the road to recovery, it is vital to make sure that students are aware of all their student aid options and are fully maximizing their federal student loans before turning to more expensive private loans."
According to the report, the number of students receiving almost all federal grants and loans have increased over the last ten years and the number of students receiving Pell Grant scholarships has increased from 3.7 million in 1997-98 to 5.4 million in 2007-2008.
Last year, Congress enacted the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which provides the largest increase in student financial aid since the GI bill. The law increases the maximum Pell Grant scholarship by more than $1,000, cuts interest rates on need-based student loans in half, creates income based repayment programs for students graduating with college debt and gives loan forgiveness incentive programs for public service workers.
Congress also recently enacted the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act to ensure that students and families can continue to have access to all the federal college loans they are eligible for.
In August, Congress enacted the Higher Education Opportunity Act, the first reauthorization of the nation's primary higher education laws in a decade. The law addresses rising college tuition prices, makes textbook costs more manageable, simplifies the federal student aid application process, makes the Pell Grant scholarship available year-round for the first time, provides new consumer protections for federal and private student loan borrowers, and much more.
In December 2006, Rep. George Miller, the new Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, announced that the Committee would be dedicated to the mission of strengthening America’s middle class. And over the past two years, the Committee has delivered on its promise. America's students, workers, and families need help more than ever during the current financial crisis, and the Committee will continue its work to strengthen the middle class. Below is an overview of the Committee’s legislative milestones in the 110th Congress.
Affordable colleges » The Committee has enacted three laws that together will make college more affordable and accessible for middle class students, create a more efficient, consumer-friendly, and fair American higher education system, and protect federal student loans from turmoil in the economy.
High quality education » The Committee enacted legislation to strengthen the nation’s premiere early childhood program, giving more young children the skills they need to succeed in school and in life. The Committee also helped enact emergency aid to help Gulf Coast schools and colleges still working to recover from Katrina and Rita. In addition, the Committee took a key step toward improving learning conditions for schoolchildren by passing legislation to help schools modernize their facilities and become more energy-efficient.
A competitive workforce » The Committee has enacted legislation that builds on the principles Democrats first laid out in their “Innovation Agenda – A Commitment to Competitiveness to Keep America Number One.” These new laws will help prepare more Americans for jobs in emerging, high-tech industries that will keep our nation more competitive and create more good-paying jobs here at home.
Fairness in the workplace » During the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress, the House passed the first increase in the minimum wage in ten years. Since then, Committee has passed a series of key measures to strengthen workers’ rights, improve workplace safety, end discriminatory practices that have unfairly eroded workers’ pay and other benefits, and help workers balance demands of work and family.
Retirement security » While roughly 50 million American workers now have 401(k) style retirement plans, studies show that the vast majority of these workers don’t know how much they are paying in fees to the companies that service their 401(k) plans – fees that could be eating away at their retirement savings. The Committee passed legislation to help workers better understand these hidden fees and strengthen their retirement security.
Safe children and youth » The Committee enacted laws to protect America's children and youth, including runaway, homeless and missing children, and to increase penalties when employers violate child labor laws. The House also passed legislation to protect teens in public and private residential programs.
Accountability and responsibility » The Committee conducted oversight over government agencies in its jurisdiction, shining a light on the Bush administration’s failures to safeguard taxpayer dollars used to fund education programs and its efforts to weaken protections for workers. In some cases, the Committee’s investigations paved the way for legislation and spurred the U.S. Department of Justice to pursue a criminal investigation.
By the numbers...» The Committee has held 113 hearings and heard from 683 witnesses in its efforts to grow and strengthen the nation’s middle class. In the next Congress, the Committee will continue to build on this record by working to improve the lives of children, students, workers and families.
The House overwhelmingly passed the bill, H.R. 6889, by a vote of 368 to 4. Specifically, the legislation would extend provisions that provide the U.S. Secretary of Education with the additional tools needed to safeguard federal student loans by purchasing loans from lenders in the federal student loan programs in the event that those lenders were unable to access the capital needed to finance their lending activity. Like the original legislation, this bill carries no new cost for taxpayers.
H.R. 6889 would extend, for one year:
The temporary authority given to the U.S. Education Secretary to purchase loans from lenders in the federally guaranteed loan program, ensuring that lenders continue to have access to capital to originate new loans, if there was a determination that lenders were unable to meet demand for loans. The Education Department would be authorized to purchase loans only if doing so would not result in a net cost for the federal government; and
The authority to allow guaranty agencies to carry out the functions of lenders of last resort on a school-wide basis. Under existing law, these guaranty agencies are obligated to serve as lenders of last resort to prevent any possible problem in access to student loans.
