Fostering Undergraduate Talent By Unlocking Resources for Education Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. JONES. Madam President, I am rising today with just, for lack of a better term, an incredible amount of hope and excitement--something we don't always see on the Senate floor these days. We go through so many routine measures. We go through so many political speeches. But today is truly a day of hope and excitement and optimism because we are on the verge of a significant moment for our Nation's historically Black colleges and universities and all minority-serving institutions. I frankly hope that in our partisan world we are living in and in our partisan America, people across this country are tuning in right now or at least will follow what is happening on the floor of the Senate today, where a bipartisan coalition has come together for a significant and important segment of our population that deserves the same economic and educational opportunities as everyone else.

Fourteen months ago, I came to this Chamber to introduce a permanent extension, an increase of funding for these important institutions of education. Nearly half of all the funding they receive was set to run out on September 30, 2019. We secured a quarter of the Senate as cosponsors of the bill, and we laid out an ambitious proposal.

In the new Congress, with the clock ticking down toward the deadline, we offered a more modest but bipartisan and paid-for plan to avert the looming fiscal cliff. But our goal and the goal of everyone here and the goal of all of those, including my friend Senator Alexander, was to always reach the ultimate goal of permanent funding, a permanent solution for these important institutions.

All told, these schools serve 6 million students across the country. They are often the foundation upon which families begin to build generational wealth--not just one person who goes to college but generational wealth in communities that have long faced systematic barriers to doing so. They create good, sustainable jobs. They are part of the very foundation of our higher education system in this country and in my State in particular.

With all the due respect to my friend Senator Murray from Washington, there is a little controversy about who has the most HBCUs. I would claim that Alabama does with 14, but that is for debate on another day. But we can all agree that supporting these schools and the students they serve is not a partisan issue. I think we can all agree on that. I think we have shown that we can agree that funding should never become a political football. We have all been working toward the same goal.

To say the least, I am so deeply relieved that today we forged this bipartisan compromise that will allow these schools the funding and the certainty they need to go forward and continue fulfilling their important mission.

I sincerely especially want to thank my colleagues on the HELP Committee and Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray in particular for their leadership and willingness to reach across the aisle and find the common ground for the better good of this community. I also want to thank my friend Senator Scott from South Carolina for joining me on what we have done over the last couple of years to introduce the FUTURE Act and to push it forward.

I believe--and I have said this for so long--that we have so much more in common than we have that divides us. This is just one example. It is why I hope folks across the country are looking and see that we can come together and we can be unified.

I am grateful today because in addition to the permanent funding of HBCUs and minority-serving institutions, this agreement, as the Senator from Tennessee said, includes a long overdue, first big step toward simplifying the FAFSA application.

Even with a law degree, I can tell you that with my kids, trying to do that made me pull out what little bit of hair I have left. I didn't need to do that. It is not just a frustrating process; it can be so intimidating that students or their parents just walk away. In Alabama alone, kids walked away from millions of dollars of Federal financial aid and grants, not just loans. The FAFSA as it is today can be a huge barrier for students who want to go to college.

The proposal we have on the table now will help save taxpayers and make the FAFSA process less painful by cutting up to 22 questions from the form. It lays the groundwork for a broader FAFSA reform that Senator Alexander and I have been working on to cut even further to between 17 to 30 questions.

But getting across the finish line today is not just about renewing funding or cutting redtape. At their core, these issues are about opening doors of opportunity for young people who have talent and motivation to succeed in college and in life, but they have not necessarily had the financial means or the family connections to do so. This is about making sure we empower every young person in this country to reach their full potential and then pay it forward for future generations. That is what gives me hope standing here today. It is what makes me excited today.

Again, I want to thank my colleagues for the incredible effort-- Senators Alexander and Murray in particular. Our hearts have always been in the right place. We have always moved the ball forward knowing that the long-term goal was to help these families for generations to come.

Thank you, Madam President.

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