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S. HRG. 112–122 

PRESERVING AMERICA’S ECONOMIC SECURITY 

HEARING 

BEFORE A

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE 

COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

SPECIAL HEARING 

FEBRUARY 5, 2011—CEDAR FALLS, IA 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys 
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 

DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Chairman 

PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont 

TOM HARKIN, Iowa 

BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland 

HERB KOHL, Wisconsin 

PATTY MURRAY, Washington 

DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California 

RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois 

TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota 

MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana 

JACK REED, Rhode Island 

FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey 

BEN NELSON, Nebraska 

MARK PRYOR, Arkansas 

JON TESTER, Montana 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi, Ranking 

MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky 

RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama 

KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas 

LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee 

SUSAN COLLINS, Maine 

LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska 

LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina 

MARK KIRK, Illinois 

DANIEL COATS, Indiana 

ROY BLUNT, Missouri 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

CHARLES J. HOUY, Staff Director 

BRUCE EVANS, Minority Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND

EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES

TOM HARKIN, Iowa, Chairman 

DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii 

HERB KOHL, Wisconsin 

PATTY MURRAY, Washington 

MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana 

RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois 

JACK REED, Rhode Island 

MARK PRYOR, Arkansas 

BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama 

THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi 

KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas 

LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

MARK KIRK, Illinois 

LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

Professional Staff 

ERIK FATEMI

MARK LAISCH

ADRIENNE HALLETT

LISA BERNHARDT

MICHAEL GENTILE

ALISON PERKINS-COHEN

LAURA FRIEDEL (Minority) 

SARA LOVE RAWLINGS (Minority) 

JENNIFER CASTAGNA (Minority) 

Administrative Support 

TERI CURTIN
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Opening Statement of Senator Tom Harkin ......................................................... 1 

Prepared Statement of ..................................................................................... 4 

Statement of Benjamin J. Allen, Ph.D., President, University of Northern 

Iowa ....................................................................................................................... 5 

Prepared Statement of ..................................................................................... 8 

Pell Grants, Affordability, and Accessibility ......................................................... 8 

Federal Programs to Prepare Students for Success in College and Life ............. 10 

Final Observations .................................................................................................. 11 

Prepared Statement of Emily Thatcher ................................................................. 13 

‘‘Literacy for All’’—Students with Significant Disabilities ................................... 13 

Statements From Individuals Who Have Experience ........................................... 13 

TRIO Programs ........................................................................................................ 13 

UNI Classic Upward Bound .................................................................................... 15 

Statement of William Dotzler, Iowa State Senator, 11th District ....................... 18 

Prepared Statement of ..................................................................................... 20 

Statement of Jerry Nelson, Field Office Manager, Social Security Administration, Waterloo, Iowa ............................................................................................. 22 

Prepared Statement of ..................................................................................... 23 

Statement of Kim Young-Kent, Executive Director, Tri-County Child and 

Family Development Council, Waterloo, Iowa ................................................... 25 

Prepared Statement of ..................................................................................... 27 

Statement of Jerry D. Durham, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Chancellor, Allen College 

of Nursing, Waterloo, Iowa .................................................................................. 30 

Prepared Statement of ..................................................................................... 32 

Statement of Mark A. Anderson, Assistant to the Bishop, Northeastern Iowa 

Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Waverly, Iowa .................. 33 

Prepared Statement of ..................................................................................... 35 

Statement of Jonathan Keniston, Student, Hawkeye Community College, Waterloo, Iowa ........................................................................................................... 36 

Prepared Statement of ..................................................................................... 38 

(1) 

PRESERVING AMERICA’S ECONOMIC 

SECURITY 

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2011 

U.S. SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN

SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES, 

COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, 

Cedar Falls, Iowa. 

The subcommittee met at 12:33 p.m., in the Gallagher-Bluedorn 

Performing Arts Center, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, 

Iowa, Hon. Tom Harkin (chairman) presiding. 

Present: Senator Harkin. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR TOM HARKIN

Senator HARKIN. The Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and 

Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies will now 

come to order. 

Good afternoon everyone, and welcome. This subcommittee normally meets, of course, in Washington, DC. But from time to time, 

I like to hold field hearings in Iowa on matters of critical importance to the State and the Nation, and this is one such occasion. 

I might just again, as a way of putting it out, we have a Committee on Appropriations in both the House and the Senate, and 

on the Committee on Appropriations in the Senate, we have different subcommittees. For example, there is a Subcommittee on Defense that handles armed services, all our defense needs. There is, 

obviously, a Subcommittee on the Judiciary that handles our court 

systems and things like that. 

Then we have the subcommittee that I chair, which is the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, 

and Related Agencies. It has jurisdiction over the Department of 

Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, and the National Institutes of Health, and the 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a number of other 

things like libraries. 

So I just wanted to set the stage for that so you know where this 

is coming from. 

Here in Cedar Falls and across America, there is serious concern 

about our record-high deficits. And we all understand that these 

deficits ultimately are unaffordable and unacceptable. We know 

that in the years immediately ahead, we must take aggressive and 

painful and unpopular steps to bring this deficit under control, 

both by cutting unnecessary spending and by raising revenues. 
2 

Certainly, we took an important first step by passing, I think, 

the new health reform law, which will reduce the deficit, according 

to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), by $240 billion in the 

first decade and nearly $1 trillion in the second decade. I also intend to push for a wide range of additional spending cuts. And I 

might just add, parenthetically, including eliminating some expensive cold war-era weapons systems. 

However, I will strenuously oppose attempts to balance the budget on the backs of our most vulnerable and powerless people in our 

society, and I will insist that we continue to make prudent investments in education, infrastructure, biomedical research, the things 

that will help us, as President Obama said, to win the future. 

So, yes, Government should make tough decisions to live within 

its means, just as ordinary working families do. But if you are a 

family trying to reduce your debt, that doesn’t mean you pull your 

daughter out of college. It doesn’t mean you forgo replacing the 

worn-out brakes on your car or you stop taking your diabetes medication. These things would put you and your family at risk. 

Well, likewise, we need to maintain investments that are critical 

to the future of our American family even as we reduce overall 

spending. Now this is exactly my approach, as chair of this subcommittee that funds education, as I said, labor, health, and 

human services. 

There are places in this jurisdiction where we can reduce spending. In fact, I have recently proposed eliminating more than 20 duplicative or inefficient programs in these areas. We must also continue to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid. Every $1 that we spend on this effort returns $6 to the U.S. 

Treasury. So we need to do more in this area. 

Just last year, the Department of Health and Human Services, 

through their fraud and abuse prevention unit, recovered, actually 

recovered $4 billion for the taxpayers of this country through their 

fraud and waste control unit. Yet the proposed cuts would cut that 

very entity that is out there getting money back for the taxpayers. 

I will also insist on adequate funding for critical initiatives that 

help Iowans and all Americans to get a good education and acquire 

the skills they need to find jobs while also meeting the basic needs 

of seniors, children, those living in poverty, and people with disabilities. Those investments are at risk today. 

This past week, the House of Representatives announced that 

they will make drastic reductions to Federal health, education, and 

labor programs. They cut out more than $13 billion below the 

President’s request for the current fiscal year. They haven’t specified yet which programs they will cut. We will know more details 

next week, but they are going to hit Americans right where they 

live. 

Just one example, we know that, overall, the House leadership 

wanted to roll back Federal funding to fiscal year 2008 levels. For 

a program like Head Start, that would mean cutting services to 

120,000 kids across the country, about 1,000 here in the State of 

Iowa. 

Today, we will hear from a local Head Start director, as well as 

other Iowans who are providing critical services to the people in 

this State with the help of Federal funding. I hope to learn a little 
3 

bit more from them about the impact of this funding in Iowa and 

what it would mean if that funding were drastically cut. 

Now, before I introduce the witnesses, I am told that my staff 

handed out note cards when you signed in. If you have a question 

for me or for the witnesses, please write it out on that card. My 

staff will collect them near the end of the hearing. We will try to 

answer as many as time would allow at that time. 

I will introduce the panel who is here, and then we will just kind 

of go from my right to my left in terms of testimony. 

Dr. Benjamin J. Allen became the ninth president of the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) in 2006. He also co-chairs the Iowa 

Business Council’s Education Excellence in Iowa Roundtable. Dr. 

Allen received his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, as 

well as master and doctorate degrees from the University of Illinois. 

The Honorable William Dotzler, Senator Dotzler was elected in 

2010 to his third term representing Senate District 11 in Waterloo. 

Senator Dotzler is chair of the Economic Development Budget Subcommittee and vice chair of the Economic Growth Committee. He 

also serves on the appropriations, labor, human resources, ways 

and means committees. Senator Dotzler received his associate’s degree from North Iowa Area Community College and a bachelor’s 

degree from University of Northern Iowa. 

Gerald Nelson is the manager of the Social Security Administration field office in Waterloo. He has been with the Social Security 

Administration for 23 years. His assignments have taken him to offices throughout the Midwest in Ohio, Minnesota, Kansas City, 

Chicago, and now back here. He is a graduate of UNI. 

Kim Young-Kent is the executive director of the Tri-County Child 

and Family Development Council. A native of Cedar Falls, she received her bachelor’s degree from Buena Vista University in Storm 

Lake and her master’s degree from UNI. 

Dr. Jerry Durham serves as the chancellor and professor of nursing at the Allen College of Nursing. He previously served as vice 

chancellor of academic affairs and professor of nursing at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He holds six university degrees, including three in nursing, and a doctorate in higher education administration from St. Louis University. 

Reverend Mark Anderson is the assistant to the bishop in the 

Northeastern Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 

America. As part of his duties, Pastor Anderson serves as the liaison between the synod and its related institutions, including Barnabas Uplift, which we will hear about. He is a graduate of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and Luther College in 

Decorah. 

And last, we will have Jonathan Keniston. Mr. Keniston is currently a student at Hawkeye Community College, a native of Waterloo, a graduate of East High School, and an Air Force veteran. 

So we welcome you all here. Your statements, and I have read 

them all over, will be made a part of the record in their entirety. 

And what I would like to ask is if you could just sum it up in 5 

or 6 minutes, 7 minutes? I don’t have a real clock here, but if you 

sum up your testimony, I would sure appreciate it. 
4 

And before I start with Dr. Allen, I have some other people I 

would like to introduce here. State Representative Bob Kressig, 

District 19, is here. And our county supervisor, John Miller, I am 

told, is here. Former State Senator Bill Heckroth is here, I am told. 

Hawkeye Community College president Dr. Linda Allen is here. Dr. 

Allen, thank you for being here. 

And Congressman Braley was unable to be here today, but he 

has his person here, Jake Oeth, who is here from Congressman 

Braley’s office. I hope I didn’t miss anyone. 

But thank you all for coming to this, I think, very important 

hearing at a critical time in our country when we are trying to figure out how to reduce our deficit and how to make sure that our 

country is able to grow and win the future, as President Obama 

said. 

[The statement follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SENATOR TOM HARKIN

The Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies will now come to order. 

Good afternoon, everyone. This subcommittee normally meets in Washington, DC, 

of course, but from time to time I hold field hearings in Iowa on matters of critical 

importance to our State. This is one such occasion. 

Here in Cedar Falls, and across America, there is serious concern about recordhigh budget deficits. We all understand that these deficits, ultimately, are 

unaffordable and unsustainable. We know that, in the years immediately ahead, we 

must take aggressive, painful, and unpopular steps to bring the deficit under control—both by cutting unnecessary spending and by ending unaffordable tax breaks 

for the wealthy. 

Certainly, we took an important first step by passing the new health reform law, 

which will reduce the deficit by nearly a quarter-trillion dollars in the first decade 

and nearly $1 trillion in the second decade. I intend to push for a wide range of 

additional spending cuts, including eliminating expensive Cold War-era weapons 

systems. 

However, I will strenuously oppose attempts to balance the budget on the backs 

of the most vulnerable and powerless people in our society. And I will insist that 

we continue to make prudent investments in education, infrastructure, and biomedical research—the things that will help us, as President Obama put it in his 

State of the Union address, ‘‘to win the future.’’ 

Yes, Government should make tough decisions to live within its means—just as 

ordinary working families do, sitting around the kitchen table. But if you are a family trying to reduce debt, that doesn’t mean you pull your daughter out of college. 

It doesn’t mean you forgo replacing worn-out brakes on your car, or that you stop 

taking your diabetes medication. These things would put you and your family at 

risk. Well, likewise, we need to maintain investments that are critical to the future 

of our American family, even as we reduce spending overall. 

This is exactly my approach as chair of the Senate appropriations subcommittee 

that funds labor, health and human services, and education. There are places within 

my jurisdiction where we can reduce spending—in fact, I have proposed eliminating 

more than 20 duplicative or inefficient programs in these areas. 

We also must continue to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid. Every $1 that we spend on this effort returns $6 to the U.S. Treasury, so we 

need to do more in this area. My subcommittee will examine this issue later this 

month at a hearing in Washington. 

However, I will insist on adequate funding for critical initiatives that help Iowans 

and all Americans to get a good education and acquire the skills they need to find 

jobs, while also meeting the basic needs of seniors, children, those living in poverty, 

and people with disabilities. 

Those investments are at risk today. This past week, House Republicans announced that they will make drastic reductions to Federal labor, health, education, 

and programs—a cut of more than $13 billion below the President’s request for the 

current fiscal year. They didn’t specify yet which programs they will cut—we should 

know more details next week—but we can be sure the cuts will be deep, and they 

will hit Americans right where they live. 
5 

Just one example: We know that, overall, House Republicans want to roll back 

Federal funding to fiscal year 2008 levels. For a program like Head Start, that could 

mean cutting services to 120,000 disadvantaged children across the country—960 in 

Iowa. 

Today we will hear from a local Head Start director, as well as other Iowans who 

are providing critical services to people in this State with the help of Federal funding. I hope we will learn a little more from them about the impact of this funding 

in Iowa, and what it would mean if that funding were drastically cut. 

Before I introduce the witnesses, my staff handed out notecards as you signed in. 

If you have a question for me or for the witnesses, please write it out on that card. 

My staff will collect the cards near the end of the hearing, and we’ll try to answer 

some of the questions as time allows. 

Senator HARKIN. So, with that, Dr. Allen, thank you again for 

your stewardship of this great university. Thank you for hosting us 

here today in this wonderful facility. And as one of our college 

presidents in our region’s institutions, you have a front-row seat, 

so to speak, as to what is happening with students and to what is 

happening with education. And so, I appreciate your stewardship 

of the UNI. Thank you for being here, and please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF BENJAMIN J. ALLEN, Ph.D., PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY 

OF NORTHERN IOWA 

Dr. ALLEN. Thank you, Senator Harkin. 

It is an honor to have the opportunity to host this event. At UNI, 

we serve more than 13,000 students, 90 percent of whom are from 

the State of Iowa. Seventeen percent are first-generation students, 

and we define that as parents who do not have any type of college 

credit. 

More than 75 percent of UNI students stay in Iowa for their first 

job or for graduate school. UNI can provide no better assistance in 

the area of economic development than to provide a quality education to these students who tend to stay in Iowa after graduation. 

The availability of Federal student financial aid is foundational 

to access for many of our students, particularly the first-generation 

students. For the United States to compete in the global economy, 

its citizens must have education and skills that equal and exceed 

that of people from other countries. 

In the past several decades, we have slipped as a country in 

terms of the percentage of adults with postsecondary education degrees. The most recent census data report shows that the percentage of Iowans with a bachelor’s degree is below the national average. 

Clearly, our universities must do their parts to make higher education affordable. We must continue to be vigilant in searching for 

ways to contain costs. Universities must also do more in providing 

financial aid of all types to provide opportunities for qualified students. 

However, funding at the State level is making that goal more difficult to achieve. At the State level, funding for UNI has decreased 

over the past 2 years by approximately $20 million. Despite this reduction, we have maintained a set-aside of at least 18 percent of 

tuition for financial aid to help provide more access to higher education. This constitutes more than $12 million. 

Furthermore, we have dedicated an additional $10 million of university funds for student employment beyond the Federal Work 
6 

Study Program. Nearly 75 percent of our students work to help 

support their education. 

A summary of financial programs at UNI is included in exhibit 

1. I call to your attention the academic competitiveness and 

SMART grant programs, which have been eliminated for the 2011– 

2012 fiscal year. This will represent a loss of $1 million financial 

aid here at UNI. 

The economic recession has put considerable stress on families 

and their ability to afford higher education. Over the last 3 years 

at UNI, students receiving Pell grants increased from 25 percent 

to 30 percent, or nearly 700 students. During the 2009–2010 academic year, more than 3,300 UNI students were awarded a total 

of $11 million in Pell grant money. 

Yet the unmet needs of our students averages $6,500 plus per 

person. If the amount available for Pell grants were to be reduced 

by 20 percent, as some in the Congress have suggested, the net effect could be a doubling of the out-of-pocket expenses for a student 

receiving the maximum Pell grant. Many students will face the unfortunate choice of dropping out or borrowing more. 

At UNI, the level of debt upon graduation for students who have 

taken out loans has risen by 67 percent in the past 10 years, reaching an average of $25,700. The data strongly suggest the impact of 

the importance of the Pell grant program and other need-based 

programs promoting student success at UNI. More compelling are 

the examples of talented people who are given an opportunity to 

earn a degree and eventually make significant contributions to the 

economy. 

Ms. Danielle Stuck is a junior and working toward her psychology degree. It should be noted that she graduated from high 

school in Iowa. She is attending college in Iowa, and she plans to 

stay in Iowa after graduation. She is a first-generation college student who is a straight A student. 

She is able to attend college only because of the help of the Pell 

grant and a few other scholarships. She stated that this aid made 

a huge difference in her life. She states, ‘‘To a young college student struggling to get by, the Federal Pell grant is truly a blessing.’’ What a loss it would be for us not to have this student have 

the opportunity to get an education. 