“At a time when our rough economy is already dealing a huge blow to American families, we can’t allow trouble in the credit markets to further price students out of a college degree. With market turbulence showing no signs of letting up, it’s only prudent to make sure that students have every assurance that the federal student loans they need will be there next year.” -- Chairman George Miller
“Come spring, students and families will be making their plans for the next academic year. It is critical that we extend the authority for the Secretary to purchase student loans to avoid any uncertainty about the access to this critical source of student financial aid. “It would be a tragedy for a student to decide to forgo or postpone college because of a fear of not being able to get a federal student loan.” -- Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Competitiveness
The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 was signed into law today. The law, passed by the House on July 31 by a vote of 380-49, is the first reauthorization of the nation’s primary higher education laws in a decade.
Today is truly a momentous day for America’s current and future college students and families. Over the past two years, the Democratic Congress has charted a new direction to help make college more affordable and accessible for all qualified students. We’ve enacted the single largest increase in federal student aid since the GI Bill and key measures to protect federal college aid from turbulence in the nation’s credit markets – and all without costing taxpayers a dime. We’ve proven we can work in a bipartisan way to enact good public policies that make sense for students, for our economy, and for taxpayers.
Now, with this bill signed into law, we have taken the next critical steps toward restoring the promise of our nation’s higher education programs: To help all students gain access to a world-class college education. For the first time in years, students and parents will encounter a higher education system that is more consumer-friendly and that operates in the best interests of helping them pay for college. This law will help every student in this country get their fair shot at a college degree, and reclaim their piece of the American Dream.
The House passed the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (H.R. 4137) today, by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 380-49. This vote gave final approval to an overhaul of our nation's higher education laws, advancing key reforms that would address the soaring price of college and remove other obstacles that make it harder for qualified students to go to college. The Higher Education Act was last reauthorized in 1998. The current law expired in 2003. The bill now moves to the Senate for final clearance before being sent to the President for his signature.
Tuition and fees have increased across the board over the last five years, at public and private colleges and at two-year and four-year colleges. These increases have consistently outpaced increases in the rate of inflation and in families’ ability to pay, creating a college cost crisis that threatens to prevent qualified students from pursuing a higher education. This measure addresses these affordability challenges by encouraging colleges to rein in price increases, ensuring that states maintain their commitments to higher education funding, and providing students and families with consumer-friendly information on college pricing and the factors driving tuition increases. It also strengthens provisions previously approved by the House to avoid conflicts of interest in the student loan programs. The bill’s new provisions include requiring better consumer disclosures and protections on private student loans.
In addition, the Higher Education Opportunity Act would:
Streamline the federal student financial aid application process;
Make textbook costs more manageable for students by, among other things, helping them plan for textbook expenses in advance of each semester;
Allow students to receive year-round Pell Grant scholarships;
Strengthen college readiness programs;
Increase college aid and support programs for veterans and military families;
Improve safety on college campuses and help schools recover and rebuild after a disaster;
Ensure equal college opportunities and fair learning environments for students with disabilities; and
Strengthen our nation’s workforce and economic competitiveness by boosting science, technology, and foreign language educational opportunities.
“Today’s students face daunting obstacles on the path to college, from skyrocketing tuition prices to predatory student lending tactics. This landmark bipartisan legislation will address these challenges and create a higher education system that is more consumer-friendly, fairer, and easier-to-navigate. Already, this Congress has taken historic steps to make college more affordable and accessible. With today’s vote, we are saying that in our nation’s higher education programs, the needs of students and families must always come first.” -- Chairman George Miller
“This bill is crucial to the health of our economy and will ensure that more students graduate prepared for the 21st century workplace. It puts smart strategies in place to improve our student aid process, restore confidence in our student loan programs, and provide more low-income, first-generation, and minority students the chance to pursue a college education.” -- Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness
As a result of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, enacted into law last year, historically black colleges and universities across America will begin to receive record increases in new funding for the coming school year. The U.S. Department of Education will start awarding the grants to schools tomorrow.
The law provides $170 million in new funding for HBCUs over the next two years to help expand college access, strengthen support services that focus on helping low-income and minority students stay in school and graduate, and renovate campuses in need of improvement. The grants provided under the law are mandatory funding, meaning schools will receive them in addition to any funding that is appropriated annually by the Congress. All 99 HBCUs that currently receive federal funds will benefit from this increase.
HBCUs play a significant role in helping African American students succeed in college and the workforce. Although they represent only 3 percent of all colleges and universities, they enroll close to a third of all African-American students. Forty percent of their students pursue four-year degrees in science, technology, engineering and math, and about half of all African-American students in teaching fields attend HBCUs. Despite this progress, HBCUs continue to face a unique set of financial challenges, including balancing limited resources and endowments with a deep commitment to serving students with fewer financial resources. Many schools are in dire need of repair, especially Gulf Coast schools that are still feeling the devastating effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Sadly, federal support for HBCUs and other minority-serving schools has dwindled under the Bush administration. In his most recent budget for the fiscal year 2009, President Bush proposed cutting funding for HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions by $85 million, a 35 percent decrease from the previous year’s budget.
