Representative Henry A. Waxman 30th District of California

Investing in the next generation of American workers is critical to the continued prosperity of the United States.   

Representative Waxman strongly supports increases in financial aid to students.  In both the 110^th and 111^th Congress, Representative Waxman worked to enact a number of measures that will make college more affordable and accessible for all Americans:

• Public Law 111-5, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, raises Pell Grant Program funding to $5,500 for the 2010-2011 school year and expands the Federal Work Study program to support students who also work part-time, including a tuition tax credit of up to $2,500.
• Public Law 111-13, The Edward Kennedy Serve America Act, will more than triple the size of our national service corps and create four new service programs focused on education, health care, energy, and veterans.  In exchange for service members’ contributions, the education award for the corps will be increased to $5,350 in 2010.
• H.R.4872, The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which was signed into law by President Obama on March 30, 2010, would expand educational opportunities and make college more affordable for millions of Americans.  The legislation invests $42,215,404 in California’s 30th Congressional District, and $1,556,966,486 in the state of California over ten years.
• over 10 years to increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $5,550 in 2010 and to $5,975 by 2017
• Public Law, 110-84, The College Cost Reduction Act, will provide $20 billion in financial aid for students over five years, representing the single largest increase in college aid since enactment of the GI Bill after World War II.
• Public Law 110-315, The Opportunity and Affordability Act, addressed widespread exploitative practices in the student loan industry by requiring schools and lenders to adopt strict codes of conduct, banning practices that create conflicts of interest, and requiring schools to disclose relationships with lenders.
• Public Law 110-227, The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008, increased the limits on the annual and aggregate amounts students may borrow through the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program by $2,000/year, or $8,000 in total, allowing students to secure more of the money they need for school through federal loans before resorting to the private market, which generally charges much higher interest rates.