Education
Education will fuel our economic job growth and prosperity for the future. If we do not invest in human capital and job training in this country, including education from pre-school through graduate school and lifelong learning, we place our nation’s foundation at risk.
Left: Congressman Hinojosa meets with young constituents at Sorenson Elementary School.
While serving as chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness, Rep. Rubén Hinojosa fought to improve accessibility and affordability in higher education. On March 30, 2010, Congressman Hinojosa joined President Barack Obama for the signing of H.R. 4871: The Health Care and Education Reconcilation Act of 2010. This historic legislation represents the single largest increase in student financial aid since the G.I. Bill was signed in 1945. This bill invests $2.55 billion in historically Black Colleges and Universities and in Hispanic-Serving Institutions and other Minority Serving Institutions.
In 2008, Rep. Hinojosa worked with Chairman George Miller and other Members of Congress to pass H.R. 4137, the Higher Education Opportunity Act. In particular, Rep. Hinojosa spearheaded efforts to expand and enhance post-baccalaureate opportunities at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), including a new program for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). Rep. Hinojosa also championed increased college aid and support for veterans and military familiesThere is a tremendous earning differential based on education. On average, high school graduates earn $1.2 million over a lifetime of labor; college graduates with a bachelor’s degree earn $2.1 million; those with master’s degrees, $2.5 million; doctorate degrees, $3.4 million; and professional degrees, such as law, medicine, or architecture --$4.4 million.
Hinojosa is committed to providing a powerful voice for the aspirations of communities traditionally left behind in America’s education system – low-income families, minorities, students with disabilities, English language learners, and the children of migrant and seasonal farm workers. He continues to fight for significant increases in education funding targeted at these communities and has proposed a new initiative to dramatically improve high school graduation rates.
As the Ranking Member of the Higher Education and Workforce Training Subcommittee, Hinojosa continues to work to ensure that the education pipeline is strong enough and wide enough to ensure that no community is left behind in the knowledge-driven economy of the 21st Century.