In addition to the funding provided by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, Democrats are also working to boost support for HBCUs by enacting the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which would strengthen and reauthorize the nation’s higher education programs. That bill, which Congress is working to finalize this week, would increase the amount of funding HBCUs could receive for capital projects, expand funding eligibility for graduate student programs at HBCUs and other minority serving-institutions and would address the challenges of starting and growing endowments at these schools.
“This landmark investment in HBCUs will strengthen college opportunities for millions of talented students. HBCUs are a vital part of America’s higher education and economic framework, and have a long history of producing some of our nation’s greatest leaders, innovators, and thinkers. By providing HBCUs with these much-needed federal resources, we are saying that the needs of these vital institutions and their students can no longer go ignored.” -- Chairman George Miller, author of the law
“HBCUs have played and continue to play an integral role in furthering the education of Black students in America. Unfortunately, these institutions face increasing challenges and have limited resources. I am very pleased with the historical investment to HBCUs that the College Cost Reduction and Access Act will provide. It is a much-needed step in the right direction and will go a long way toward helping HBCUs continue to provide a quality education to our nation's youth.” -- Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Education Taskforce
“As a graduate of the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, I and my brothers, sisters, nephews, cousins and friends know firsthand the opportunities provided by HBCUs, especially to low-income African American students. Chairman George Miller and the Committee on Education and Labor are to be commended for this outstanding bill.” -- Rep. Danny K. Davis, Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Education Taskforce
The House is expected to vote tomorrow, July 31, on the Higher Education Opportunity Act (H.R. 4137). This measure is the conference report on the Higher Education Act reauthorization; conferees adopted the conference report last night.
This would be the first time the Higher Education Act was reauthorized since 1998. The current law expired in 2003. This Congress has already passed two major pieces of legislation to make college more affordable and accessible. Last September, Congress enacted the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which provides more than $20 billion in federal college aid for students over five years – and at no new cost to taxpayers. This spring, Congress also enacted the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act, which safeguards students’ access to federal financial aid from turmoil in the U.S. credit markets. That law also carried no cost for taxpayers.
A college education continues to be the best path to the middle class. But more and more, high college prices and other obstacles are putting a college degree further out of reach for America’s students. In addition to rising tuition, students and their families face an overly complex federal student aid application process and a student loan industry mired in conflicts of interest and corrupt lending practices. The Higher Education Opportunity Act will continue this Congress’ effort to make college more affordable and accessible. This bill would reform our higher education system so that it operates in the best interests of students and families, while boosting our competitiveness and strengthening our future.
On May 7, the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 was signed into law. This measure provides new protections to ensure that families can continue to access the loans they need to pay for college. Chairman Miller said: "Today we have taken another big step in the right direction for students and families working hard to pay for college in a very tough economy."
On June 3, the "Protecting Our Children Comes First Act" was signed into law, reauthorizing and funding federal missing and exploited children programs, including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Chairman Miller and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy said in a joint statement: "Nothing matters more than keeping our children out of harm’s way, and this law is a fundamental part of our efforts to do just that."
The House passed the bipartisan Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008 on June 25 by a vote of 318-103. The bill would stop child abuse in teen residential programs attended by tens of thousands of U.S. teenagers, including therapeutic boarding schools, wilderness camps, boot camps, and behavior modification facilities. Depending on the state where they are located, some of these programs are regulated; some are not. As a result of this loose patchwork of regulations, reports of child abuse at the programs have frequently gone unchecked. The Government Accountability Office found thousands of allegations of child abuse and neglect at residential programs for teens between 1994 and 2007. Tragically, in a number of cases, this abuse and neglect led to the death of a child.
Public school buildings around the country would receive much-needed renovations and modernization under the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act, passed by the House on June 4 by a vote of 250 to 164. The measure would provide funding to states and school districts to help ensure that school facilities and learning environments are safe, healthy, energy efficient, environmentally friendly, and technologically up-to-date. The bill would also provide additional support for Gulf Coast schools still recovering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
On June 26, the Committee passed the Providing Resources Early for Kids Act, by a vote of 31-11, to improve the quality of state pre-school programs, which collectively serve more than 1 million young children. Research increasingly demonstrates that the first years of children’s lives have a much greater and more lasting impact on their future growth and learning than was previously understood. H.R. 3289 establishes a federal-state partnership to expand high-quality early childhood educational opportunities to more children. It provides incentives to states to ensure that their pre-k programs meet children’s developmental and educational needs.
On June 18, the Committee passed the No Child Left Inside Act by a vote of 37-8. This measure would improve environmental education for schoolchildren both inside and outside of the classroom.
Also on June 18, the Committee passed the Education Begins at Home Act, a bill to provide critical support services to families, reduce child abuse, and help more children arrive at school ready to succeed by expanding access to early childhood home visitation programs for parents and children.
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