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Congressman Steve Israel

Representing the 3rd District of NEW YORK

College Affordability

College Costs Climb

Parents want to see their children achieve, and in today’s economy, that means sending their kids to college. But, as college costs skyrocket, that goal is become harder to reach.

Today, a middle class parent sending two students to a state college faces, on average, more than $100,000 in bills. According to College Board, "Over the decade from 2000-01 to 2010-11, published tuition and fees at public four-yearcolleges and universities increased at an average rate of 5.6% per year beyond the rate of general inflation. This growth rate led the price to increase from 22% of the average tuition and fees at private nonprofit four-year institutions to 28% over the decade." From the 2009-2010 school year to the 2010-2011 school year, the average cost of a four-year public university rose 6.1% and the average cost of a four-year private college or university rose 4.3%. 

Making College Affordable

In order to keep our children on a path for success, we need to make college affordable again.

In March 2010, Congress passed and the President signed into law the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act as part of budget reconciliation (HR 4872). This landmark legislation makes historic investments in higher education. New York’s Second Congressional District will see an investment of $46.4 million over 10 years to help send students to college. Every year, 12,000 students in Rep. Israel’s Congressional District receive the Pell Grants that this bill invests in.

Rep. Israel has introduced several bills to make college more affordable. In January 2009, he introduced legislation to create a single, super-sized tax credit to help families offset their college costs (H.R.518). Under this bill, families earning up to $200,000 will receive a $5,000 credit toward the costs of college tuition, fees and books. Families would receive a non-refundable credit equal to 50 percent of the first $10,000 they pay in college tuition for up to four years per student. This credit would replace and expand existing tax credits and deductions. Current tax credits, including the Hope Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit, are capped at $2,000 a year or less and only apply to families earning less than $114,000 per year.

During the 110th Congress (2007-2008), Congressman Israel enthusiastically supported H.R. 2669, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007. This legislation provides the single largest increase in college aid since the GI bill.  And it will do so at no new cost to taxpayers, by cutting excess subsidies paid by the federal government to lenders in the student loan industry. 

Student Loan Rates

The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which Rep. Israel supported, raises the maximum federal Pell Grant award steadily to $5,975 by 2017. For the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years, the maximum award is $5,550. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act also links the Pell Grant to the rising cost of living starting in 2013, so that the Pell Grant award stays steady over time.

The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act converts student lending into all direct federal loans, saving taxpayers $61 billion over ten years by eliminating an unnecessary subsidy to big banks and making student loans more affordable for students.
 

Helpful Links

More on College Affordability

Jun 3, 2016 Press Release

Washington, DC—Today, Congressman Steve Israel (NY-03) introduced legislation that will help make higher education more accessible to hardworking New York families.  The legislation will help provide financial relief to those preparing for college through tutoring and entrance exams, provide tax credits to students and families currently paying college tuition, ease the burden of student loan debt on college graduates and fund grants for community colleges to train veterans for local jobs.

Apr 8, 2016 Press Release

Melville, NY—Today, Congressman Steve Israel (NY-03) announced that Manhasset High School seniors Kimberly Te and Christine Yoo, grand prize winners of the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, were accepted to attend the 6th White House Science Fair on April 13th at the White House. After bringing the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) Director Ellen Williams to Manhasset to meet the students in January, Rep. Israel supported their candidacy for the White House Science Fair.

Jan 5, 2016 Press Release

Washington —Today, Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) announced that he will not seek reelection this November. He released the following statement:

“Nearly 16 years ago, I was honored to take the oath of office and stand on the House Floor for the first time. Now, I’ve decided to leave the House in 2017. I hope to continue to be involved in public service, but it is time for me to pursue new passions and develop new interests, mainly spend more time writing my second novel.

Dec 18, 2015 Press Release

Washington— Congressman Steve Israel (NY-03), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, voted in support of the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Act, which includes key provisions for New York, including Queens and Long Island. Passed by the House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 316-113, the omnibus appropriates $1.1 trillion in spending through FY 2016.

Aug 25, 2015 Press Release

Old Westbury, NY— As college students at SUNY Old Westbury moved into their residence halls, Congressman Steve Israel (D-Huntington) joined Dr. Calvin O. Butts III, President of SUNY Old Westbury, local college students and borrowers to urge Congress to pass the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act (H.R. 1434, S. 793), which would allow borrowers with high interest rates on their existing student loans to refinance at lower levels.

Apr 8, 2015 Press Release

Old Westbury, NY— Congressman Steve Israel (D-Huntington) joined Dr. Edward Guiliano, President of New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), Nicole Soman, president of the Student Government Association (SGA) at NYIT-Old Westbury, and local college students to urge Congress to pass the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act (H.R. 1434, S. 793), which would allow borrowers with high interest rates on their existing student loans to refinance at lower levels. Under this legislation, borrowers could refinance undergraduate loans at an interest rate of 3.86 percent.

Sep 3, 2014 Press Release

Brookville, NY— Today, Congressman Steve Israel (D-Huntington) called for the passage of the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, which would allow federal and private student loan borrowers to refinance their loans at the rates that are currently available to those taking out new student loans. These rates are often much lower, which would save these borrowers thousands of dollars a year. In New York alone, more than 1.5 million federal student loan borrowers would benefit from loan refinancing.

May 2, 2014 Press Release

Bethpage, NY— Today, Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) announced the College Preparation Tax Credit Act of 2014 to help New York’s middle-class families defray the cost of college preparation expenses, such as college admission tests like the SAT and ACT, preparation courses, application fees, and Advanced Placement(AP) exams. The legislation would allow families paying for college preparation expenses to qualify for a tax credit of up to $500 per child and could be taken for three years, as needed.

Aug 19, 2013 Press Release

Rep. Israel said, “As students begin to return to college for the start of a new year, they are returning to education costs that continue to rise. No family should ever have to say to their child, you are smart enough for college, but we are not rich enough to send you. That’s why I’m introducing common-sense legislation that will put more money in the pockets of middle-class families who are paying college tuition and ensure that more New York families qualify to receive this tax credit.”