We are very pleased to hear on February 1 that the Department 

of Education issued the Pell grant schedule, indicating that for the 

academic year 2011–2012 the maximum grant will be $5,550. Senator Harkin, your leadership in securing the funding necessary to 

make that happen is greatly appreciated. The challenge now is to 

sustain that level. 

As you know, UNI is the largest preparer of teachers in the 

State, with more than 500 new teachers graduating each year. And 

UNI is providing a leadership role in addressing the shortage of 

teachers in the area of special education. The work that is being 

done by our federally funded Center on Literacy, Language, and 

Disability Studies in Early Childhood Education, in partnership 

with the Iowa Department of Education, has particular promise for 

the future of early childhood and early elementary schoolchildren 

with special needs. We are working to build literacy, language, and 
7 

communication skills, which are the essential building blocks for 

all education. 

Because of time, I will skip the comments from a consultant with 

the Iowa Department of Education. But she basically indicates that 

we are making tremendous progress in providing opportunities for 

these students to continue their education. 

UNI places a high priority on providing a quality education to financially disadvantaged and minority students. Many students, 

particularly first generation, would never aspire to college were it 

not for the TRIO programs. This past academic year, UNI has 

served more than 3,300 students, individuals through its Educational Opportunity Center, Educational Talent Search, and Upward Bound programs. Two-thirds of these students were low income and first generation, and nearly one-half were minority. 

These are the populations which form the base for America’s economic future. You and I can cite many individuals who were helped 

or are being helped by the TRIO programs. Examples of success 

stories are provided in exhibit 3. 

I would like to highlight how the TRIO program has helped one 

individual who is now helping the United States advance in a critically important area, and that is science education. What is more 

important than that for economic development? 

Reygan Freeney, a former participant of the TRIO programs and 

a soon-to-be holder of a Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the University of Iowa, is an instructor in our Department of Chemistry and 

Biochemistry. Ms. Freeney places an extraordinarily and well-deserved high value on the TRIO programs here at UNI. 

She says, ‘‘I was a low-income African-American girl from a single-parent household, residing on the east side of Waterloo, Iowa, 

and labeled as a low-income, disadvantaged youth. The Classic Upward Bound Program challenged me to become a scholar,’’ she 

states, ‘‘and the Student Support Service Program fostered its 

growth while I attended college.’’ 

She states, ‘‘I believe I was worth the investment of the TRIO 

programs. It provided me with awareness and empowerment that 

a lonely child growing up on the wrong side of the tracks did not 

have access to. Statistically speaking,’’ she states, ‘‘I should not be 

where I am today. TRIO has equipped me with the tools for being 

a change agent and an investment in America’s future.’’ 

Her statement indicates the profound impact that TRIO has on 

the individual. 

In closing, we are right to talk about education and economic development. As you know, I am an economist. I appreciate those 

conversations. But we should also be talking about the values of 

this Nation. Offering every young man and woman and, indeed, 

displaced adults the opportunity to obtain the knowledge and tools 

needed for a successful, productive life is the right thing to do. 

To make that happen, these students first have to recognize that 

the opportunity exists for them to get a degree and to be properly 

prepared for college. The TRIO programs address both of those 

issues. Pell grants, scholarships provided by the universities and 

others, and reasonable tuition levels address the issue of affordability. We are not doing enough now. To start doing less would be 

wrong. 
8 

I want to extend my deep appreciation to you, Senator Harkin, 

for your outstanding leadership and commitment to programs in 

education, health and human services, and the workforce. We must 

not let these programs erode. 

Thank you very much. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you, Dr. Allen, for a very pointed and 

profound statement. Thank you very, very much. 

[The statement follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF DR. BENJAMIN J. ALLEN

INTRODUCTION

Senator Harkin, staff members, ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to have this 

opportunity to speak to the critical issue of ‘‘Preserving America’s Economic Security.’’ I have had the honor of serving as president of the University of Northern 

Iowa (UNI) for the past 41⁄2 years. I have served as a faculty member or administrator at one of the Regents universities for the past 30 years. At UNI, we serve 

more than 13,000 students, 90 percent of whom are from the State of Iowa. Our 

students are predominantly undergraduate students. Seventeen percent are firstgeneration college students from families where neither parent has earned any college credits. More than 75 percent of UNI’s students stay in Iowa for their first jobs 

or for graduate school. I have consistently argued that UNI can provide no better 

assistance in the area of economic development than to provide a quality education 

to these students who tend to stay in Iowa after graduation. 

As an educator, I recognize that we are at a critical time in our Nation’s history 

as our once world-leading status in educational achievement has slipped. At the 

heart of economic security is an educated and productive citizenry: our human capital. As an economist, I am well aware of the research that documents the direct 

relationship between educational attainment and economic productivity. Thus, it is 

essential that access to a high-quality education be equitably available to all students. The availability of Federal student financial aid is foundational to access for 

millions of students today and must be preserved, particularly for first-generation 

students who face significant challenges in making their dream of college a reality. 

My testimony today will focus on the programs at UNI supported by Federal 

funds that increase the accessibility to higher education for more students and improve the quality of the education they receive. I will provide real examples of people who are being and have been helped to achieve their educational goals and are 

contributing to the State and national economies as the result of their participation 

in federally funded programs. Although my perspective is from UNI, I believe that 

similar examples and arguments can be made across Iowa and the Nation. 

While financial aid is the largest single component of the Federal funding which 

the university receives, other programs from the U.S. Department of Education provide funding that serves a critical role in enabling students to attain the skills and 

abilities to be ready for higher education, beginning with the early childhood years. 

After discussing the value of the Pell Grant program for our students at UNI, I will 

highlight two other areas that help tremendously in providing access to not only 

education but to the opportunity to make a contribution to the economy and society. 

These two areas are teacher education, with an emphasis on special education, and 

the TRIO programs. 

PELL GRANTS, AFFORDABILITY, AND ACCESSIBILITY

For the United States to compete in the global economy, its citizens must have 

the education and skills that equal and exceed that of people from other countries. 

In the past several decades, we have slipped as a country in terms of the percentage 

of adults with a post-secondary education degree. The most recent census data report that 24.3 percent of Iowans have a bachelor’s degree, below the national average of 27.7 percent (U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 

2011). We must make higher education accessible and affordable to more Americans. 

Clearly our universities must do their part to make higher education affordable. 

We at UNI understand that and we also know we must be vigilant in searching for 

ways to contain costs. We have taken steps to remove administrative costs by combining two colleges, combining two departments, eliminating a vice president position and a division, reducing general funds to athletics, combining other administrative positions, and eliminating programs that have low enrollment. We have also 

collaborated with the University of Iowa and Iowa State University in areas of infor-
9 

mation technology, human resources, and facilities planning. We will continue to 

vigorously explore ways to maintain the quality of education provided with a minimum of resources. 

Universities, including UNI, must also do more in providing financial aid of all 

types to provide opportunities for all qualified students. Having said that, however, 

funding at the State level is making that goal difficult to reach. At the State level, 

funding for UNI has decreased over the past 2 years by approximately $20 million, 

a greater than 20 percent decrease in State funding. Despite this reduction we have 

maintained a set-aside of at least 18 percent of tuition for financial aid to help provide more access to higher education. This constitutes $12,793,629. Furthermore, we 

have dedicated an additional $10 million plus university funds for student employment beyond the Federal work study program. Nearly 75 percent of our students 

work to help support their education. In addition, UNI has focused its fundraising 

campaign on student scholarships. In October, we announced a $10 million gift from 

Mark and Jill Oman that will fund scholarships. A summary of financial programs 

at UNI is included in exhibit 1. I call to your attention the Academic Competitiveness and Smart Grant programs which have been eliminated for 2011–2012. This 

will represent a loss of $1 million in financial aid at UNI. 

For fiscal year 2012, we are anticipating further budget reductions from the State. The Governor’s budget proposes a 6 percent cut, approximately $4.6 million, for 

UNI. It is obvious that we need the Federal Government to maintain its student 

aid and education program funds for access to be maintained and important education programs preserved. 

The economic recession, from which we are still recovering, has put considerable 

stress on families and their ability to afford higher education. Over the last 3 years 

at UNI we have seen the proportion of students receiving Pell grants increase from 

25 percent to 30 percent, or an additional 700 students. During the 2009–2010 academic year, more than 3,300 UNI students were awarded a total of about $11 million, an increase of 42 percent more than the previous year. A portion of this increase is due to the opportunity for students to receive a summer Pell Grant. Yet, 

the unmet need of our students averages $6,544 per person. If the amount available 

were to be reduced by 20 percent, as some in the Congress have suggested, the net 

effect could be a doubling of the out-of-pocket expenses for a student receiving the 

maximum Pell grant. Many students will face the unfortunate choice of dropping 

out or borrowing more. 

At UNI, the level of debt upon graduation for students who have taken out loans has risen by 67 percent over the past 10 years, reaching an average of $25,735 for 

our most recent graduating class. These large debt loads in themselves constitute 

a risk to economic security. For example, the outstanding graduates of our teacher 

education program might not choose to enter the vitally important teaching profession because of the challenge of repaying their student loans on the relatively low 

incomes of beginning teachers 

The data strongly suggest the impact and importance of the Pell program and 

other need-based programs in promoting student success at UNI. More compelling 

are the examples of talented people who are given an opportunity to earn a degree 

and eventually make significant contributions to the economic future of this country. 

Let me introduce you to Ms. Danielle Stuck, who is a Pell Grant recipient. She 

is currently a junior at UNI working towards her psychology degree. She plans on 

either pursuing a clinical psychology degree or going to graduate school to become 

a college professor. It should be noted that she graduated from high school in Iowa, 

she is attending college in Iowa, and she intends to live in Iowa upon graduation. 

She is a first-generation college student with no parental guidance or support. College was clearly not a guarantee for her. She was able to attend college only because 

of the help of the Pell Grant and a few scholarships. She stated that this aid made 

a huge difference in her life. It opened doors that were inaccessible to her due to 

factors that were not in her control. She states, ‘‘To a young college student struggling to get by, the Federal Pell Grant is truly a blessing.’’ She did not tell us this 

but we got permission to share that she was valedictorian of a class of 312 at Thomas Jefferson High School and she carries a perfect 4.0 grade point average at UNI 

as a member of the Honors Program. What a loss it would be for all of us not to 

have a student of her ability able to attend college. 

We were very pleased to hear on February 1, that the Department of Education 

(ED) issued the Pell grant schedule indicating that for the academic year of 2011– 

2012 the maximum grant will be $5,550. Senator Harkin, your leadership in securing the funding necessary to make that happen is greatly appreciated. The challenge 

now is to sustain that level. 

Given the recent sharp increase in demand for Pell Grants and the implications 

for future funding, there are indications the new Congress may re-examine the Pell 
10 

Grant Program. I encourage you and your colleagues to avoid policies that would 

restrict student access by penalizing students, like Danielle Stuck, in their ability 

to pursue a legitimate course of study at an institution of higher education and, in 

the long-run, to make great contributions to the economy of the United States. 

FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO PREPARE STUDENTS FOR SUCCESS IN COLLEGE AND LIFE

While financial aid is the largest single component of the Federal funding which 

UNI receives, other programs from ED provide funding which serves a critical role 

in enabling students to attain the skills and abilities to be ready for higher education, beginning with the early childhood years. I would like to highlight two areas: 

teacher education, with an emphasis on special education, and the TRIO programs. 

Teacher education with emphasis on special education. As you know, UNI is the 

largest preparer of teachers in the State with more than 500 new teachers graduating each year, and UNI has provided a leadership role in addressing the shortage of teachers certified in special education. Federal grants continue to enable us 

to provide courses for teachers who are not certified, professional development for 

teachers in the field, and enrichment for our teacher education programs on campus. 

Our work now by our federally funded Center on Literacy, Language, and Disability Studies in Early Childhood Education, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Education, has particular promise for the future of early childhood and 

early elementary school children with special needs. We are working with children 

and teachers in inclusive classrooms on new teaching methods to build literacy, language, and communication skills, which are the essential building blocks for all education. For too many years it has been assumed that special needs children could 

not attain literacy and communication skills. With innovations in technology and 

approaches that integrate sensory activities with traditional pedagogies, our work 

is demonstrating gains well beyond previous expectations. Our work has also extended to parents and family centered practices to foster and enhance learning. Exhibit 2 contains a statement by Emily Thatcher, Consultant, Bureau of Student and 

Family Support Services, Iowa Department of Education, which speaks to the impact of our work: 

‘‘In little more than 2 years of these projects, students with significant disabilities 

are demonstrating increased ability to communicate and grow in their literacy skills 

and challenge their teachers to provide greater levels of literacy instruction. As 

gains in literacy and communication skills are demonstrated, family involvement 

has increased and many are encouraged to consider educational outcomes not 

thought to be obtainable for their students.’’ 

This is not the time to cut back on programs that hold such promise for our children. The economic payback of this investment in this cutting-edge, research-based 

education that prepares students to be contributing members of society is substantial. 

TRIO Programs.—UNI places a high priority on providing a quality education to 

financially disadvantaged and minority students. Accordingly, UNI is proud to be 

partner with the Federal Government in providing the TRIO programs. Many students, particularly first generation, would never aspire to college or believe it was 

in the realm of possibility were it not for the TRIO programs. This past academic 

year, UNI served 3,385 individuals through its Educational Opportunity Center, 

Educational Talent Search, and Upward Bound programs. Two thirds of these students were low income and first generation. Nearly half were minority. These are 

the populations which form the base for America’s economic future. The TRIO programs have demonstrated success in reducing the achievement gap. These gains in 

achievement and productivity are critically important if the United States wants to 

regain its competitiveness in the global economy. Cutting back these programs will 

indirectly affect the long-term vitality of the economy. Now is not the time to reduce 

the funding for these programs. 

Full recovery from the recession will require more people with more education. 

To be competitive and creative and entrepreneurial in the global business environment individuals need knowledge and skills appropriate for the 21st century in 

science, mathematics, and technology; in foreign language and cultural understanding; and in entrepreneurship and innovation. All of this requires the very best 

prepared teachers and an education system that serves all of our citizens from birth 

to death. 

UNI can cite many individuals who were helped or are being helped by TRIO programs. Examples of success stories are provided in exhibit 3. I would like to highlight how the TRIO has helped one individual who is now helping the United States 
11 

advance in a critically important area for economic development—science education. 

Reygan Freeny, a former participant of the TRIO programs and a soon-to-be holder 

of a Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the University of Iowa, is an instructor in our 

department of chemistry and biochemistry. Ms. Freeny places an extraordinarily 

and well-deserved high value on the TRIO programs here at UNI. 

‘‘I was a low-income, African-American girl from a single parent household residing on the eastside of Waterloo, Iowa and labeled as a, ’low-income, disadvantaged 

youth.’ This was my identifier before becoming a participant in the Classic Upward 

Bound (CUB) Program. The program leveled the educational and socioeconomic 

playing field for a poor girl whose mother only graduated from high school. 

‘‘The CUB program challenged me to become a scholar... and the Student Support Services (SSS) program fostered its growth while I attended college. The SSS 

program staff served as academic advisors, confidants, and (at times) a surrogate 

mother because my family did not understand many of the issues I faced as a college student. 

‘‘I think about these programs and the impact on my life and how my mother and 

I sat in an office filing out the FAFSA Federal Student Aid form and she had never 

planted a foot in a university office before this meeting. I have finished all the requirements for my Ph.D. in chemistry and will be defending my dissertation related 

to nanoscience shortly. I believe I was worth the investment of the TRIO programs; 

it provided me with awareness and empowerment that a lonely child growing up 

on the wrong side of the tracks did not have access to. Statistically speaking, I 

should not be where I am today. TRIO has equipped me with the tools for being 

a change agent and an investment in America’s future.’’ 

This statement by Ms. Freeny identifies the profound effect the TRIO programs 

have on the individual. One could argue that these programs effectively end the poverty cycle in many families, as well as add to the workforce highly educated individuals. 

FINAL OBSERVATIONS

We are right to talk about education and economic development, but we should 

also be talking about the values of this Nation. Offering every young man and 

woman, and indeed displaced adults, the opportunity to obtain the knowledge and 

tools needed for a successful productive life is the right thing to do. Here at UNI, 

and I would argue that at all institutions of higher learning, we strive to make 

every student achieve the best education possible for them. To make that happen, 

those students first have to recognize that the opportunity exists for them to get 

a degree. Those students have to be prepared properly for college. The TRIO programs address both of those issues. And, of course, those students have to be able 

to afford to attend a college or university. Pell grants, scholarships provided by the 

universities and others, and reasonable tuition levels address the issue of affordability. We know that currently we are helping many, but certainly not all. We are 

not doing enough—to start doing less would be wrong. I want to extend our deep 

appreciation to you, Senator Harkin, for your outstanding leadership and commitment to programs in education, health, human services, and the workforce. We must 

not let these programs erode. 

