Gordon Votes To Reduce College Costs

Press Release

Gordon Votes To Reduce College Costs

U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon voted for legislation that would increase financial aid available to students and put a college education within reach of more Tennesseans.

"This legislation will give students a way to cope with the skyrocketing cost of attending college," said Gordon. "Nationwide, tuition has increased by 35 percent in the last five years, yet the financial aid available hasn't kept pace with those increases."

The College Cost Reduction Act, H.R. 2669, was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday (July 11). The bill would raise the maximum value of a Pell Grant by $500 by 2011, helping to restore the value of Pell Grants.

"The improvements to the Pell Grant scholarships would benefit 113,000 students in Tennessee alone," said Gordon.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, 5,607 Middle Tennessee State University students received Pell Grants in 2006, and 2,201 students at Tennessee Technological University received the grants.

At Volunteer State Community College, 2,111 students received Pell Grants last year, while 340 students at Cumberland University benefited from the grants.

Like the College Student Relief Act that passed the House in January, the legislation would also halve current interest rates on student loans from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent. The lower rates would be phased in over the next five years.

"The average MTSU student starting college this year would save $2,340 over the life of a subsidized student loan," said Gordon. "Once the lower interest rates are fully phased in, the average MTSU student starting college in 2011 would save $4,530 over the life of the loan.

"At TTU, a student starting college this year would save $2,120, and a student who enrolled in 2011 would save $4,111 over the life of the loan."

The bill also includes a loan forgiveness program for undergraduate students who enter public service fields, such as nursing and education.

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