College Student Relief Act of 2007
COLLEGE STUDENT RELIEF ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - January 17, 2007)
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Mr. PEARCE. Madam Speaker, I believe we can all agree that we must work to increase opportunities to enhance the education of America's men and women. Education provides the needed foundation for helping Americans become productive working citizens. This makes our country stronger and more competitive both now and in the future.
Because I believe we must open the doors to higher education while ensuring taxpayers are protected, I plan to vote in favor of H.R. 5. This bill cuts subsidized student loan interest rates from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over a period of 5 years and includes offsets within the federal budget to ensure the budget deficit is not increased. This makes the bill a ``win-win' situation for both college graduates and taxpayers.
However, the bill before us contains serious weaknesses--weaknesses that could have been avoided had the Majority allowed for a more open discussion both in committee and on the House floor. The bill lacks in its ability to help individuals who need to fund their education today. To truly increase college enrollment and affordability, students need to have increased access to financial aid while they are attending college.
Last year Republicans brought to the House floor more comprehensive legislation that created Academic Competitiveness and Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) grant programs to supplement the existing Pell Grant program. I supported this measure as well as an increase in student Stafford loan limits from $2,625 to $3,500 a year for first year students and $3,500 to $4,500 a year for second year students. These measures were signed into law on February 8, 2006 and are helping students get increased access to financial aid as we speak.
By focusing on the principles of fairness, accountability, affordability and quality, we can continue to reform federal student aid programs to both maximize the benefits for students and spend taxpayer dollars wisely. I look forward to the Majority changing their closed door policy and giving all Members of Congress an opportunity to put forth their ideas to develop comprehensive higher education reform this year. We must continue to improve our efforts to increase college access and affordability to help Americans achieve a better future for themselves and their families.
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