Thank you very much. I would be pleased to respond to questions. 
12 

EXHIBIT 1.—UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA STUDENT FINANCIAL AID ANNUAL REPORT—2009–2010 

Notable change 

2008–2009 2009–2010 Percent change 

Number of 

awards Value of awards Mean award Number of awards Value of awards Mean award Number of awards Value of awards 

Student Financial Aid Programs 

Total ............................................................................................................................ 37,136 $124,372,381 $3,349 38,145 $128,829,476 $3,377 2 .7 3 .6 Institutional and Private Gift Aid ............................................................................... 9,005 $19,085,997 $2,119 9,702 $19,984,057 $2,060 7 .7 4 .76 Institutional Scholarships/Grants ............................................................................... 5,607 $10,422,989 $1,859 6,968 $12,017,114 $1,725 24 .3 15 .3 Corporate/Private Scholarships ................................................................................... 3,015 $5,590,579 $1,854 2,342 $4,898,7751 $2,092 ¥22 .3 ¥12 .4 Athletic Scholarships .................................................................................................. 383 $3,072,429 $8,022 392 $3,068,168 $7,827 2 .3 ¥0 .1 Federal and State Grants ........................................................................................... 5,535 $13,320,398 $2,407 6,405 $16,776,728 $2,619 15 .7 25 .9 Federal Pell Grant 1 ..................................................................................................... 2,567 $7,642,360 $2,977 3,309 $10,882,051 $3,289 28 .9 42 .4 Academic Competitiveness Grant 1 ............................................................................. 560 $474,480 $847 608 $491,527 $808 8 .6 3 .6 National SMART Grant 1 .............................................................................................. 107 $318,579 $2,977 187 $573,673 $3,068 74 .8 80 .1 Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant 1 ............................................................. 550 $545,536 $992 590 $556,989 $944 7 .3 2 .1 TEACH Grant 1 ............................................................................................................. 168 $606,307 $3,609 314 $1,205,082 $3,838 86 .9 98 .8 ROTC 1 ......................................................................................................................... 17 $111,631 $6,567 8 $62,471 $7,809 ¥52 .9 ¥44 Other Federal Grant/Scholarship Programs 1 .............................................................. 490 $1,393,872 $2,845 439 $988,018 $2,251 ¥10 .4 ¥29 .1 All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship ............................................................................... 87 $502,028 $5,770 55 $295,792 $5,378 ¥36 .8 ¥41 .1 IMAGES Grant .............................................................................................................. 182 $337,700 $1,855 204 $332,200 $1,628 12 .1 ¥1 .6 Iowa Grant ................................................................................................................... 207 $169,866 $821 191 $161,830 $847 ¥7 .7 ¥4 .7 Vocational Rehabilitation ............................................................................................ 166 $453,441 $2,732 179 $523,610 $2,925 7 .8 15 .5 Commission for the Blind ........................................................................................... 3 $10,821 $3,607 2 $11,163 $5,582 ¥33 .3 3 .2 Other State Grants ...................................................................................................... 335 $290,121 $866 223 $286,548 $1,285 ¥33 .4 ¥1 .2 National Guard ............................................................................................................ 96 $463,656 $1,855 96 $405,774 $4,227 ...................... ¥12 .5 Loans ........................................................................................................................... 17,396 $80,741,386 $4,641 17,273 $80,608,345 $4,667 ¥0 .7 ¥0 .2 State Loans ................................................................................................................. .................... ........................ .................... .................... ........................ .................... ...................... ......................Federal Perkins 1 ......................................................................................................... 451 $803,701 $1,782 511 $845,398 $1,654 13 .3 5 .2 Direct Loans 1 .............................................................................................................. 15,751 $72,515,429 $4,604 16,118 $75,876,571 $4,708 2 .3 4 .6 Private Loans .............................................................................................................. 1,194 $7,422,256 $6,216 644 $3,886,376 $6,035 ¥46 .1 ¥47 .6 Employment ................................................................................................................. 5,200 $11,224,600 $2,159 4,765 $11,460,436 $2,405 ¥8 .4 2 .1 Federal Work-Study 1 ................................................................................................... 515 $678,925 $1,318 512 $769,415 $1,503 ¥0 .6 13 .3 Iowa Work-Study ......................................................................................................... 77 $101,354 $1,316 .................... ........................ .................... ¥100 ¥100 Graduate Teaching, Research Assistantships ............................................................ 380 $2,320,737 $6,107 362 $2,263,481 $6,253 ¥4 .7 ¥2 .5 UNI Employment .......................................................................................................... 4,228 $8,123,584 $1,921 3,891 $8,427,450 $2,166 ¥8 3 .7 

1 Federal programs. 
13 

EXHIBIT 2 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF EMILY THATCHER

‘‘LITERACY FOR ALL’’—STUDENTS WITH SIGNIFICANT DISABILITIES

The Iowa Department of Education, Bureau of Student and Family Support Services has established two innovative 5-year projects to increase the communicative 

and literate lives of students with significant disabilities. These projects, Literacy, 

Language, and Communication for Students with Significant Developmental Disabilities: Reaching Potential through Systemic and Sustainable Statewide Professional Development and Comprehensive Communication and Literacy Project are 

designed to include collaborative partnerships spanning Higher Institutes of Education, Area Education Agency and Local school district personnel. Faculty of the 

University of Northern Iowa in the Center for Disabilities in Literacy, Language, 

and Learning and Dr. Karen Erickson, of the University of North Carolina, Chapel 

Hill Department of Allied Health Sciences, Center for Literacy and Disabilities 

Studies are collectively sharing their expertise to support 25 classroom sites across 

the state of Iowa. 

The reasons and purposes for supporting literacy and communication instruction 

for students with significant disabilities are grounded in the belief and knowledge 

that all students regardless of the level or nature of their disability have the potential to become literate adults when given the opportunity to be engaged in comprehensive literacy instruction. Research also supports the level of literacy to greatly impact the quality of life for individuals that includes employability, health, and 

civic engagement—all of which are valued and desired for students who face great 

obstacles in becoming independent within these activities. 

In little more than 2 years of these projects, students with significant disabilities 

are demonstrating increased ability to communicate and grow in their literacy skills 

and challenge their teachers to provide greater levels of literacy instruction. As 

gains in literacy and communication skills are demonstrated, family involvement 

has increased and many are encouraged to consider educational outcomes not 

thought to be obtainable for their students. 

Through support of these projects and belief of Literacy for All, the Iowa Department of Education is committed to eliminate the achievement gap and provide 

greater educational opportunity in literacy instruction that will lead to meaningful 

life outcomes for students with significant disabilities. 

EXHIBIT 3 

STATEMENTS FROM INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCE

TRIO PROGRAMS

Reygan Freeney 

According to Charles Darwin, ‘‘If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws 

of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin.’’ This is why the Federal TRIO 

programs are of such importance. I was a low-income, African-American girl from 

a single parent household residing on the eastside of Waterloo, Iowa and labeled as 

a, ‘‘low-income, disadvantaged youth.’’ This was my identifier before becoming a participant in the Classic Upward Bound Program (CUB). The Upward Bound program 

has had substantial influence on my life in immeasurable ways. The program leveled the educational and socioeconomic playing field for a poor girl whose mother 

only graduated from high school. 

The Classic Upward Bound Program challenged me to become a scholar. Initially, 

the program made a connection with me that eventually lead to a difference within 

me. It planted and nurtured the seed of a quality education and the Student Support Services (SSS) program fostered its growth while I attended college. I was the 

first person in my entire family to attend and graduate college. The SSS program 

staff served as academic advisors, confidants, and (at times) a surrogate mother because my family did not understand many of the issues I faced as a college student. 

TRIO programs encouraged to me to become a productive citizen who is a valuable contributor to society. I think about these programs and the impact on my life 

and how my mother and I sat in an office filing out the FAFSA Federal Student 

Aid form and she had never planted a foot in a university office before this meeting. 

I have finished all the requirements for my Ph.D. in chemistry and will be defending 

my dissertation related to nanoscience shortly. I believe I was worth the investment 

of the TRIO programs; it provided me with awareness and empowerment that a 

lonely child going up on the wrong side of the track did not have access to. Statis-
14 

tically speaking, I should not be where I am today but I currently teach chemistry 

at the University of Northern Iowa. TRIO has equipped me with the tools of being 

a change agent and it an investment in America’s future. 

* * * * * * * 

To Whom It May Concern: What does Upward Bound mean to me? I Joined Upward Bound as a sophomore in high school because my best friend was in the program. I entered the program with no job, no money, and the usual ‘‘I know it all’’ 

attitude of a 16 year-old, but I left with so much more. 

I think all teenagers feel like something is missing in their lives. We’re trapped 

in a mental purgatory between childhood and adulthood, seeking something for ourselves, searching for our potential and the kind of adults we wish to become. 

We enter into high school hoping we’ll find what we are looking for. We join 

sports, music, drama, and unfortunately sometimes we turn to drugs or gangs. But 

we’re all looking for our niche, somewhere that we will belong. 

I think that some of the problem is that although we have a school full of people 

trying to prepare us for our adulthood and our future, they simply can’t do everything for all of their students which we might need. TRIO Programs were able to 

provide mentors for me, people who were in places that seem intangible to most students who aren’t in the program. We got a glimpse of what our futures could hold 

for us and we were shown that there were people who went through the same 

things that we did, and made it. Upward Bound showed us that we all had this potential, the abilities to succeed as well. This is something that only they could have 

provided us, and something that was invaluable to my success and undoubtedly the 

others around us. 

Upward Bound provides us a place where friendships can be fostered with peers 

who also value their education and the opportunities that it will provide. Not only 

that, but they provide it for those who need it the most—those who often aren’t able 

to have their parents around them enough to mentor them because they might be 

working two jobs to support their family. Tutorials give us a safe and stress-free 

environment that we can escape to for a couple of hours to study, and the tutors 

are people that are often going to college who can be related to and looked up to 

as a role model and someone that we can gain advice from. Best of all, it was free. 

Growing up, I always thought I knew everything because I was intelligent, but 

my senior year of high school hit me hard. For once in my life, I didn’t know what 

I was doing or where I wanted to go in life. Upward Bound helped me figure out 

that a 4-year university was the best place for me to go, but that presented a new 

problem. My parents aren’t able to work much since they’re both disabled, and I 

couldn’t find a job at all. How would we be able to pay for even one year of college, 

let alone four and which one would I pick? 

Upward Bound helped me figure that out too. They helped me find and apply to 

scholarships, took me on college tours, and helped me fill out my FAFSA, which I 

hadn’t even heard of up until that point. They paid for my application fees, which 

I certainly wouldn’t have been able to do, and I now had valuable references that 

could write me letters of recommendation from the program. They motivated me, 

supported me, and wouldn’t accept anything short of excellence. 

Upward Bound wasn’t just a program that helped me graduate from high school 

and move on to college. It was a program that actually cared about me and asked 

for nothing in return, which is something that you don’t encounter very often anymore. Upward bound showed me that doing the bare minimum wasn’t acceptable— 

I had to exceed even my own standards. So when I was asked to write this, there 

really wasn’t even a choice for me to make. How could I not, when Upward Bound 

taught me how to excel in my education, and to accept no one’s limitations for my 

achievement? 

Upward Bound was my teacher, my mentor, my counselor, my friend, and my parent all rolled up in one, and Upward Bound showed me how to not only be a student, but a resilient woman who will never let anyone tell her she can’t do or be 

something ever again. That is what Upward Bound means to me. 

Thank you. 

KRYSTAL M. ROBINSON, 

Freshman at the University of Northern Iowa. 

* * * * * * * 

Hello my name is Azline Nelson. 

I started the TRIO programs when I was a sixth grader and have been an active 

participant since that time. I have been an active member in talent search, the 

Classic Upward Bound program and this past summer I served as a Tutor-Mentor 

for the classic upward program. 
15 

During high school I was active in the academic year by participating in tutorials 

and during the summer I was a scholar in the summer enrichment Classic Upward 

Bound program. Without both programs to prepare me for life, I do not how I would 

have been successful in any of my endeavors. These programs taught me the importance of time management, effective communication, how to seek resources, networking and how to follow up once you have interacted with someone and most importantly pointed me in the right direction to receive my fantastic scholarship. 

I am in recognition of the Gates Millennium Scholarship and I would not be able 

to say that without the aid of TRIO programs. They have groomed me for success 

better than any program that I have ever been a part of. They have encouraged me 

to stay active with community service, active on campus and helped to enroll me 

in leadership training to develop my interpersonal skills. This program has helped 

tremendously to make me the excellent scholar that I am today. 

I am a sophomore at Spelman College on the Dean’s List with a grade point average of 3.7. I currently serve as the Educational Advancement Foundation Chair for 

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated and I am the treasury of Toastmaster 

International. Without TRIO programs I would not be able to claim recognition to 

any of the accomplishments listed above. 

The faculties hired for TRIO programs truly care about the best interests of the 

students are they are there to encourage and provide scholars with the necessary 

skills to become successful in life. They possibilities are endless with the aid of 

TRIO programs and they deserve to be the premier programs that students have 

access to. They provide all the necessary resources to take scholars anywhere they 

aspire. Please keep funding for all TRIO programs to help ensure the success of 

more students and produce more individuals similar to me. 

* * * * * * * 

UNI CLASSIC UPWARD BOUND

UNI Classic Upward Bound (CUB) is an essential entity to the community it 

serves, not only does this program develop collaborative relationships among members of the community it services, but it also provides great opportunities for many. 

CUB is designed to improve the life of the target population (low-income and firstgeneration students) by allowing them to maintain valuable life skills in the areas 

of, but not limited to networking, academics, and community service opportunities. 

This program is essential to the advancement of the many students it serves; CUB 

is one of the few positive outlets for children, especially low-income and first-generation students, in Black Hawk County. CUB is committed to building long-lasting relationship with the students; this does not only serve a valuable purpose in their 

immediate lives, but also in their future endeavors. 

Neither of my parents went to college, my father did not have the opportunity of 

graduating high school. Yet they instilled in me the importance of going to college 

and getting a good education so that I would not have to work hard and live paycheck to paycheck as they did. Although they wanted the best for me they did not 

know how to ensure that I obtained the necessary tools to be successful, I did not 

either, lucky for me there was a group of committed people who reached out to me 

and gave me what my parents could not provide. I was first enrolled in the CUB 

program after the completion of my eighth grade year in the summer of 1999, as 

a student transitioning into high school. I stayed in contact with the wonderful Director Wilfred M. Johnson over the years, even while obtaining my BA from the 

University of Iowa. As of December 2010, I returned to the Waterloo area where 

I currently work as a tutor/mentor for the program. I am taking this moment to give 

to others what was given to me in hopes of inspiring them and giving them the motivation that I had to be the successful young woman that I am today. 

The program continues to teach me beneficial concepts, while I was in the program I learned things such as how to enhance my academic skills and peer relationships, now as a post-program participator and tutor/mentor I am learning how to 

be a positive influence to the younger generation. I am also learning how to break 

the ice with what we call ‘‘little people’’ and also how to make learning interesting 

so they actually absorb the information that is given to them. With these students 

(low-income or first-generation) their parents are usually working and do not have 

the time and/or knowledge to ensure that their homework is not only getting done 

and turned in, but that they understand the concepts of their academic work. CUB 

provides great academic support and is a positive force within the community. 

Sincerely, 

KEYAH LEVY. 

* * * * * * * 
16 

JANUARY 31, 2011. 

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I am writing this letter to express concern for the 

Classic Upward Bound (CUB) Program at the University of Northern Iowa. I was 

exposed in the CUB program for the first time, in the summer of 1995. A friend 

of mine mentioned it to me, as she knew some people in the program, and we did 

not know the program specifics, but we did know that it was a program we wanted 

to be in! We would get to spend the summers on UNI’s campus away from our parents, and we would get a weekly stipend. We did not know anything else that we 

would have to do, but we were sold. 

It was during the 1995–1996 academic school year that I applied for and was accepted to the program, and regardless of my motivation for enrolling, the program 

has had a profound impact on my life. From the first time that I met the program 

director, Mickye Johnson, I knew that he would change me, and help mold me into 

a more productive member of society. My first summer in the program was the first 

time I had ever been away from home for so long, but it was such a wonderful opportunity for growth for me, Not only was I challenged academically, but I was also 

challenged to grow personally, and molded into a person who aspired to not only 

understand what was going on around me, but to impact that. I started my high 

school ‘‘career’’ a step ahead because now I knew some people that would attend 

Waterloo East High School with me that I had not previously known, and I had an 

academic advantage as I had already been exposed to some of the course material 

during the summer instructional program. 

That was one of my first experiences with the CUB program, but it had such a 

long lasting impact on my life. I still look to the staff of the program for inspiration 

and mentorship in my professional life. I am currently employed by Hawkeye Community College as an Academic/Career Advising Coordinator. A position that I know 

was motivated by my early exposure to college through the Classic Upward Bound 

Program. At that time, I was sure I was going to go to medical school and become 

a doctor. At some point, my desire to help others in a medical capacity changed, and 

I knew my passion for education and helping others reach their educational goals 

would be my life passion. 

I am a true testament of what the Classic Upward Bound program can do to help 

a student reach their educational potential. I come from a single-parent, low-income, 

first generation home. My mother raised four children by herself while working a 

full-time job, and we were involved with the CUB program, and have had some experience with college. I hold a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and a master’s degree 

in social work, and am in the process of pursuing a Ph.D. in educational leadership, 

my younger siblings are all currently enrolled in educational programs. My younger 

brother is pursuing an AAS in Automotive Technology, my youngest brother a BA 

in business from the University of Northern Iowa, and my sister is currently enrolled in medical school at the University of North Carolina. My mother instilled 

in us all a respect for education, and expected that we would all attend college, but 

the Classic Upward Bound program showed us that going to college could be a reality, and helped us to make those dreams a reality. It was that we would need financial support in order to attend college. They helped us to search and apply for 

scholarships, and to fill out the FAFSA which my mother still, after all these years, 

still likes a little assistance to fill out. 

Through the Classic Upward Bound program, I was also exposed to educational 

opportunities offered by other TRIO programs. I was a participant in the Educational Talent Search program, and exposed some of my friends who could not get 

into the CUB program to opportunities available through this program. I was also 

a summer participant in the Math/Science Upward Bound program, which was yet 

another growth opportunity given to me by the program as I left the Waterloo/Cedar 

Falls area, and my comfort zone. Once I graduated from college, during my bridge 

year, I was connected to the Student Support Services program, and the Educational 

Opportunity Center, which helped ease my transition from high school to college. 

These programs were able to provide me support and opportunities for growth during my college years, but the support that I received from the programs did not stop 

once I obtained my BA. I also was allowed to do a practicum for my Master’s program with the CUB program, which exposed me to a lot of the background information that as a participant you may not understand, and also, I believe, helped me 

to get my first full-time job. The first career opportunity that I was offered upon 

graduation was with the Student Support Services at Hawkeye Community College. 

I know that my first-hand experience with the program, as well as the grooming 

that I received during my practicum contributed to this opportunity. 

The Classic Upward Bound program at the University of Northern Iowa has had 

a PROFOUND impact on my life. I fully support this program, and pray that students are offered the opportunities and experiences that I was exposed to for years 
17 

to come. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and thanking you in advance for your consideration. 

