Legislative Priority: Education

Access to quality education has long been a top priority of mine, both before running for office and now, as a member of Congress.

Through my service on the House Education and Labor Committee I have worked to shape federal education policy, from class size reduction initiatives to programs designed to make college more affordable.  And I have worked to ensure that our federal education laws are structured so that our public schools can provide a high quality education for all.

When I talk to business owners, managers and workers about what will help to grow our economy, they tell me that the answer is education and research.  There is a distinct difference between communities that support local schools and those that do not.  Strong public schools are a leading indicator of strong economic success.

Oregon has a strong tradition of supporting our schools and I intend to work to continue that tradition.  I am proud to fight for common sense, bipartisan efforts to give Oregon schools the help they need and to help our state and national economy grow.

Federal assistance in schools should be just that: assistance.  When the federal government is able to help local schools meet the needs of students, our system is working.  In Congress, I have worked to find ways to give schools extra support so that students, teachers and parents can find what works in their schools.

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which was enacted in 2002, was a bipartisan effort containing many good and essential reforms for our nation's schools.  I supported this law because it provides the building blocks for quality and accountability in all schools -- a fully-qualified teacher in every classroom and better teacher training to make it happen; more after-school tutoring and supplemental services to help students with the greatest needs; special programs for English language learners; expanded support for reading in early grades; high academic standards in reading, math, and science; and school report cards to provide information to parents and motivate them to be part of their children's education.  I still believe that these reforms can ultimately make our public education system an even better place to educate our children.  Unfortunately, these reforms are being undermined by an implementation that is inflexible, unreasonable, and unhelpful to our educators.

Accordingly, I have introduced the No Child Left Behind Flexibility and Improvement Act.  This bill helps get the reforms of NCLB back on track.  It will better assess how well our children are doing.  It will help schools ensure they have highly qualified teachers.  And it will better equip rural schools to handle the demands of this new law.  But it does not change the intent or the requirements of NCLB.  The No Child Left Behind Improvement and Flexibility Act, builds flexibility into the law so that it can be better implemented while still maintaining its strong standards and accountability provisions.

As I visit schools in Oregon, students also tell me that they want and need more adult involvement.  This means encouraging more parental involvement but it also means helping schools to hire additional teachers and teacher's aides so that students can get more individual attention.  When students are successful, our economy benefits.

I am also working on legislation to make a higher education more affordable and more accessible for all.  According to the U.S. Department of Education, more than 7 million students will take out a federal student loan to help finance their college education.  As tuition costs swell and grant-aid fails to keep pace, students and their families are increasingly turning to loans as the primary mechanism to finance a higher education.  While student loans make the college dream a reality for millions, they all too often turn into a nightmare of debt.

Over the past eight years the typical student loan debt has almost doubled to $16,928.  In addition, 39 percent of all student borrowers now graduate with unmanageable debt levels.  Too many student borrowers struggle to make their monthly loan payments, and many must forgo savings, public service careers, and major purchases.

Borrowing for higher education should be a sound investment for the future, both for the student, and society.  Yet, today we are asking far too many students to mortgage their future at too high a cost.

This is unacceptable, and we must do better by delivering sound legislation that helps Americans to make the college dream a viable reality.

I have been working in Congress to do just that.  For instance, I have introduced seven bills that will not only make student financial aid more flexible for students but it will also ease the financial burden of student loans.

