On July 14, the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness approved, 18-15, a bill (H.R. 609) to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. Established in 1965 and last reauthorized in 1998 (P.L. 105-244), the Higher Education Act provides federal aid for postsecondary schools and low-income postsecondary students. During the 108th Congress, a bill (H.R. 4283) was introduced to reauthorize the programs, but the House did not act on the measure; instead, the Higher Education Act was extended through FY2005 (see The Source, 10/08/04).
Chair Buck McKeon (R-CA) stated, “This Congress has made a commitment to fiscal discipline, pledging to taxpayers that we’ll rein in out of control spending and make better use of the resources that are already being invested. In the Higher Education Act, we have an opportunity to exercise spending restraint while producing a bill that will improve opportunities for students.”
Warning that “the cuts in this bill, if enacted, would represent the largest cuts ever to the student aid programs,” Ranking Member Dale Kildee (D-MI) said, “While there are positive provisions in this bill such as ending the 9.5 percent loan loophole and reducing origination fees it does more harm than good for college students and their families.”
The College Access and Opportunity Act would reauthorize federal student aid programs through 2012. H.R. 609 would authorize an increase in the maximum Pell Grant to $5,800 for the academic years 2006-07 through 2012-13, and would allow year-round students to be eligible for two Pell Grants during a 12-month academic year.
The bill also reauthorizes two programs established under the 1998 reauthorization: the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program, which provides funds to schools to establish or expand child care centers to serve low-income students; and a grant program to help colleges reduce violence against women on college campuses.
The subcommittee approved, by voice vote, a substitute amendment by Rep. McKeon that would incorporate new language on Pell Grants and nontraditional students. An amendment by Rep. Jon Porter (R-NV) that would provide up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness for early childhood educators also was approved by voice vote. To qualify, an early childhood educator would have to have been employed for at least five years in “an area of national need,” such as “an eligible preschool program or child care facility in a low-income community,” and would have to have completed a BA degree in early childhood education or a related field.
The subcommittee also approved the following:
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An amendment by Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI) that would have increased the maximum Pell Grant to $6,600, with further increases of $300 a year until the academic year 2011-12 was rejected, 14-18. An en bloc amendment by Rep. John Tierney (D-MA) was rejected, 15-18. The amendment would have established an incentive program for up to a 25 percent increase in Pell Grants to institutions that maintain low tuition and would have strengthened state programs to make affordable college education available, including improved distribution of information to students and families.
During consideration of the bill, an amendment by Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) that would have authorized $75 million for FY2006 to improve child care for low-income parents who are students was offered and withdrawn. Rep. David Wu (D-OR) also offered and withdrew an amendment that would have authorized institutional aid for financial literacy education or counseling services for students and parents.