Sincerely, 

LEAH CLARK, LMSW. 

* * * * * * * 

My name is Robert Abben. I have been a part of the Classic Upward Bound Program for a total of ten years now. When I heard that funding for the program was 

going to be cut, I felt the need as a future educator to do my part to ensure that 

the program remains in place. This is necessary because countless individuals deserve the same opportunity that the program provided me 4 short years ago. 

The Program has been so beneficial to me that it troubles me to know where to 

begin to tell the story of how the program has influenced me. The truth is I feel 

now that the program played a great role in making me the person that I am today. 

I entered the program the spring semester of my freshman year of high school in 

2001 as a first generation college student. I came in just like every other student. 

I was young, immature, smart-mouthed, and thought I owned the world. Soon after 

I entered the program, Mr. Johnson cracked his whip. Some may be wondering exactly what whip I am referring to and that whip is the one that turns more than 

80 percent of those smart-mouthed, know-it-all students into young, college educated adults. Over the years, as we have grown up, some of us have gone into business, counseling, other of us like myself, have gone on to become educators. We will 

be taking what Upward Bound has instilled in us and pass it on for generations 

to come in our classrooms throughout the United States. Other participants have 

even gone on to work in the White House. 

Without this program, many of us would have never thought twice about a college 

education. The truth of it is, ask any educator and they will tell you, parental involvement is lacking in today’s society. Many parents or guardians are not actively 

involved in their child’s education. This may not be their intent but they may not 

have a choice. They may have to work two jobs so that their child can eat. Unfortunately, food tends to come before education. The Upward Bound Program is exactly 

what students in these types of situations need. Mr Johnson, in some respects, help 

raised me and with the help of my parents and all of the rest of the Upward Bound 

staff, I am where I am today. We can not take this away from future generations. 

If students with so much potential are allowed to slip through the cracks in the education system and do not have the support of the program, we as educators would 

be doing our students and society a disservice. The next doctor or Johnny Cockerin 

could be passed by because they did not believe they were smart enough or financially able to attend college. Upward Bound may be the only thing telling them otherwise. 

Sure, if some students are asked what they think of the program, they may say 

it is terrible. There are so many rules, we can not have any fun. Also, it is so hot 

in those dorms. Who wants to go to school in the summertime? I will be the first 

to say I thought the same thing when I was younger. However, this really is one 

of those times when individuals do not realize what a great resource they have in 

front of them until it is gone. So please take my advice as a former student and 

future educator and please do not take the only chance at an education that some 

of our future students may have away from them. 

* * * * * * * 

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I am writing this letter on behalf of the esteemed 

‘‘Upward Bound’’ program. Created in 1968, Upward Bound is a vessel used to fight 

the ‘‘war on poverty.’’ Since inception this program has helped thousands of students 

from disadvantaged backgrounds, including myself. Having a father who dropped 

out of school in tenth grade and a mother who obtained only a high school diploma, 

college was not the topic of discussion within my household. My parents were more 

concerned or worried about paying bills. 

Shocking as it may seem, UNI’s Upward Bound program introduced the option 

of college to me for the first time. The tutorial programs they host gave me structure and provided help with challenging subjects, which allowed me to keep a high 

grade point average. The summer program was the highlight of my experience; although strict and homework ridden, the college classes we attended was great preparation for attending a university, such as UNI. Because of Upward Bound and the 

mentorship of Wilfred ‘‘Mickye’’ Johnson, last May I graduated from UNI with a 3.4 

grade point average. I am currently headed into my second year of graduate school 

here at UNI, and teaching oral communication to undergraduate students. 

Without the opportunity of the Upward Bound program, I’m sure this story would 

have ended differently. The opportunity this program afforded me has more reward-
18 

ing benefits than just educational. I am the first person in my family to graduate 

from college. As I will soon start my doctorial program, my children are being challenged to further their education. I am also in the process of buying my first home 

a feat my mother or father never achieved. For this I am forever indebted to this 

program. In conclusion, I would like to thank Wilfred ‘‘Mickye’’ Johnson, Upward 

Bound (TRIO), and the University of Northern Iowa for providing me and many others with an opportunity at success. 

Sincerely, 

SHERMAN WISE. 

* * * * * * * 

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I am a proud mother of three. I am a lower middle 

class citizen and my son is a high school graduate and the first generation to go 

to college. 

My son was in the Upward Bound Program. I believe my son wouldn’t be where 

he is today without having the opportunity to be a part of this program. The program has taught him to be a leader in his personal growth and commitment to excellence. The tutorials helped him stay focused and the summer program gave him 

the taste of college life, which helped motivate him to go to college. Also the program is very informative and helpful when filling out scholarships, etc. Without this 

guidance, my son would not of had the recourses available for him to afford to go 

to college and further his education. 

Where would my son be without the TRIO program? Answer. NOT as far as he 

is today. 

The TRIO Program is a major asset to our society and economy as a whole. Without the commitment and recourses I believe some kids get lost in the shuffle. The 

children of today are ‘‘the future’’ and we must empower them to do so. 

Thank you for your time, 

TERESA LULOFF. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you, but before we go further, I understand I missed a couple of people here. I may have missed some 

others. State Representative Anesa Kajtazovic is here. Yes, welcome. Thank you. A newly elected State representative. 

And State Representative Deb Berry is also here. Thank you for 

being here, both of you, today. 

If I missed anyone, would you please let my staff know—I have 

got staff back there—so I can properly recognize you. 

Senator Dotzler, welcome. You hold very important positions in 

the State legislature regarding the very issues we are talking 

about. So, again, thank you for that leadership, and welcome here. 

And please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM DOTZLER, IOWA STATE SENATOR, 11th DISTRICT 

Mr. DOTZLER. Well, thank you, Senator Harkin, for this opportunity to speak to you today on Federal issues that have a direct 

effect on Iowa and its citizens. 

As chair of the Senate Economic Development Appropriations 

Subcommittee, I have the opportunity to hear from many of Iowa’s 

top CEOs, and their message is clear and consistent. Iowa’s economy is shifting farther away from private sector jobs requiring low 

skills to a highly specialized, innovation-based economy that requires advanced skills and competencies. 

A recent report from ACT predicts that in 3 short years, nearly 

45 percent of all jobs will require at least middle skills, which is 

additional training, but not necessarily a 4-year degree. Unfortunately, only 25 percent will have those skills needed. 

Iowa lost approximately 55,000 jobs during this recession, of 

which 37,000 came from the manufacturing sector. These individuals have been identified as needing significant skill upgrades and 
19 

retraining to secure self-sustaining employment for the years to 

come. 

Although Iowa’s current unemployment rate is lower than the 

national average at 6.3 percent, the data for these unemployed 

workers points to significant challenges. Fourteen percent of the 

customers coming into Iowa Workforce Development offices do not 

have a GED. Fifty-seven percent are male, reflective of the significant job loss in manufacturing and construction. 

Fourteen percent are older than the age of 55 years. Only 7 percent have a college degree. Eighty-seven percent have qualified for 

adult services, and 29 percent qualify for dislocated worker services. 

If we are to be successful in moving workers from unemployment 

to work, enhanced services are clearly needed, and increased funding is crucial. The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) provides opportunities for Iowa’s disadvantaged youth, adults, and dislocated 

workers for retraining and enhanced worker services. 

Iowa integrates its efforts with other programs and services at 

its One-Stop centers to greatly increase the number of individuals 

served in adult and dislocated worker programs. For Iowa’s 2010 

budget year, wage record data for adults exiting the program indicates that for each $1 of WIA resources spent, there is an increase 

of $77.59 in participant earnings for the next 12 months after completing services. For youth, it was $2.25 per $1 spent. And for the 

dislocated worker population, participant earnings were $11.44 for 

each $1 invested. 

Senator Harkin, WIA efforts clearly have positive results, but 

Federal funding levels are too low to meet the need. Many unemployed workers are on a waiting list for WIA funded training opportunities. And on a statewide average, a year’s training allocation 

lasts only a little more than 6 months. When larger mass layoffs 

occur, the State must rely on the national emergency grants to 

meet the needs of workers, all of which results in longer periods 

of unemployment before services are delivered. 

And often, workers run out of benefits before training dollars become available, creating a new set of barriers for the worker to 

overcome. We are working with local employers and our community 

college to develop State short-term certified training programs to 

deliver skills in demand to unemployed and underemployed workers. 

A pilot program at Kirkwood Community College has already 

helped 350 workers complete certificate programs and fill jobs with 

those needed skills at an average cost of only $1,000 per student. 

Timely and adequate WIA funding can remove barriers that prevent struggling Iowans from helping themselves and, at the same 

time, help many Iowa businesses fill their need for skilled workers 

that is currently preventing them from expanding. 

I recently had the opportunity to speak with an unemployed 

mother, Donnie Stanley, who entered Kirkwood’s pilot program. 

Three months later, she was a certified nurse assistant. She now 

works full time and supports her family and plans to keep upgrading her skills. Donnie’s success story is what the act is all about. 

Investment in our workforce equals quality employment. 
20 

Senator Harkin, in my remaining few minutes, I would like to 

speak briefly about the importance of maintaining and continuing 

to improve the Affordable Health Act. After hearing from hundreds 

of Iowans and business owners, it is clear to me that any successful 

attempt to nullify health reform would be a major blow to our 

State. We cannot afford to eliminate the tax credits that are helping to make health insurance more affordable for small businesses, 

and in recent surveys that I and my fellow senators have sent out, 

employers identified healthcare costs as a major limiting factor in 

job growth. 

As a result, we have proposed to add an additional 25 percent 

State tax credit to the Federal credits that are already helping to 

make it more affordable for small business to provide insurance for 

new and existing employees. The Affordable Care Act plays an important role for families’ financial security and removes the fear of 

insurance companies raising premiums by double digits with no recourse or accountability. 

A personal friend of mine who is on a limited income had her 

rates increase 24 percent last year alone. Importantly, it provides 

workers with the freedom to change their job without losing coverage. 

Last fall, my brother-in-law was laid off from his job through no 

fault of his own and couldn’t afford to continue his insurance. He 

found work with a new employer, and while waiting for his probationary period to end and his new insurance to take effect, he had 

a heart attack. His hospital bill is now close to $100,000. 

To make things worse, he was then financially forced to wait for 

his insurance to take effect with his new employer before having 

a second procedure. Luckily, his lack of insurance didn’t cost him 

his life. 

Finally, Senator, I believe that the competitive bidding process 

for durable medical equipment could result in rural Iowans having 

less access to critical supplies of much-needed equipment like oxygen tanks. I would like to give you several examples, but time does 

not permit. And I would recommend that this be reviewed for possible rural exemptions. 

I thank you for your willingness to hear from Iowans on these 

critical issues and thank you for your service to this great State of 

Iowa and this country. 

Senator HARKIN. Well, thank you very much, Senator Dotzler. 

Thanks for great testimony. Appreciate it very much. 

[The statement follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM DOTZLER

I thank you for this opportunity to speak to you today on Federal issues that have 

a direct effect on Iowa and its citizens. 

As Chair of the Senate Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee, I 

have the opportunity to hear from many of Iowa’s top CEOs and their message is 

clear and consistent. 

Iowa’s economy is shifting farther away from private sector jobs requiring low 

skills to an often highly specialized innovation-based economy that requires advanced skills and competencies. 

A recent report from ACT predicts that in 3 short years nearly 45 percent of all 

jobs will require ‘‘middle skills’’ which is additional training, but not necessarily a 

4-year degree. Unfortunately, only 25 percent will have the skills needed. 

Iowa lost approximately 55,000 jobs during this recession, of which 37,000 came 

from the manufacturing sector. These individuals have been identified as needing 
21 

significant skill upgrades and retraining to secure self-sustaining employment for 

the years to come. 

Although Iowa’s current unemployment rate is lower than the national average 

at 6.3 percent, the data for these unemployed workers points to significant challenges as follows: 

—14 percent of the customers coming into the IWD offices do not have a GED; 

—57 percent are male, reflective of the significant job loss in manufacturing and 

construction; 

—14 percent are older than 55 years of age; 

—Only 7 percent have a college degree; 

—87 percent have qualified for Workforce Investment Act (WIA) adult services; 

and 

—29 percent qualify for WIA dislocated worker services. 

If we are to be successful in moving workers from unemployment to work, enhanced services are clearly needed and increased funding is crucial. 

The WIA provides opportunities for Iowa’s disadvantaged adults, youth, and dislocated workers for retraining and enhanced worker services. 

Iowa integrates its efforts with other programs and services at its one stop centers 

to greatly increase the number of individuals served in adult and dislocated worker 

programs. 

For Iowa’s 2010 budget year, wage record data for adults exiting the program indicates that for each $1 of WIA resources spent there was an increase of $77.59 in 

participant earnings over the next 12 months after completion of services. 

For youth, it was $2.25 for $1 spent. And, for the dislocated worker population, 

participant earnings were $11.44 per $1 invested. 

Senator Harkin, WIA efforts clearly have positive results. But Federal funding 

levels are too low to meet the need. 

Many unemployed workers are on a waiting list for WIA-funded training opportunities. On a statewide average, a year’s training allocation lasts only a little over 

6 months. 

When larger mass layoffs occur, the State must rely on National Emergency 

Grants to meet the needs of workers, all of which results in longer periods of unemployment before services are delivered. 

Often workers run out of benefits before training dollars become available creating a new set of barriers for the worker to overcome. 

We are working with local employers and our community colleges to develop statewide short-term certified training programs to deliver skills in demand to unemployed and underemployed workers. 

A pilot program at Kirkwood Community College has already helped 350 Iowa 

workers complete certificate programs and fill jobs with those needed skills, all at 

an average cost of only $1,000 per student. 

Timely and adequate WIA funding can remove barriers that prevent struggling 

Iowan’s from helping themselves and at the same time help many Iowa businesses 

fill their need for skilled workers that is currently preventing them from expanding. 

I recently had the opportunity to speak with an unemployed mother, Donnie Stanley, who entered Kirkwood’s pilot program. Three months later she was a certified 

nursing assistant. She now works full-time, supports her family and plans to keep 

upgrading her skills. 

Donnie’s success story is what the act is about. Investment in Our Workforce 

equals quality employment. 

Senator Harkin, in my remaining few minutes, I would like to speak briefly about 

the importance of maintaining and continuing to improve The Affordable Health 

Care Act. 

After hearing from hundreds of Iowans and business owners, it is clear to me that 

any successful attempt to nullify health reform would be a major blow to our State. 

We cannot afford to eliminate the tax credits that are helping to make health insurance more affordable for small businesses. 

In recent surveys that I and my fellow Senators have sent out, employers have 

identified healthcare costs as a major limiting factor in job growth. 

As a result, we have proposed to add an additional 25 percent State tax credit 

to the Federal credits that are already helping to make it more affordable for small 

businesses to provide insurance for new and existing employees. 

The Affordable Care Act plays an important role for families’ financial security 

and removes the fear of insurance companies raising premiums by double digits 

with no recourse or accountability. 

A personal friend of mine who is on a limited income had her rates increased by 

24 percent last year alone. 
22 

Importantly, it provides workers the freedom to change their job without losing 

coverage. 

Last fall my brother-in-law was laid off from his job and couldn’t afford to continue his insurance. He found work with a new employer and while waiting for his 

probationary period to end and his new insurance to take effect, he had a heart attack. His hospital bill is now close to $100,000. 

He was then financially forced to wait for his insurance to take effect before having a second procedure. Luckily his lack of insurance didn’t cost him his life. 

Finally Senator, I believe the competitive bidding process for durable medical 

equipment could result in rural Iowan’s having less access to critical supplies of 

much needed equipment like oxygen tanks. 

I would like to give you several examples, but time does not permit. I recommend 

that this be reviewed for a possible rural exemption. 

I thank you for your willingness to hear from Iowan’s on these critical issues and 

thank you for your service to this great State of Iowa. 

Senator HARKIN. Now we will turn to Jerry Nelson, field office 

manager of the Social Security Administration. 

Jerry, again, thanks for all your great work, and your testimony 

is part of the record. Please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF JERRY NELSON, FIELD OFFICE MANAGER, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, WATERLOO, IOWA 

Mr. NELSON. Great, thank you. 

Chairman Harkin, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the 

importance of fully funding the administrative budget of Social Security. 

I am Jerry Nelson. I have been a manager for 7 years here in 

Waterloo. I have 23 years of service with the Social Security Administration, and I am very fortunate to play a role in a program 

that has touched the lives of every American and is one of the most 

successful programs ever created. 

The current economic downturn and the aging baby boomer population means that more Americans are turning to us than ever before. Fortunately, Congress has provided us with the resources 

needed to improve service to the American people, and we have 

made good use of those resources. Without a doubt, sustained, adequate, and timely funding for our agency makes a difference in the 

Americans’ lives. 

Let me illustrate this importance by just looking at a snapshot 

of my Waterloo servicing area. We serve 50,000 retired and disabled workers, their families, as well as survivors of deceased 

workers. We also serve 4,500 Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 

beneficiaries. We receive an average of 480 visitors every week and 

answer 150 phone calls every day. 

Like every other field office in the United States, we see the result of the current economy and the aging of our population on a 

daily basis. In my office, claims for Social Security and SSI have 

increased significantly over the last 2 years. Additional funding 

and expanded use of technology has helped us cope with the increase in these workloads. 

We have been able to add two additional employees in the last 

2 years. Additional staffing and information technology advances 

have helped us provide better service. Your constituents have a 

shorter waiting time in our office at this time than they did 2 years 

ago. We have been able to place more of an emphasis on answering 

the telephone. 
23 

Social Security employees are proud as far as how far we have 

come over the last 2 years, and we do not want to lose this momentum. Currently, Social Security is operating under a continuing resolution. As a result, the agency has implemented a hiring freeze, 

which is reversing the staffing gains that I mentioned. 

