Bill Makes College More Affordable While Cutting the Deficit

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District voted today in support of H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.  This legislation, which passed by a vote of 253 to 171, makes the single largest investment in aid to help students and families pay for college.  By reforming the federal student loan system, the bill saves taxpayers $87 billion, which is both invested back into education and used to reduce the deficit.

“Nevada has been particularly hard hit by the economic downturn.  We are facing record unemployment.  The investments in this bill will help Nevada’s students and dislocated workers obtain the education and training they need to compete in the workforce, and it will do so in a fiscally responsible way,” Congresswoman Titus said.  “With college costs rising, this landmark legislation will increase funding for Pell Grants and build a world-class community college system that will provide Nevada’s young people with a better education and less debt.”

The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act transforms the way the student loan program operates by converting all new federal student lending to the effective and cost-efficient Direct Loan program.  Instead of providing lenders with taxpayer subsides, students will receive loans directly from the government, saving $87 billion.  Of that savings, $10 billion will go toward deficit reduction and $77 billion will go toward making college more affordable and improving early education.

Specifically, this bill invests more than $60 million in Pell Grants for Nevada’s Third District, making more than 13,000 students eligible for aid.  It also provides $1 million a year for the next five years to bolster college access and completion support programs for students in Nevada.  It strengthens our community colleges with unprecedented investments, ensuring that Nevada receives nearly $19 million to help finance projects to renovate and construct state-of-the-art facilities.  The bill also invests in 21st century green high-performing public schools by providing Nevada school districts with more than $25 million over the next two years for school modernization, renovation, and repairs to create healthier, safer, and more energy-efficient teaching and learning climates; the implementation of which will put Nevadans to work.  It includes an amendment offered by Congresswoman Titus to establish an Advisory Council to the Secretary of Education to recommend federal policies that will help states make schools green.

In addition to making college more affordable, this legislation simplifies the application process for student aid.  By removing dozens of financial questions that have little or no impact on aid eligibility, the student aid application, FAFSA, is streamlined to help students and parents.

Finally, the bill makes early learning a priority, challenging states to develop model systems of early learning that raise the bar for standards and outcomes in early childhood education.

“We know that the earlier you start, the better you do, and the less likely you are to dropout,” Titus added.
 
Congresswoman Titus spoke on the House floor in support of the bill yesterday.  Click here to watch her speech.

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Tags: education