• Student Loan Interest Fairness Act (H.R. 1029):  My first bill would allow individuals to refinance their student loans.  Many recent graduates seek out consolidation loans to reduce their monthly student loan payments and simplify the payment process.  However, current law inexplicably prevents a student from reconsolidating or refinancing their student loans to seek out a lower interest rate.  Current law also denies students the right to seek out the lowest cost consolidation loan.  The Single Lender Rule, as it is called, precludes the borrower from receiving a consolidation loan from another lender -- even if that other lender offers preferable terms and conditions -- if the current holder of their loans offers a consolidation loan with an income sensitive repayment option.  This is comparable to a situation in which homeowners would be required to refinance only with their current mortgage holder.  And again, current law doesn't even allow these individuals to refinance.  You can refinance your home.  You can refinance your car.  You can even refinance your credit card debt.  We should give students the same right to refinance their student loan debt as well.  The Student Loan Fairness Act would remove these inequitable restrictions and as a result ease the financial burden of those who must rely on student loans to help finance their education.
• Student Loan Interest Full Deductibility Act (H.R. 598):  The Student Loan Interest Full Deductibility Act would also ease the financial burden of student loans by allowing eligible taxpayers to deduct the full amount of their student loan interest and would remove the current income cap limiting the deduction.  Current law only allows for $2,500 to be deducted, even though many students pay thousands more each year in student loan interest, and phases out this deduction if a taxpayer's income is greater $50,000 a year.
• Pell Grants (H.Res. 81):  The Pell Grant program is the cornerstone of federal student financial aid, providing aid to nearly 4.6 million students.  Approximately 85% of Pell Grant assistance goes to students from families with annual incomes below $30,000, and half goes to students from families with incomes below $15,000.  Because this federal financial aid program is arguably the most important for students who need help the most, I have introduced this resolution calling for full funding of Pell Grants at its maximum authorized amount -- $5,800.  Unfortunately, the Bush Administration does not agree.  It's recent budget only increases Pell Grant by a $100 despite the fact that these small increases in the maximum Pell Grant award have not kept pace with the growing cost of postsecondary education.  Today's maximum amount of $4,050 is worth nearly $800 less than the maximum scholarship nearly 30 years ago.
• Earning and Learning Act (H.R. 597):  I have also introduced legislation to make current federal financial aid programs more flexible.  The current Federal Work-Study Program provides jobs for undergraduate and graduate students with financial need, allowing them to earn money to help pay education expenses.  Typically, the jobs are on-campus jobs, such as working in the administrator's office or for the school library.  However, you can work off campus, but those jobs are limited to community service or non-profit work, and the work performed must be in the public interest.  My legislation, the Earning and Learning Bill, will require colleges and universities to establish agreements with private for-profit employers so students who are eligible for Federal Work-Study aid can work for a for-profit business within their course of study.  This will allow students to gain valuable experience while also receiving much-needed financial assistance.
• Community College Partnerships (H.R. 717):  The Community College Partnership Act, which I have also introduced, would create partnerships between community colleges and four-year institutions to encourage students to continue their education at a college or university.  This is based on an idea that Portland State University (PSU) came up with after studying its student enrollment data and discovering that its students were taking classes in non-traditional ways.  Students would take classes at a community college in the morning, go to work, and then take another class at PSU at night, or vice versa.  However, in order to create such a class schedule, the students had to deal with two sets of administrations, two sets of paperwork, and two sets of financial aid.  In order to encourage more of these students to continue and complete their studies at PSU, PSU partnered with neighboring community colleges to make this transition seamless through dual enrollment programs in which enrollees' class credits, financial aid, and administrative paperwork seamlessly transfer between the schools.  The Community College Partnership Act expands on this idea by establishing a $70 million competitive grant program to encourage or expand similar partnerships throughout the United States.
• College Textbook Pricing:  Finally, in 2004 I launched a GAO investigation to look into the high price of college textbooks.  Recent news reports have exposed what has long been experienced by students and college bookstores: often the exact same college textbooks that American college students are required to buy for class are sold overseas for less than half the price.  This situation does not make common sense, and it is especially troubling when one considers the skyrocketing cost of high education and of college textbooks.  It is increasingly common for students to pay in excess of $1,000 per school year for textbooks alone.  To build on the report's findings, and find solutions to this problem, the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance is holding hearings around the country.  These hearings are scheduled to conclude with a hearing in Oregon at Portland State University.