This year, I have already lost one person to retirement that I 

cannot replace, and this will have an impact on the service we deliver. Nearly 20 percent of my staff is eligible to retire today, and 

every loss that I cannot replace will seriously damage our ability 

to take care of the people in our district. 

I am hopeful the agency will not be forced to impose furlough 

days, which could bring dire consequences to the people we serve. 

One furlough day would translate into 100 visitors not seen, 40 

claims and redeterminations not done, and 150 phone calls left unanswered. 

As a result of the furlough, I believe we would see an increase 

in processing time for claims and other actions, including an increase in wait times. Your constituents would experience delays in 

scheduling appointments, getting benefit verifications, obtaining replacement Social Security cards. 

Just 1 furlough day would be devastating to the claimant who 

may need a critical or immediate payment. We are asking America’s most vulnerable citizens to wait an extra day or perhaps 

longer to get the service they so desperately need. 

To better appreciate the vital services we provide, I need to look 

no further than a family that our office recently assisted. A social 

worker from the University of Iowa Hospital brought to our attention a mother and a new baby, explaining the mother didn’t even 

have a coat or shoes for the cold weather. The situation looked so 

desperate that the nurses pooled together their own money to buy 

some clothes. 

My staff immediately took an SSI application for this baby. 

Based on low birth weight, we will be able to pay benefits quickly. 

I am sure you can see why it is vitally important that we get this 

child into current pay status as soon as he is released from the hospital, and we will make sure that happens. 

On behalf of that family and the thousands of others we serve, 

I thank you for your continued support. As a field office manager 

working on the front line in the State of Iowa, I am proud of the 

real and meaningful progress we have made over the last 2 years, 

and I am proud to testify of the personal commitment of the 24 employees in the Waterloo office, as they perform outstanding public 

service every day. 

Thank you, sir. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you very much, Mr. Nelson. That is wonderful. Thank you. 

[The statement follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JERRY NELSON

Chairman Harkin: Thank you for this opportunity to discuss the importance of 

fully funding Social Security’s administrative budget for fiscal year 2011. I am Jerry 

Nelson, the manager of the Waterloo Social Security office, which is staffed by 24 

committed and talented public servants. I feel very fortunate to play a role in administering one of the most successful Government programs ever created in our 

country and to work for an agency that touches the lives of nearly every American. 
24 

The recent economic downturn and the aging of the baby boomers have caused 

more Americans to turn to us more than ever before. In particular, claims for retirement and disability benefits have soared in the last few years. Fortunately, Congress has understood these challenges and provided us with the resources we needed to handle this surge in our work, which directly supports the national economy. 

With the additional funding Congress provided over the last 3 years and significant increases in employee productivity, we have made tremendous progress to enhance service to the public, reduce the hearings backlog, complete hundreds of thousands more claims, and reduce the 1–800 number wait times and busy signals. Our 

accomplishments are particularly remarkable considering the continued rise in benefit applications and the furloughs of disability determination services (DDS) employees in many States. Fortunately, the Iowa furlough of DDS employees ended in 

June 2010, but these furloughs cost almost $213,000 in administrative funding to 

the State of Iowa as of the end of calendar year 2010, with more than $85,000 in 

delayed disability benefits. 

Eliminating the hearings backlog continues to be our number one priority, and 

we have made progress in reducing both the number of pending hearings and the 

amount of time a claimant must wait for a hearing decision. We ended fiscal year 

2010 with just more than 700,000 pending hearings nationwide—the lowest level in 

5 years. At its peak, it took an average of 18 months for a hearing decision. As of 

January 2011, it took more than a year. 

We have made significant improvements in other areas of responsibility as well. 

Even though our offices received a record number of new claims, our employees 

worked hard to keep the number of pending initial disability cases down. We ended 

fiscal year 2010 with initial disability claims pending at an all-time high of more 

than 842,000 cases. However, the additional funding we received from Congress 

helped us keep this number well below the 1 million cases that we previously projected for the end of fiscal year 2010. In the first 4 months of fiscal year 2011, we 

have already decreased the number of pending initial disability claims to 793,049. 

As importantly, the accuracy of the disability decisions made by our DDSs reached 

98.1 percent in fiscal year 2010—the highest level in over a decade. Waiting times 

in our field offices dropped, and we achieved our best performance on our 1–800 

number since we began collecting data nearly a decade ago. 

These improvements are attributable to increased staffing in our offices across the 

country. We are grateful to Congress for enabling us to hire additional staff and for 

its continued support. 

Claims for benefits are not the only workloads in our field offices. Each year we 

handle a large number of activities not directly related to claims for benefits. Nationwide, last year our field offices processed more than 18 million requests for new 

and replacement social security cards; we served thousands of people each day who 

needed to report changes of address, changes in direct deposit information, and 

other issues that could affect their benefit payments. 

We also handle a number of workloads involving programs administered by other 

agencies. For example, field offices play a significant role in helping people with 

their Medicare benefits and often work with State and local agencies regarding 

Medicaid and SNAP (formerly known as food stamps). We work hard to be good 

stewards of the programs entrusted to us by ensuring that only eligible individuals 

receive benefits and that their benefits are in the correct amount. One way we do 

this is by conducting continuing disability reviews (CDRs) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) redeterminations. CDRs are reviews of disability beneficiaries’ 

medical conditions and redeterminations are reviews of nonmedical factors of eligibility, such as income and resources. This very significant workload, in terms of 

both importance and effort, supports the President’s multi-year plan to reduce improper payments. 

The President’s fiscal year 2011 budget includes $38 million in additional resources for CDRs and SSI redeterminations. This fiscal year 2011 level represents 

a 5 percent increase more than the fiscal year 2010 level. We plan to conduct 

360,000 full medical CDRs and 2,422,000 redeterminations. We estimate that every 

$1 spent on medical CDRs yields at least $10 in lifetime Social Security, Medicare, 

and Medicaid savings, and every $1 spent on SSI redeterminations yields more than 

$8 in Social Security and Medicaid savings over 10 years. If we meet our fiscal year 

2011 program integrity goals for medical CDRs and redeterminations, the estimated 

program savings over the 10-year period through fiscal year 2020 amount to more 

than $7 billion, including savings to Medicare and Medicaid. 

Let me illustrate the importance of this additional funding at the local level. The 

service area for my Waterloo, Iowa office covers more than 4,000 square miles; it 

is mainly farmland. We serve more than 50,000 retired and disabled workers and 
25 

their families, as well as survivors of deceased workers. We also serve more than 

4,500 SSI recipients. 

Like every other field office in the United States, we see daily the impact of the 

current economy and the aging of our population. In my office, initial claims for Social Security and SSI benefits increased significantly over the past few fiscal years. 

With additional funds, we were able to add two new employees who have undoubtedly helped us provide better service. We receive an average of 480 visitors 

a week. People walking into our office without an appointment waited, on average, 

less than 9 minutes in fiscal year 2008; at the end of fiscal year 2010 they waited 

less than 7 minutes. Our wait times are far below the national average of about 

21 minutes. We also take an average of 150 phone calls each day—and on very busy 

days we may answer upwards of 200 calls. 

Our local hearing office in West Des Moines has also made great progress. At the 

end of fiscal year 2008, we had more than 4,000 pending hearings. As of December 

2010, we reduced the number of pending hearings to 3,500 cases. At the same time, 

we cut the average time it takes to make a hearing decision from 539 days to 299 

days—a nearly 45 percent reduction in waiting time. 

We have worked hard to accomplish all of these gains. Our employees are proud 

of how far we have come over the last 2 years, and we do not want to lose our momentum. To help ensure that we can continue this significant progress, we urge 

Congress to act swiftly to enact the President’s fiscal year 2011 budget. Currently, 

like the rest of the Government, we are operating under a continuing resolution. As 

a result, we had to implement a hiring freeze. The freeze affects us all; so far this 

year, one member of my staff has retired. I cannot replace him. This reduction in 

staffing will affect the way we serve the public. 

I worry that the agency will be forced to impose furlough days if our budget is 

cut. Furloughs would be devastating to both the public that depends on us and to 

our employees. While a furlough would save the Government about $5,600 per day 

in employee salaries at the Waterloo office, the human cost would far outweigh any 

savings. In my office, 1 furlough day would translate to 100 visitors not seen, 32 

claims not taken, 150 phone calls unanswered, and 7 redeterminations not done. Extended to the national level, this would mean that about 182,000 daily visitors 

would not be seen, about 33,000 claims would not be taken, and almost 10,000 redeterminations would not be completed. 

As people return to conduct business on days the office is open, walk-in office visitors would have longer waits to see a representative. Members of the public would 

also have to wait longer for scheduled appointments. Claims processing time would 

increase. A furlough day could be devastating to someone in a dire need situation 

desperate for a critical or immediate payment, or for a beneficiary needing 

verification information to qualify for food stamps, to obtain housing, or to get Medicaid. 

We thank you for your continued support. With enactment of the President’s 2011 

budget, your oversight, and our hard work, I believe we can give the American public the level of service they expect and deserve. As a field office manager working 

on the front line in the State of Iowa, I am proud of the real and meaningful 

progress we have made in the last 3 years despite challenges presented by the economy, and I am proud to testify to the personal commitment of our employees as they 

go about our mission. Thank you. 

Senator HARKIN. Now we will turn to Kim Young-Kent, executive 

director of Tri-County Child and Family. 

STATEMENT OF KIM YOUNG-KENT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TRI-COUNTY CHILD AND FAMILY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL, WATERLOO, 

IOWA 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Hello. Thank you, Senator, for giving me the 

opportunity to testify today. 

In 1993, you were in town, and we had a very brief conversation, 

and it went like this. ‘‘Kim, what are you doing in order to expand 

the Head Start program?’’ And I said, ‘‘Well, I am working on infrastructure and capacity.’’ And you said, ‘‘You better do more.’’ 

And so, in 1993, we were serving 360 children in a part-day, 

part-year program. Today, we are serving 568, and 312 in Early 

Head Start. So thank you for that challenge. I think we stepped up 

to the plate. 
26 

Senator HARKIN. Good for you. 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. But I am still only serving 46 percent of the 

children eligible for services in Early Head Start. We have a current waiting list of 96 children waiting to get into services. 

On behalf of my 1,600 colleagues running Head Start agencies 

across the country, we would like to respectfully request that Congress maintain the current investment in the expansion of Head 

Start and Early Head Start and include the ARRA funding that 

was provided for us so we can continue those expanded slots. 

Locally, we were able to add 72 slots to Early Head Start services and added those services in both Buchanan and Grundy Counties where they previously did not have any. 

In Iowa, 8,191 children and their families are funded to receive 

services in Head Start and Early Head Start. In 2010, we actually 

provided services to 9,246 children because we kept the doors open 

and fully enrolled every single day. More than 64 percent of our 

families served in the State of Iowa are working poor. 

Since the 2007 reauthorization of Head Start, quality improvements have eagerly been embraced and are being implemented as 

quickly as possible. Services to homeless families have been enhanced, and last year in the State of Iowa, 49 percent of the homeless families served acquired housing. 

We have also strengthened our partnerships with school districts 

and now serve most of the eligible 4-year-olds in our community in 

the neighborhood schools. This has enhanced the transition to 

school for our children, their parents, and our school district. TriCounty meets 100 percent of the teacher and assistant teacher and 

education coordinator requirements in the act, even though those 

requirements don’t go into effect until 2013. 

In Iowa, 77.5 percent of the classroom teachers and 80 percent 

of the assistant teachers meet that requirement now. Again, it 

doesn’t go into effect until 2013. 

Additionally, our school readiness statistics continue to increase 

every year as we work with our school districts to assure that Head 

Start enrolled children receive the comprehensive services, nutrition, health, including mental health, and family support services. 

When children are fed, they learn better. When children have dental needs addressed, they are able to focus on their learning. 

Families are able to focus on getting their children to school on 

a regular basis when they know they are working with providers 

who treat them with the respect and dignity deserving of folks who 

love their children and are trying hard to provide for them in tough 

economic times. 

Should the additional ARRA Head Start investment be cut, we 

would have to reduce not only the 72 slots that we added here, but 

possibly more to keep up with the increased costs associated with 

food, rent, and utilities. This would be devastating at a time when 

we have begun to make real gains. 

And yet, we are not serving anywhere near the number of families that are eligible for and have need of these services. It is in 

that regard that we ask the subcommittee to maintain its investment in the expanded Head Start and Early Head Start programs 

so that we can continue to serve Iowa’s vulnerable children and 

families. 
27 

We know what this request means in a time when we all must 

buckle down and do more with less. However, Head Start is a 

smart investment, one of the smartest and most effective we make. 

Study after study has demonstrated that Head Start has yielded a 

cost-benefit ratio of as large as 7-to-1. 

It is also efficient. Compared with other early childhood programs that generate high results over investments, one Harvard 

economist calculated that Head Start provides 80 percent of the 

benefits of small program, early childhood programs—or small 

model early childhood programs at 60 percent of the cost. In other 

words, we are efficient. 

We are very concerned that without adequate funding here at 

Tri-County, we will have to drop those families from our program 

and lay off dedicated employees, leaving children more vulnerable 

as their parents struggle to find affordable care when they are 

looking for work. The question is whether to best make the investment now or pay for it later? 

Dr. James Heckman, a Nobel Laureate in economics at the University of Chicago, recommended to the National Committee on Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Reform Early Head Start and Head 

Start are programs on which to build and improve, not to cut. 

President Obama has made education an economic imperative and 

supports the idea that education starts at birth with families and 

community. 

In Iowa, Head Start facilitates both, providing low-income families with the resources to find and sustain work, learn to be better 

parents, and feel able to leave their children in affordable and 

high-quality care. We ask the subcommittee to place a priority on 

comprehensive early childhood education and care through Head 

Start and Early Head Start, ensuring our children start school 

healthy and ready to learn. 

The 1,041 children at Tri-County, the 7,146 additional children 

in Iowa, and the 991,000 children in the Nation are counting on 

you, sir. Thank you. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you very much, Kim. That is great. 

Eighteen years ago? 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Yes. 

Senator HARKIN. That is great. That is wonderful. 

[The statement follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF KIM YOUNG-KENT

Good morning, Mr. Chairman. My name is Kim Young-Kent and I am the director 

of Tri-County Child and Family Development Council in Waterloo, Iowa. Thank you 

for allowing me the opportunity to testify before the subcommittee today in support 

of fiscal year 2011 and 2012 funding for Head Start. In 1993, I met you at a local 

event honoring you for your work on behalf of children. You asked me if I was expanding the Head Start program locally and I told you we were working on infrastructure and internal capacity. You said ‘‘Kim, get ready, you have to move when 

you can and you can’t afford to be left behind’’. In 1993 we were serving 360 children in part-day, part-year programming. Today we are funded to serve 880 children, 568 in Head Start and we are the largest provider of Early Head Start services in the State of Iowa, serving 312 infants, toddlers, and pregnant women. Thank 

you for the challenge; we responded. 

On behalf of my 1,600 colleagues running Head Start agencies across the country, 

we would like to respectfully request that Congress maintain the investment in the 

expansion of Head Start and Early Head Start at the level of $8.2 billion. In Iowa, 

this would result in: 
28 

—the continuation of services for more than 8,000 children; 

—the continuation of services to the 460 additional children funded through the 

American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) expansion; 

—the retention of more than 46 positions created in the ARRA expansion; 

—the resulting economic impact from increased quality of services to families; and 

—improved wages to attract the quality staff to help us implement improved programming for those 8,000 children and families. 

The Head Start program grantees, nationally, are the largest provider of evidencebased early childhood comprehensive care and education in country. In 2010, Head 

Start and Early Head Start dollars served nearly 1,000,000 children across the 

country. 

Our Nation’s children face greater obstacles than ever before—at the local, national, and international level. More and more children fall behind each day, even 

as our international peers are gaining on us in educational and economic outcomes. 

The science is clear that children need responsive care and attention during their 

earliest weeks, months, and years to build cognitive, social, and emotional skills necessary for healthy growth and development. High-quality care and early childhood 

education services lead to better academic performance and longer stays in school— 

as well as a plethora of other positive outcomes. 

There is abundant evidence that Head Start and Early Head Start can help. Head 

Start produces measurable, long-term results such as school-readiness, increased 

high school graduation rates, and reduced needs for special education. And the more 

than 27 million Head Start graduates are working every day in our communities 

to make our country and our economy strong. Locally, our communities support 

Head Start—more than 20 percent of our funding comes from local sources. 

Here in Iowa, 8,191 children and their families are funded to receive services in 

Head Start and Early Head Start. In 2009–2010, 9,246 children actually received 

services as we kept enrollment full throughout the program year. Of that total, 

5,896 children lived in families who were working or attending job training. Only 

1,867 children lived in families receiving TANF benefits. Our families are the working poor. 

Let me give you a more detailed picture of how Iowa’s Head Start children have 

been served. In 2009–2010, 9,129 children were given access to medical care. Of that 

total, 8,737 children completed all of the medical screenings and were up to date 

on all immunizations, and 1,346 children had identified health problems, including 

vision and nutrition, corrected. From those, 7,038 children received dental preventive care, and 922 of those children received needed dental treatment. Strikingly, 

1,241 children were identified special needs/disabilities early and received the necessary services. An encouraging 3,496 children transitioned to kindergarten reading/ 

writing/ready for school. 

Iowa families have benefited in countless ways as well. 8,714 families received 

Head Start and Early Head Start services in 2009–2010—and 6,822 received at 

least one specialized family service such as parenting education, health education, 

housing assistance, substance abuse counseling, and child abuse and neglect services. A total of 539 homeless families representing 592 children were served, and 

49 percent of those families acquired housing during the program year. About 64 

percent of the families participated in the WIC program. 

Here in the Tri-County area, we were able to serve 1,041 children and families 

during the 2009–2010 program year. Approximately 78 percent of our families that 

qualify for services because they live in poverty are working. 

Head Start has been in Black Hawk County since the first summer time program 

in 1965. Services to Buchanan County started in 1968 as Head Start expanded to 

a school year program. In 1989, services began in Grundy County and in 1998 Early 

Head Start began in Black Hawk County. We are funded to serve 568 children ages 

3 and 4, and thanks to ARRA Expansion, 312 Early Head Start children. We are 

the largest Early Head Start program in the State. Since 1965 this agency has 

served more than 20,000 children whose families live in poverty in our three-county 

service area. 

Since the 2007 reauthorization of Head Start, quality improvements have been eagerly embraced and are being implemented as quickly as possible. Services to homeless families have been enhanced. We have also strengthened our partnerships with 

school districts and now serve most of the eligible 4-year-olds in their neighborhood 

schools. This has enhanced the transition to school for our children, parents, and 

the school district. Tri-County Child and Family meets 100 percent of the teacher, 

assistant teacher, and education coordinator education requirements outlined in the 

language, and in all of Iowa, 77.5 percent of the classroom teachers, and 80 percent 

of assistant teachers currently meet the requirements—which do not officially go 

into effect until 2013. 
29 

Additionally, our school readiness statistics continue to increase every year as we 

work with the school districts to assure the Head Start enrolled children receive the 

comprehensive services of nutrition, health, including mental health and family support services. When children are fed they learn better, when children have dental 

needs addressed they are able to focus on their learning. Families are able to focus 

on getting their children to school on a regular basis when they know they are working with caretakers who treat them with the respect and dignity deserving of folks 

who love their children and are trying hard to provide for them in tough economic 

times. 

Over the past few years, Congress and the administration have prioritized a robust investment in Head Start and Early Head Start through both the ARRA and 

annual appropriations—these dollars have had tremendous impact in our community. For Tri-County that means we have been able to serve 72 additional children 

and their families in Early Head Start. We expanded to include Early Head Start 

services in Buchanan and Grundy Counties through a partnership with Community 

Action Operation Threshold, and we renovated an Early Head Start center to meet 

Department of Human Services licensing requirements. We used local contractors 

and workers to get that job done. We were able to add 14 positions and $1,558,561 

in economic development to the community. Across Iowa $14.1 million was used to 

construct and renovate centers, and serve an additional 460 children, provide training and education to staff members, enhance salaries so they are competitive, and 

recruit good teachers to stay on to serve the neediest children. 

Should the additional ARRA Head Start investment be cut, we would have to reduce not only the 72 slots here in the Tri-County area, but possibly more to keep 

up with the increased costs associated with food, rent, and utilities. This would be 

devastating at a time when we have begun to make real gains. 

Here at Tri-County: 

—69 percent of the children leaving our Head Start program are entering school 

proficient in national assessments for literacy and language development; 

—66 percent of the children are proficient in math; 

—75 percent are proficient in science; 

—100 percent of our children were up to date on immunizations and 100 percent 

had at least one physical examination within the past 12 months; 

—Our Early Head Start children participated in their well baby checks; 

—81 percent of our 3–4-year-olds were examined by a dentist in our communities; 

—90 percent of our families improved nurturing and attachment between parents 

and children; 

—92 percent of our families increased their knowledge about child development 

and parenting; 

—94 percent of our families connected to additional concrete supports within the 

community—such as health and dental providers, mental health counseling and 

other agencies; and 

—90 percent of our families maintained or improved healthy family functioning, 

problem solving, and communication. 

And yet, we are still not serving anywhere near the number of families that are 

eligible for and have need for these services. It is in that regard that we ask the 

subcommittee to maintain its investment in the expanded Head Start so that we 

can continue to serve Iowa’s vulnerable children and families. 

We know what this request means in a time when we must all buckle down and 

do more with less. However, Head Start is a smart investment—one of the smartest 

and most effective we make. Study after study has demonstrated that Head Start 

has yielded a cost-benefit ratio as large as $7 to $1. 

It makes our families and children healthier—Head Start parents lower Medicaid 

costs by $198 per family. Head Start has reduced mortality rates for 5- to 9-yearolds by as much as 50 percent. Head Start programs reduce healthcare costs for employers and individuals because Head Start children are less obese, 8 percent more 

likely to be immunized, and 19 to 25 percent less likely to smoke as an adult. 

Head Start graduates are 5 percent more likely to graduate from high school— 

and we know that high school graduates contribute more to Federal, State, and local 

economies than high school dropouts do because these graduates earn $9,000 more 

each year than dropouts. Further, Head Start saves our hard-earned tax dollars by 

decreasing the need for children to receive special education services in elementary 

schools. 

For example, data analysis of a recent Montgomery County Public Schools 

(MCPS) evaluation found that a child receiving full-day Head Start services requires 

38 percent fewer special education services and saves taxpayers $700 per child annually. Based on a sample of 195 students, MCPS saves $129,870 annually by hav-
30 

ing children in Head Start full-day pre-kindergarten versus no MCPS pre-kindergarten. 

States can save the $29,000 per year for each prisoner that it incarcerates because 

Head Start children are 12 percent less likely to have been charged with a crime. 

It’s also efficient-compared with other early childhood programs that have generated high Results Over Investments, one Harvard economist calculated that Head 

Start provides 80 percent of the benefits of small model early childhood programs 

at 60 percent of the cost. In other words, Head Start is operated more efficiently 

than these model early childhood programs. 

We are very concerned that without adequate funding here at Tri-County, we will 

need to drop families from our programs and lay off 14 dedicated employees—leaving children more vulnerable as their parents struggle to find affordable care when 

they are looking for work. The question is whether it is best to make the investment 

now, or pay a larger price later? Dr. James Heckman, a Nobel Laureate in Economics at the University of Chicago, recommended to the National Commission on Fiscal 

Responsibility and Budget Reform, ‘‘Early Head Start and Head Start are programs 

on which to build and improve-not to cut.’’ 

President Obama has made education an economic imperative and supports the 

idea that education starts at birth with families and community. In Iowa, Head 

Start facilitates both, providing low-income families with the resources to find and 

sustain work, learn to be better parents, and feel able to leave their children in affordable and high-quality care. We ask the subcommittee to place a priority on comprehensive early childhood education and care through Head Start-ensuring our 

children start school healthy and ready to learn. The 1,045 children at Tri-County, 

the 7,146 children in Iowa and the remaining 991,974 children in the Nation are 

counting on you. 

Senator HARKIN. All right. Now we turn to Dr. Durham, chancellor of Allen College of Nursing. Dr. Durham. 

STATEMENT OF JERRY D. DURHAM, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, CHANCELLOR, 

ALLEN COLLEGE OF NURSING, WATERLOO, IOWA 

Dr. DURHAM. Thank you very much, Senator Harkin, for inviting 

me to testify today. 

Allen College is a specialized, regionally accredited institution 

educating nurses and allied health providers. About 95 percent of 

our students come from Iowa, and the vast majority of them remain in Iowa after they finish their degrees. 

About 90 percent of our students are studying for one of our 

three nursing degrees. Allen College is the only postsecondary institution in this region preparing baccalaureate-level and advanced 

practice nurses. 

Most, 90 percent of Allen College’s students receive financial assistance in the form of scholarships, grants, and loans. But even 

with this financial assistance and income from employment—and 

most of our students do work full or part time—the 2009–2010 average debt load of our undergraduate degree graduates was about 

$28,700 because loans account for the majority, or 72 percent, of 

their financial assistance. 

As you know, our State and our Nation need more nurses. The 

Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the number of nursing jobs 

will grow from about 2.62 million in 2008 to 3.2 million in 2018, 

representing a 22 percent increase because of a growing demand 

for healthcare for our aging baby boomers and the influx of new patients expected as a result of healthcare reform. 

Because of projected retirements, the total number of available 

nursing jobs may also grow to more than 1 million in the future. 

In Iowa, the surge of nurse retirements is likely in the next decade 

because 45 percent of Iowa’s registered nurses are now 49 years of 

age or older. According to the Governor’s task force report released 
31 

in March 2008, Iowa may have as many as 9,100 unfilled RN positions in 10 years. 

Federal support of Allen College has been critical to our success 

in increasing the number of nurses for Iowa. In 2010, Allen College 

received more than $440,000 in title VIII funds to support undergraduate and graduate nursing students and to support improvements in our graduate nursing program. These funds were made 

available through an Advanced Nursing Education Grant, Advanced Education Nursing Traineeships, the Nurse Faculty Loan 

Program, and scholarships for disadvantaged students. 

The Advanced Nursing Education Grant that we received allowed us to hire an instructional designer and additional faculty 

and staff to increase our enrollments of students from throughout 

Iowa. In our psychiatric nurse practitioner program, for example, 

we have doubled our enrollment to 16 students as a result of this 

critical support. 

During the 2009–2010 academic year, 35 of 52 graduates from 

our master’s program received a Federal nurse traineeship. And of 

those 35, at least 25 are working in medically underserved areas 

or serving underserved populations. 

In past shortages, the Federal Government has provided increases in title VIII funds, which have been very effective in increasing the supply of nurses. Given the projected shortages of registered nurses over the next several years, we very much need to 

invest in the nursing workforce, and the need has never been 

greater. 

And I would like to say on a personal note, after I was discharged from the service, I attended nursing school at St. Louis 

University. The Federal Government had given that university a 

relatively small grant to start what was then called and is still 

called an accelerated nursing program. It is a 12-month program 

designed for college graduates. 

It was the first one of its type in the country. It was a terribly 

innovative program. There are now about 200 of those programs. 

So, as a result of that modest investment on the part of the Federal 

Government, a movement started which has spread across the 

United States. Allen College now has the only accelerated program 

in the State of Iowa. 

I would also like to add that I came from a family of seven children. I was the youngest of those seven children. I was the only 

child to go to college. And as a result of nurse traineeships, I was 

able to obtain two master’s degree in nursing. 

I have had a career for 36 years in the field of nursing, as a clinician and as an educator. So that investment in me, as a first member of my family to graduate from college, I think was a wonderful 

investment on the part of the Federal Government. 

So I thank you, Senator, for your service to Iowa and for your 

wonderful service to our Nation. Thank you. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Durham. 

That is a great story. That is a great story. Thank you. 

[The statement follows:] 
32 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JERRY D. DURHAM

Allen College, with a history dating back to 1925, is a specialized, regionally accredited institution educating nurses and allied healthcare providers. About 95 percent of Allen College students are Iowa residents, and most remain in Iowa to work 

in healthcare following graduation. The College is authorized to confer two health 

sciences degrees and bachelor’s (BSN), master’s (MSN), and doctoral (DNP) degrees 

in nursing. More than 90 percent of Allen College’s 500 students are studying for 

a nursing degree. Our nursing programs are designed to prepare students for licensure as registered nurses (RNs) or to advance their careers following licensure. 

Allen College is the only postsecondary institution in the Cedar Valley region preparing baccalaureate-level and advanced practice nurses. The more than 150 students enrolled in our MSN program are preparing for careers as nurse practitioners, 

educators, or leaders. Our nurse practitioner graduates play an increasingly critical 

role in delivering primary healthcare to Iowa’s citizens, especially those in medically 

underserved areas, because of a decrease in the number of physicians choosing a 

primary care specialty. 

Most (90 percent) of Allen College’s students receive financial assistance in the 

form of scholarships, grants, and loans. Of students receiving financial assistance, 

88 percent receive at least one type of Federal assistance. In addition, the majority 

of our students work full- or part-time in order to pay for the cost of their education. 

Many also have families to support. But even with this financial assistance and income from employment, the 2009–2010 average debt load of our undergraduate-degree graduates was about $28,700 because loans (PLUS, Subsidized/Unsubsidized 

Stafford, Perkins, Alternative) account for the majority (72 percent) of financial aid. 

Currently, RNs comprise the largest group of this Nation’s health professionals. 

While the recession has reduced the shortage of RNs in Iowa and elsewhere, Bureau 

of Labor Statistics (BLS) analysts project that by 2018 more than 580,000 new jobs 

for RNs will be created. The BLS predicts that the number of nursing jobs will grow 

from 2.62 million in 2008 to 3.2 million in 2018, a 22 percent increase because of 

a growing demand for healthcare for aging Baby Boomers and the influx of new patients into the system as a result of healthcare reform. Because 458,000 nurses are 

predicted to retire in the next few years, the total number of available nursing jobs 

may grow to more than 1 million. In Iowa, a surge of nurse retirements is likely 

in the next decade, especially as the U.S. economy recovers, because 45 percent of 

Iowa’s registered nurses are 49 years of age or older. According to a governor’s task 

force report released in March 2008, Iowa had about 8 percent fewer nurses than 

were needed. This shortfall may increase to 27 percent in the next 10 years, or as 

many as 9,100 unfilled registered nurse positions (about 22 percent of Iowa’s RN 

current workforce). 

To meet the demand for registered nurses, Health Resource and Services Administration (HRSA) officials estimate the United States must graduate 90 percent 

more nurses from nursing programs. Because more than 60 percent of our Nation’s 

nurse educators are 50 years of age or older, a probable shortage of nursing faculty 

is likely to result in fewer admissions to nursing programs. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) recently reported that more than 50,000 qualified nursing applicants were turned away from baccalaureate and graduate nursing 

programs in 2009–2010 because of a shortage of nursing faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, clinical preceptors, and budget constraints. 

Federal support of Allen College has been critical to Allen College’s success in increasing the number of well-qualified staff nurses, nurse practitioners, nurse educators, and nurse leaders for Iowa. In fiscal year 2010 Allen College received more 

than $440,000 in title VIII funds to support undergraduate and graduate nursing 

students and to support improvements in our graduate nursing program. These 

funds were made available through an advanced nursing education grant, advanced 

education nursing traineeships, the nurse faculty loan program, and scholarships for 

disadvantaged students. Our students rely upon this support to help them realize 

their career goals. The advanced nursing education grant that we received allowed 

us to hire an instructional designer and additional faculty and staff and to increase 

our enrollment of students throughout Iowa. In our psychiatric nurse practitioner 

program, for example, we have doubled our enrollment to 16 students as result of 

this support. During the 2009–10 academic year, 35 of the 52 graduates from our 

MSN program received Federal nurse traineeship support. Of those 35, at least 25 

are working in medically underserved areas and/or serving underserved populations. 

The Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development programs, as well as other Federal programs that provide financial aid, are critical to support students in completing their degree and making their future debt burden manageable—especially 

in the current recession. In past nurse shortages, the Federal Government has pro-
33 

vided increases in title VIII funds which have been effective in increasing the supply 

of nurses. Today, continued and increased support for the title VIII program is critically important to schools of nursing and their students if our Nation is to avert 

a shortage of well-prepared registered nurses. Because registered nurses comprise 

the largest number of healthcare professionals in our Nation, an adequate nursing 

workforce is critical to our Nation’s future. Given the projected shortages of registered nurses over the next several years, the need invest in the nursing workforce 

has never been more crucial. 

Senator HARKIN. Now we turn to Reverend Mark Anderson. Reverend Anderson, welcome and, again, please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF MARK A. ANDERSON, ASSISTANT TO THE BISHOP, 

NORTHEASTERN IOWA SYNOD, EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN 

CHURCH IN AMERICA, WAVERLY, IOWA 

Reverend ANDERSON. Chairman Harkin, thank you for the invitation to testify today. I am anxious to describe the work of a 

unique joint venture. 

Barnabas Uplift is an independent, not-for-profit corporation 

formed out of a partnership of the congregations in Iowa of the 

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and its social service 

agency, Lutheran Services of Iowa. And also, the congregations of 

the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque and its agency, Catholic Charities, also Muslim American Services and Iowans for Social 

and Economic Development. We are also assisted by friendly institutions, including Wartburg College and, of course, our community 

colleges. 

I would like to describe all the aspects of Barnabas Uplift, but 

because of our limited time together, I will narrow my testimony 

to the Help4Health program. Senator, Hunger in America 2010 is 

the first research study to capture the significant connection between the recent economic downturn and the increased need for 

emergency food assistance. 

This study reports that at least 40,000 people, including 16,000 

children and almost 4,000 seniors, receive food assistance each year 

just through the Northeast Iowa Food Bank and its agencies. In 

other words, in Iowa, 1 in 8 individuals are experiencing some kind 

of food insecurity, meaning they lack consistent access to adequate 

amounts of nutritious food. 

Barnabas Uplift is second to none in its appreciation for food 

banks and community meals. But handouts and soup kitchens can 

only address the symptoms of hunger, not the root cause. Why are 

people hungry? It is not because there is a food shortage. It is because they cannot afford to buy their own food or food for the children. 

We cannot end hunger until we end poverty. One of the ways 

Barnabas Uplift fights poverty is by removing the barriers to job 

training and placement for the poor, with a special emphasis on 

outreach to the rural poor. Our outreach strategy, of course, includes utilizing the social service providers ISED and LSI, Catholic 

Charities, and MAS, to invite their existing clients to apply for the 

program. 

However, it also, and more interestingly, uses pastors and priests 

and Imams to ask their flocks to seek out members, children, 

grandchildren, neighbors, students, anyone in the community who 

needs a boost up the ladder of success. Once a potential client has 
34 

been screened, they are invited to be trained as a certified nurse’s 

aide. 

In our metropolitan areas, the students are given a scholarship 

to attend one of our fine community colleges. But in rural areas, 

a teacher is brought to town, and classes are held in church basements and nursing homes and community education centers. 

In some communities, church members provide childcare and 

even a meal for the student and the whole student’s family so class 

can go on into the evening. Staff people that we call coaches work 

alongside the instructor to support and encourage the student all 

the way through to completion. 

The program’s independent interim evaluation documents that 

already our outreach strategy was successful in recruiting 187 percent of our goal. To date, 122 students have successfully completed 

the training. 

Senator, of those 122 who completed the program, 95.9 percent 

have been successfully placed in a job in the healthcare industry. 

That means 117 Iowa households that once existed at or near poverty level now have a regular income. 

Serving as a CNA is both physically and emotionally challenging. 

But many nursing homes and hospitals reward competent CNAs 

with tuition reimbursement for those who wish to continue their 

studies to become LPNs or RNs. So we see the CNA training as not 

a first job, but the first step into a meaningful career. 

The Federal Government has made a small financial investment 

in the Help4Health program through a Federal allocation, sometimes called an earmark, which you, Senator Harkin, helped us to 

secure. Thank you. 

Since the classroom, the space, the meals, the daycare, the graduation parties, mentoring, outreach, and much more are all donated by the community and by the church, there is only a small 

administrative cost above approximately $700 tuition per student. 

This is what the earmark pays for, tuition and some administration. 

So just imagine for about $700, a household can be made independent from monthly support checks from the Government. These 

funds not only help the families, but they also provide desperately 

needed workers to care for our sick and our elderly and transform 

households from taxpayer supported to being taxpayers themselves. 

And of course, the smaller the community, the larger the impact. 

For example, if you can imagine 10 households in a place like 

Oelwein moved from being unemployed to gainfully employed, that 

is a big difference for the families. It is a big difference for the 

whole community. 

Seven hundred dollar tuition is often an investment that pays for 

itself in a matter of weeks. Unfortunately, the media sometimes 

portrays earmarks as free money to be frittered away. The reality 

is so much different. 

The good stewardship of this public money is continually monitored, including goals and timelines to meet and regular reports 

to submit, even onsite inspections. Every penny must be accounted 

for, and every obligation met. 

Senator, you should know that in communities—Iowa Falls, Radcliffe, and now Postville—individual donors are so inspired by the 
35 

Federal Government’s support and by your leadership that they are 

personally financing the program out of their own pockets. On the 

other hand, because the allocation your office helped us to get to 

continue this work did not pass the House in the omnibus bill, for 

many cities, particularly our larger cities and our hardest to reach 

students, this program is soon going to come to an end. 

Thank you, Senator, for this opportunity to testify and for you 

walking with the poorest members of our society. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you very much, Reverend Anderson. 

[The statement follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF REV. MARK A. ANDERSON

Chairman Harkin, thank you for the invitation to testify today. I am anxious to 

describe for you the work of a unique new joint venture. ‘‘Barnabas Uplift’’ is an 

independent, not-for-profit corporation formed out of a partnership of the churches 

in Iowa of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and its social service agency, Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI); the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque 

and its agency, Catholic Charities; Muslim American Services; and Iowans for Social 

and Economic Development (ISED). We are also assisted by friendly institutions including Wartburg College, and our community colleges. 

I would like to describe all aspects of Barnabas Uplift but, because of our limited 

time together, I will narrow my remarks to the ‘‘Help4Health’’ Program. Senator, 

‘‘Hunger In America 2010’’ is the first research study to capture the significant connection between the recent economic downturn and an increased need for emergency 

food assistance. This study released by Feeding America, the Nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, reports that at least 40,000 people, including 

more than 16,000 children and almost 4,000 seniors, receive food assistance each 

year just through the Northeast Iowa Food Bank and its member agencies. In Iowa, 

1 in 8 individuals are experiencing food insecurity, meaning that they lack consistent access to adequate amounts of nutritious food. 

Barnabas Uplift is second to none in its appreciation for food banks and community meals. But handouts and soup kitchens can only address the symptoms of hunger and not the root cause. Why are people hungry? It is not because there is a food 

shortage. It is because they cannot afford to buy food. We cannot end hunger until 

we end poverty. One of the ways Barnabas Uplift fights poverty is by removing the 

barriers to job training and placement for the poor with a special emphasis on outreach to the rural poor. Our outreach strategy, of course, includes utilizing the social service providers at ISED, LSI and Catholic Charities to invite their existing 

clients to apply for this program. However, it also uses pastors, priests, and imams 

to ask their flocks to seek out members, children, grandchildren, neighbors, students, anyone in the community who needs a boost up the ladder of success. Once 

a potential client has been screened, they are invited to be trained as Certified 

Nursing Aids (CNA). In our metropolitan areas, the students are simply given a 

scholarship to attend one of our fine community colleges. In rural areas, a teacher 

is brought to the town and classes are held in church basements, nursing homes, 

and community education centers. In some communities, church members provide 

childcare and even a meal for the student and the student’s whole family so class 

can continue into the evening. Staff people we call ‘‘coaches’’ work along side the 

instructor to support and encourage the student through to completion. 

The program’s independent interim evaluation documents that already our outreach strategy was successful in recruiting 187 percent of our goal. To date, 122 students have successfully completed the training. Senator, of those 122 who completed 

the program, 95.9 percent have been successfully placed in a job in the healthcare 

industry. That means 117 Iowa households that existed at or near poverty level now 

have a regular income. Serving as a CNA is both physically and emotionally challenging, but many nursing homes and hospitals reward competent CNAs with tuition reimbursement for those who wish to continue their studies to become LPNs 

or even RNs. So, we see the CNA training as not a first job but a first step in a 

career. 

The Federal Government has made a small financial investment in the 

Help4Health program through a Federal allocation sometimes called an ‘‘earmark’’ 

which you, Senator Harkin, helped us to secure. Since the classroom space, meals, 

daycare, graduation parties, mentoring, outreach, and much more are all donated 

by the community, there is only a small administrative cost above the approximately $700 tuition per student. This is what the ‘‘earmark’’ pays for, tuition and 
36 

some administration. Just imagine, for about $700 a household can be made independent of monthly support checks from the Government. These funds not only help 

these families but also provide desperately needed workers to care for the sick and 

elderly, and transform households from taxpayer-supported to being taxpayers. Of 

course, the smaller the community the larger the impact, for example, if we can help 

10 people in Oelwein move from unemployed to gainfully employed, that makes a 

big difference for both the families and community. This is often an investment that 

pays for itself in a matter of weeks. 

Unfortunately, the media has sometimes portrayed these ‘‘earmarks’’ as free 

money frittered away. The reality is much different. The good stewardship of this 

public money is continually monitored including goals and timelines to meet, regular reports to submit and even inspections. Each and every penny must be accounted for and every obligation met. 

Senator, you should know that in the communities of Iowa Falls, Radcliffe and 

now Postville, individual donors are so inspired by the Federal Government’s support they are personally financing the program in their own communities out of 

their own pockets. On the other hand, because the allocation your office helped us 

with to continue this work did not pass the house in the omnibus bill, for many cities this program will soon come to an end. 

Senator HARKIN. And now, Jonathan Keniston. Welcome. I read 

your testimony, and it is very profound. Please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF JONATHAN KENISTON, STUDENT, HAWKEYE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, WATERLOO, IOWA 

Mr. KENISTON. Thank you, Senator, for the opportunity to speak 

today. 

Hello. My name is Jonathan Keniston. I am a 31-year-old student currently attending Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, 

Iowa. 

I am here today because I was asked to tell you a little bit about 

my life experiences and how the Pell grant has aided in my educational journey and success. First, I would like to tell you a little 

bit about myself. 

I was born and raised in Waterloo, Iowa, and have lived here for 

most of my life. After graduating from East High School, I enlisted 

in the United States Air Force, where I was trained as a munitions 

specialist and a military policeman. My service to our country was 

an unforgettable experience that took me around the world and 

was instrumental in providing the foundational skills and values 

that have guided my life since then. 

Following my enlistment, I returned home to Waterloo in the 

summer of 2001. After only being home for a month, a friend and 

I were driving home when we were struck head on by a drunk driver traveling at 75 miles an hour, causing serious injury to me and 

taking the life of a childhood friend. 

After being released from the hospital, I had to go through physical rehabilitation. Five months into therapy, I was rear-ended by 

another drunk driver, causing more injuries, forcing me to start the 

rehabilitation process all over again. The time I spent in physical 

therapy prompted my initial interest in the medical field, and from 

there, the desire continued to grow. 

In the fall of 2002, I met my beautiful wife, Emily. Not wasting 

any time, we were married 2 years later in the fall of 2004. Shortly 

after getting married, we were overjoyed by the arrival of our first 

child, a little girl named Ellie Jo, who is now 5 years old and daddy’s little girl. This was the best time in my life, newly married 

and becoming a new father to a precious little girl. 
37 

Feeling like I was on top of the world and enjoying my new career as a realtor in the Cedar Valley, I realized how quickly things 

can change in life with my father’s unexpected failing health. He 

was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Throughout the next 

year, he struggled through a brain hemorrhage, leading to multiple 

seizures resulting in a brain aneurysm ending his battle with heart 

disease. 

While dealing with this great despair of losing my father, these 

emotions were overshadowed by the news of expecting our first son, 

who bears my father’s middle name, Austin James, who is now 3 

years old. Last, but not least, 17 months later, our family grew 

once again with the addition of our youngest child, Ian Scott, who 

is now 2 years old. 

My experience with rehabilitation following the car accidents, the 

events and complications of my father’s disease, and the wonderful 

experience of the births of my three children, a new desire was 

growing in my heart to redirect my career toward the medical field. 

After selling real estate for several years in the Cedar Valley, I 

wanted a healthier, more stable lifestyle for my family with a 

brighter financial future that only higher education could provide. 

With numerous responsibilities at this point in my life and 

changing careers, enduring the financial struggles of achieving a 

higher education seemed almost unattainable and frightening, to 

say the least. Researching tuition and the cost of living for my family, the actual expense of college grew exponentially. 

With the help of Pell grants and financial aid, we were able to 

make our decision that I was going to attend Hawkeye Community 

College in the fall of 2009. Committing to school, my wife and I 

were faced with several critical financial decisions, beginning with 

restructuring our lifestyle, selling our home for a more affordable 

one, and trading our vehicle in for a smaller, more fuel-efficient 

model. 

Walking through the doors on the first day of school, I felt nervous and out of place. But I viewed school as my new job, with the 

attitude of ‘‘failure is not an option.’’ Jumping in head first, I registered and completed a total of 34 credit hours my first year at 

college. 

After achieving a 4.0 GPA, I was placed on the dean’s list, was 

awarded a scholarship this spring, and given an invitation to the 

Phi Theta Kappa honor society. In addition, I have been accepted 

into the radiography program at Allen College in Waterloo, starting 

this fall following May graduation. 

The Pell grants have helped me attend school full time, including 

attending classes over both Christmas breaks and last summer, 

covering the majority of the average full-time tuition cost. The Pell 

grants provided me with the financial ability to worry less about 

the cost of college, permitting me to focus on my academics and allowing me to enroll in additional classes every semester, enabling 

me to graduate sooner. 

The money that I have received from the Pell grant program has 

lessened my fears of leaving college only with student loans and no 

degree. These funds make the dreams of obtaining a college degree 

more realistic, even with the cost of higher education continuously 

increasing. With both my wife and I currently taking advantage of 
38 

the Pell grants, it has relieved an enormous financial burden off of 

our family, making it possible for my wife to pursue a career as a 

dental hygienist. 

My future plans and goals are to graduate from the radiography 

program at Allen College and then attend the University of Iowa 

to seek a bachelor’s degree in radiation science and enter a master’s degree program. I have proven myself through adversity and 

challenges in my past to get to this point in my life and will continue to press forward toward my goals and aspirations. 

If the Pell grant program funding is cut dramatically, coupled 

with the rising costs of tuition, I feel that my college educational 

goals will be driven further out of my financial grasp. The reduction in Pell funding would also restrict my family by allowing only 

one of us to attend college part time, greatly extending our time 

spent in college and limiting my financial ability to support my 

family and further my educational goals in completing my bachelor’s and master’s degree. 

Thank you very much for your time. 

Senator HARKIN. Thank you, Jonathan. Great story. Congratulations. 

[The statement follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JONATHAN KENISTON

Hello, my name is Jonathan Keniston. I am a 31-year-old student currently attending Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa. I am here today because 

I was asked to tell you a little about my life experiences and how the Pell grant 

has aided in my educational journey and success. First, I would like to tell you a 

little about myself. I was born and raised in Waterloo, Iowa, and have lived here 

for most of my life. After graduating from East High School, I enlisted in the United 

States Air Force where I was trained as a munitions specialist and military policeman. My service to our country was an unforgettable experience that took me 

around the world and was instrumental in providing the foundational skills and values that have guided my life since then. Following my enlistment, I returned home 

to Waterloo in the summer of 2001. After only being home for a month, a friend 

and I were driving home when we were struck head-on by a drunken driver traveling at 75 miles per hour causing serious injuring to me and taking the life of a 

childhood friend. After being released from the hospital, I had to go through physical rehabilitation. Five months into therapy, I was rear-ended by another drunken 

driver, causing more injuries which forced me to start the rehabilitation process all 

over again. The time I spent in physical therapy prompted my initial interest in the 

medical field and from there the desire continued to grow. 

In the fall of 2002, I met my beautiful wife, Emily. Not wasting any time, we were 

married 2 years later in the fall of 2004. Shortly after getting married, we were 

overjoyed by the arrival of our first child, a little girl named, Ellie Jo, who is now 

5 years old and daddy’s little girl. This was the best time in my life, newly married 

and becoming a new father to a precious little girl. Feeling like I was on top of the 

world and enjoying my new career as a Realtor in the Cedar Valley, I realized how 

quickly things can change in life with my father’s unexpected failing health. He was 

diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Throughout the next year, he struggled 

through a brain hemorrhage leading to multiple seizures resulting in a brain aneurysm ending his battle with heart disease. While dealing with the great despair of 

losing my father, these emotions were overshadowed by the news of expecting our 

first son who bears my father’s middle name—Austin James, who is now 3 years 

old. Last, but not least, 17 months later, our family grew once again, with the addition of our youngest child, Ian Scott, who is now 2 years old. 

My experience with rehabilitation following the car accidents, the events and complications of my father’s disease, and the wonderful experience of the births of my 

three children, a new desire was growing in my heart to redirect my career toward 

the medical field. After selling real estate for several years in the Cedar Valley, I 

wanted a healthier more stable lifestyle for my family with a brighter financial future that only higher education could provide. With numerous responsibilities at 

this point in my life and changing careers, enduring the financial struggles of 
39 

achieving higher education seemed almost unobtainable and frightening—to say the 

least. Researching tuition and the cost of living for my family, the actual expense 

of college grew exponentially. With the help of Pell grants and financial aid, we 

were able to make our decision that I was going to attend Hawkeye Community College in the fall of 2009. Committing to school, my wife and I were faced with several 

critical financial decisions beginning with restructuring our lifestyle, selling our 

home for a more affordable one and trading our vehicle in for a smaller more fuelefficient model. 

Walking through the doors on the first day of school, I felt nervous and out of 

place, but I viewed school as my new job with the attitude of—failure is not an option. Jumping in head first, I registered and completed a total of 34 credit hours 

my first year at college. After achieving a 4.0 GPA, I was placed on the Dean’s List, 

was awarded a scholarship this spring, and given an invitation to the Phi Theta 

Kappa Honor’s Society. In addition, I have been accepted into the Radiography program at Allen College in Waterloo, starting this fall following May graduation. The 

Pell grants have helped me attend school full-time including attending classes over 

both Christmas breaks and last summer covering the majority of the average fulltime tuition cost. The Pell grants provided me with the financial ability to worry 

less about the cost of college—permitting me to focus on my academics and allowing 

me to enroll in additional classes every semester enabling me to graduate sooner. 

The money that I have received from the Pell grant program has lessened my fears 

of leaving college with only student loans and no degree. These funds make the 

dreams of obtaining a college degree more realistic even with the cost of higher education continuously increasing. With both my wife and I currently taking advantage 

of Pell grants, it has relieved an enormous financial burden off our family making 

it possible for my wife to pursue a career as a dental hygienist. 

My future plans and goals are to graduate from the radiography program at Allen 

College, and then attend The University of Iowa to seek a bachelor’s degree in radiation science, and enter a master’s degree program. I have proven myself through 

adversity and challenges in my past to get to this point in my life and I will continue to press forward toward my goals and aspirations. If the Pell grant program 

funding is cut dramatically, coupled with the rising cost of tuition, I feel that my 

college educational goals will be driven further out of my financial grasp. The reduction in Pell funding would also restrict my family by allowing only one of us to attend college part-time, greatly extending our time spent in college, and limiting my 

financial ability to support my family and further my educational goals in completing my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Thank you. 

Senator HARKIN. Well, I think all of us now can see from the testimony of all these witnesses that there are profound effects on 

what we do in Washington and how we shepherd and dispense 

with our taxpayers’ dollars. And so, as I said in my opening statement, the deficits we have are unsustainable. We all know that. 

Now we do have to bring them under control. But in doing so, 

as I said at the beginning, we have to be careful that we don’t eat 

our seed corn, as we like to say in Iowa, and that we don’t just say, 

well, we will just push it off on the backs of our most vulnerable. 

Well, they don’t have a lot of money. They don’t have powerful lobbyists in Washington. 

But they rely upon good people like all of you here to give them 

hope and to give them opportunity and to make sure that the other 

Jonathan Kenistons out there and the other ones that you mentioned, Dr. Allen—I forgot her name—the young woman you mentioned who is a chemistry student now? 

Dr. ALLEN. Yes. Reygan Freeney, on our staff now, faculty. 

Senator HARKIN. To make sure that we know there are more out 

there like her and like Jonathan and others, and we have just got 

to make sure that we don’t leave them behind and that we make 

sure that they have every opportunity to succeed. And so, that is 

really the purpose of this hearing and other hearings I will be having on this subject is to make the record on that and to show that 
40 

we have people out there that need some assistance, that need 

maybe just a little boost up—Head Start, a Pell grant. 

A person on disability needs to make sure that their case is 

heard right away. I know you don’t do disability in your office, but 

as an example of that. Or as you said, someone who is on SSI, and 

they don’t have anything. Can they afford to wait 1 month or 2 

months? They can’t afford—— 

Mr. NELSON. No, they can’t. 

Senator HARKIN [continuing]. To do that. So we have an obligation to meet, and we are going to do everything we can to meet 

that obligation. 

Now I said that my staff had passed out some cards, and I have 

staff around here. Now would be a good time if you have questions 

to pass them in and give them to her, and I will try to get to those 

questions as many as I can. 

Dr. Allen, let me just start kind of a round of questions with you. 

By law, the Federal Government must by February 1, if I am not 

mistaken, must make known what the Pell grant awards will be 

for the next school year so that colleges can plan on it. And so, by 

law, the Department of Education, I think, just in the last week, 

if I am not mistaken, sent out to the colleges what those awards 

would be so that Dr. Allen and our other college presidents—I am 

sure you, too, Dr. Durham—can look at that and say, okay, here 

is basically what we can expect from the Pell grant program. 

Now, by law, we have to do that, and it makes sense for planning 

purposes. Now we have the funding bill in the Congress right now 

that will be up in March, and some of the proposals are to make 

drastic cuts in that, which then would reduce the amount of money 

in the Pell grant program. 

Dr. Allen, what would that do to you and the university? Right 

now, you are planning. You have got that from the Department of 

Education. So now you are starting to plan ahead for that. What 

happens if in March that all of a sudden that is cut by 24 percent, 

and then we don’t know if that is going to hold. It bounces back 

and forth and back and forth. Just what is the impact on you and 

I of that kind of a process and the possibility of a 24 percent cut 

from what you have already been told you are getting? 

Dr. ALLEN. Senator Harkin, let me first answer in the context of 

the university, but maybe more importantly, on the context of the 

student. From the university’s point of view, it clearly challenges 

our financial aid office who works very hard, diligently to put together financial packages, including the Pell grant, including private scholarships, loans. And so, if this would change by that magnitude, it would destroy kind of the interconnections there in terms 

of what we could offer. 

Now that would then force us to reconsider issues such as our 

set-aside percentage, which is about 18 percent. Would that have 

to go up? If so, from the university’s perspective, it would create 

a lot of challenges. And quite honestly, I think it could affect our 

enrollment. 

But more importantly, what does it do for the student? 

Senator HARKIN. Student, yes. 

Dr. ALLEN. Because the families are trying to plan for next year, 

and we are partly guilty of this ourselves at the university. We still 
41 

have not decided on the tuition level for next year. But for the families who are trying to budget for next year, this would change that 

late in the year. It would create a tremendous challenge for them. 

The students will probably have to find additional opportunities 

to work on campus or off campus. They may have to delay their 

education. But the other thing that happens here, and I didn’t talk 

about this much, it affects, I think, the success of our students because if they get less money from the Pell grant, they work more 

hours, less time for study. And so, it is simply a cascading effect 

on not only accessibility, but also on success of the students. 

Senator HARKIN. Mm-hmm. Dr. Allen, you mentioned a couple of 

people in your testimony. One you mentioned was Danielle Stuck? 

Dr. ALLEN. Yes. 

Senator HARKIN. A Pell grant recipient. She is a junior. What 

you didn’t tell us is that she was valedictorian of her class of 312, 

carries a perfect 4.0 grade point average, and is a member of the 

honors program. And this is someone who is, I guess, again relying 

upon a Pell grant? 

Dr. ALLEN. That is correct. 

Senator HARKIN. Is she here? 

Dr. ALLEN. Danielle, I am not sure she is. But if she is, I hope 

she does stand up. 

Senator HARKIN. Danielle Stuck is—well, maybe—— 

Dr. ALLEN. She is probably studying. 

Senator HARKIN. Yes, with a 4.0 grade point average, she probably is. Doesn’t have time for this. 

But it is just again—— 

Dr. ALLEN. But let me add to your comment, Senator. 

Senator HARKIN. Yes. 

Dr. ALLEN. The reason we didn’t put all that in there, when she 

provided us the information, she did not tell us about that valedictorian. She was focused on what she was able to gain from the Pell 

grant and did not brag about her accomplishments. We had to get 

permission to even state the 4.0 grade point average because of obvious confidentiality issues. 

So all this came out after the fact, and so that is why I said it 

would be a great loss if we couldn’t have her this—give her this 

opportunity to get an education. 

Senator HARKIN. And she has no parental support? 

Dr. ALLEN. No. 

Senator HARKIN. As I understand, whatsoever? 

Dr. ALLEN. That is correct. 

Senator HARKIN. Senator Dotzler, you chair important committees in the State senate. You did mention the WIA program. You 

went on quite a bit about the WIA and the support that we have 

for the dislocated worker program. 

Now under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, socalled stimulus, there was—Iowa received another $10 million 

through the dislocated worker program and then another $9 million—oh, I am sorry. There was $9 million that came in under the 

Recovery and Investment Act and $10 million for dislocated workers. So, again, these helped, as I understand, train displaced workers for employment in new fields, temporary jobs, cleaning up and 

recovery efforts in the wake of flooding, tornadoes. 
42 

Now I understand the House—our House of Representatives—are 

threatening to cut these programs by an 8 percent cut or more. Is 

that right? Is that right, 8 percent cut? Okay. 

So if we cut all those things, the WIA programs, by 8 percent, 

what does that mean here in Iowa on worker training, just on 

worker training in Iowa? 

Mr. DOTZLER. Well, Senator, what it means is that workers won’t 

get the training they need. They will sit on unemployment benefits 

longer and longer until they exhaust them, and you know how difficult it is to give continual extensions on unemployment to get 

through Congress. And as a net result, we will end up putting people more on the welfare rolls. 

We are finding today that people who are long-term unemployed, 

who are working hard to try to get a job, are viewed in a way by 

employers that—in suspect. And so, we are working with our community colleges, and I mentioned Kirkwood. But I know Hawkeye 

and other community colleges have been looking at shorter-term 

training programs that are specific to what employers say their 

needs are, to give them certified skill sets that will upgrade their 

skills in a kind of a short-term basis at least to make them employable and allow them to move forward. 

But when you talk about individuals, and I mentioned Donnie 

Stanley, who was an unemployed mother. She was on welfare, and 

it was really a combination of programs through Pell grants and 

workforce dollars, and they all go together to kind of add to a total 

package that will allow somebody to get the education skills they 

need. And because of that, she found a career that she really loves. 

And I had an opportunity to talk to her this week, and she is 

planning on going on ahead in nursing. She has several children 

she is taking care of on her own. So she is working full time, trying 

to go to additional education, and the main thing is she is not on 

welfare, and she is helping her family. 

And so, those training dollars also, you know, allow the employers to find the workers they need. When we got 6.3 percent unemployment in the State of Iowa, it is still 100,000 people out of work. 

And you would think that every employer could find the workers 

that they need, but we still have job openings that are out there. 

Some of them require college degrees, but there are plenty of skill 

sets that are short, especially in construction trades and nursing, 

areas that—nurse’s aides that require a little bit less. 

And these dollars are so important to get these workers in to 

meet the employer’s need, and they help expand our economy. We 

get a return for our investment. 

Senator HARKIN. Sure. 

Mr. DOTZLER. So those dollars are important. We utilized them 

in very important ways, and you saw the success numbers on the 

return for the investment just on wages. So it is something that we 

really need to—as you said, that is the seed corn that is really producing our crop of skilled workers, and it is so important, especially 

when you are talking about low-income and disadvantaged workers 

and people who lost their jobs. 

Senator HARKIN. You mentioned one other thing that I wanted 

to just get into a little bit about your brother-in-law—— 

Mr. DOTZLER. Yes. 
43 

Senator HARKIN [continuing]. Who had lost his job, was moving 

to another job—— 

Mr. DOTZLER. He was employed in a new job. 

Senator HARKIN. But he hadn’t got his health insurance. 

Mr. DOTZLER. Right. Because you usually have a probationary 

period, and he was in his 50s, a young man. And he couldn’t afford 

the COBRA, which you are allowed to carry your insurance. But 

when you are unemployed and on unemployment—— 

Senator HARKIN. How can you pay for it? 

Mr. DOTZLER [continuing]. Benefits and have a family, that is 

really difficult. So, and my sister doesn’t have health insurance. 

And so, it worked out that they thought they could get by, and he 

had this heart attack when we were at a family funeral. And he 

drove himself to the hospital, and it was a major heart attack, and 

he was lucky he survived. 

But he went through that. He got out, and they said, well, you 

need a stent on the other side. You have got a 90 percent blockage 

in another artery, and we need to do this immediately. And he 

said, ‘‘I can’t do it. I have already drove this debt. I don’t have insurance. I have to wait.’’ And he had a couple of close calls between 

times and then finally had the procedures. 

But it points to how important the Healthcare Act really is to the 

citizens of Iowa. And we also have heard from employers that that 

is one of the limiting factors that they have is dealing with 

healthcare costs in hiring new people, and that is why those tax 

credits that you have put into that program are so important to our 

economy and to help people move forward. 

The increase on health insurance rates, 24 percent to an individual who is taking care of her mother on a limited income. Her 

mother has severe dementia, and she is a full-time daycare provider and night care provider, and she can’t afford those increases. 

But it is either that or go without insurance. So these things affect 

Iowans in many, many ways, and that is just a couple of stories, 

Senator. There are hundreds of them across the State. 

Senator HARKIN. Well, that is all changing. 

Mr. DOTZLER. Thank God. 

Senator HARKIN. That is all changing. By 2014, by the time we 

phase this all in, first of all, people will not be locked into a job. 

There are a lot of people now that feel a job lock. They have to stay 

in a job because they can’t afford to give up their health insurance. 

They might even want to go out and start a new business, a 

small business, be an entrepreneur. Can’t do it if they lose their 

health insurance. So, from now on, that won’t happen any longer. 

And if you move to a new job, you will have your coverage and 

take it with you. And again, in your brother-in-law’s case or cases 

like that, he will not be denied insurance because he has a pre-existing condition. So, again, I think this is going to do a great thing 

for business and for business growth and economic growth down 

the road. 

Mr. DOTZLER. I agree. 

Senator HARKIN. Mr. Nelson, you know, I have been in Government a long time. And you always hear about the term ‘‘bureaucrats.’’ You hear bureaucrats, bureaucrats. Usually it is used as almost like a pejorative term. I just want you to know this is one 
44 

United States Senator that appreciates bureaucrats like you and 

the kind of job that you do. 

Mr. NELSON. Thank you. 

Senator HARKIN. We have so many good people out there like 

you, and I don’t know all the people that work for you that come 

to work every day. They are helping people’s lives, helping them 

through rough times. And especially in the Social Security Administration, just doing great work. And I just want you to know, I 

think I speak for a lot of people here, we really appreciate that 

very, very much. 

Mr. NELSON. Thank you. 

Senator HARKIN. I thought about this furlough business. Did you 

say maybe up to 3 weeks of furlough? Did you say that? 

Mr. NELSON. I didn’t say that, no. I have heard that. 

Senator HARKIN. Oh, I have heard that, too. 

Mr. NELSON. Yes. 

Senator HARKIN. What would happen? What happens? 

Mr. NELSON. Oh, what would happen? You know, as a member 

of the community, just the thought of shutting down the Waterloo 

office for even a day would be painful to imagine. And I mentioned 

some of the things earlier. I mean, our first priority is to provide 

excellent service to the public in the Waterloo area here. 

And there are so many individuals in need, as we talked about 

earlier, vulnerable adults. They come into our office on a daily 

basis, and some of them aren’t even really sure what they need, 

and we help them through the process all along and refer them to 

the right agencies. We are doing the right things to help them. 

Earlier in my statement, I mentioned that Social Security is one 

of the most successful Government programs ever created, and the 

reason for that is we keep the elderly out of poverty. More than 

one-half would fall in poverty if not for Social Security. I think the 

chairman, Senator Reid, said it was the greatest program even in 

the world, I think, was his quote. I will take him for his word on 

that. 

Senator HARKIN. At least in this country it has been great. 

Mr. NELSON. Yes. 

Senator HARKIN. Ms. Young-Kent, again, reminding us of our 

meeting 18 years ago, you focused a lot on the Head Start program. 

Two things I want you to just elaborate a little bit on, the Early 

Head Start program, and also the fact that Head Start encompasses more than just education. And it covers a lot of wraparound 

services. 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Right. 

Senator HARKIN. Could you just talk about a family whose child 

is getting Head Start services and what things that family also 

gets as a benefit from that? 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. First, talking about Early Head Start, we are 

now encompassing families as early as prenatal moms. 

Senator HARKIN. That is right. 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. And so, we are going to begin service with that 

mom and make sure that she is getting to her medical appointments so that she is meeting targets for good nutrition for herself 

and for the baby. Meets those necessary and needed medical pieces 

for healthy birth outcomes. 
45 

Then we are going to continue the services with that family. One 

of my favorite programs is our Early Head Start Home Base program, and that is where our home visitors, who have all degrees 

in either social work or education, are in the home with our families for 90 minutes at least every week, and then they do some socialization on top of that every month. 

But in that Home Base program, they are working directly with 

the families. So we are setting goals as a family. We are also doing 

child development. So we are making sure kids are healthy. Head 

Start does encompass the medical, mental health, dental, all of 

those good kind of things. We make sure kids are up to date on 

all of their requirements. We follow the EPSDT standards in terms 

of early and periodic—and what is all that stuff, Jerry? 

Anyway, make all those things happen. So kids are healthy and 

ready to learn. Dental health is huge for us. All of the children in 

our program, even in our Early Head Start program, after the age 

of 12 months are seen by a dentist. There are pediatric dentists 

available in our community, thank you very much. And they have 

provided wonderful opportunities for us to partner together so we 

can get those services to kids and families. 

We had a number of children I can name about—well, one is 

going to happen tomorrow or on Monday, excuse me. But families 

who have to—who have significant enough dental issues that they 

have to have surgery. And the dentists put the children to sleep so 

that they can do the massive kind of work that needs to be done. 

And if kids don’t have decent dental health, they can’t eat. And 

if they can’t eat, they can’t grow. And if they can’t grow, then there 

are all kinds of stuff that comes into that. 

We also provide comprehensive services in terms of developmental environments and assessments and screens so that kids are 

on target to do the things that they need to get done and be ready 

to start school. Sixty-three percent of our kids left our Head Start 

program at or above proficient, ready to go to kindergarten—— 

Senator HARKIN. Good. 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT [continuing]. In literacy and language. 

Senator HARKIN. Good. 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Better in every one, 100 percent of them had 

medical treatment. The kids that needed treatment got treatment. 

So we are providing that whole gamut and helping families at the 

same time set those goals so that they don’t have to worry so much 

about their children while they are worrying and doing—pursuing 

their job training opportunities and their skilled labor opportunities as well. 

Senator HARKIN. Just as a side footnote-type thing, as you know, 

we are right now in negotiations and we are developing the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the socalled ‘‘No Child Left Behind.’’ I hope to have that through our 

committee around Easter time. 

One of the goals that I think we have good bipartisan support 

on is to more closely align the Head Start program, the educational 

aspect of that, with what kids need to have when they enter kindergarten or first grade. And so, I am working with the Head Start 

Association, the national association, to help try to develop what 

those would be. How would you set those kind of guidelines so that 
46 

kids get the education they need to be proficient when they enter 

first grade? 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Right. 

Senator HARKIN. So if you have thoughts along that line because, 

obviously, you are doing some things pretty successfully—— 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Yes. 

Senator HARKIN [continuing]. If your kids are meeting these proficiencies when they enter school. 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. And we don’t have an achievement gap. 

Senator HARKIN. Mm-hmm. Well, that is good. That is nice. 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Yes. 

Senator HARKIN. That is great. That is another term? 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Yes. 

Senator HARKIN. We have failing schools, but we also have 

achievement gaps. Even in good schools, we have achievement gaps 

between students. And so, you say in your group, you don’t have 

that achievement gap. 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. That is correct. 

Senator HARKIN. Well, if you have any thoughts on how we 

might fashion the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to 

more closely align with Head Start, just from your own personal 

standpoint, I would like to know about it. 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Okay. 

Senator HARKIN. Okay, thanks. 

Dr. Durham, just I was just thinking here, what is the—if there 

is an average, what is the average starting salary or wages of an 

RN in Iowa? 

Dr. DURHAM. In Iowa, it is between $40,000 and $45,000. Around 

the Cedar Valley, new RNs right out of school would start between 

$20 and $22 an hour. 

Senator HARKIN. Mm-hmm. I keep hearing that a lot of our 

nurses are leaving and going to some other States, that there is a 

drain on our well-qualified RNs. 

Dr. DURHAM. Well, at least our graduates generally stay in Iowa. 

And interestingly—— 

Senator HARKIN. Well, that is nice. 

Dr. DURHAM [continuing]. Even when they leave Iowa, a lot of 

them come back when they decide to start families. 

Senator HARKIN. That is true. 

Dr. DURHAM. Because they love Iowa. 

Senator HARKIN. That is true. 

Dr. DURHAM. And it is true that States that have greater shortages than Iowa, of course, do come to Iowa, just as they do in education to recruit teachers. They come to Iowa to recruit nurses. 

So—— 

Senator HARKIN. In a way, that speaks well for us. 

Dr. DURHAM. Speaks well for us. 

Senator HARKIN. But it also makes us want to make sure that 

we keep more of them here in the State of Iowa. But again, with 

that kind of a starting salary, if a student graduates with a debt 

load of $25,000 or $30,000, which could be oppressive. 

Dr. DURHAM. Generally, nurses in many other States are paid a 

higher salary. 

Senator HARKIN. That is right. 
47 

Dr. DURHAM. So they could go to Minnesota, for example, and work at Mayo at $28 to $30 an hour to start without a much higher 

cost of living. And we do have a fair number of graduates who go 

to Mayo and to other places. I am sure you are aware that the reimbursement rate for medical care in Iowa is not very high, which 

is one of the reasons why the salaries for nurses, both starting 

nurses and experienced nurses, is lower in comparison to many 

other States. 

Senator HARKIN. Just again, to follow up on that, I worked very 

closely with the Congressman from this area, Congressman Braley, 

when we passed the healthcare bill to get that bump-up in the reimbursement rate. 

Dr. DURHAM. Yes. Yes. 

Senator HARKIN. That is in there. So a repeal of healthcare 

would wipe that out. 

Dr. DURHAM. Yes. We greatly appreciate that assistance because 

it has been a problem for so many years in this State. 

Senator HARKIN. Yes. Long, long, time. 

Reverend Anderson, again, we talked about earmarks. I guess 

you mentioned it. I didn’t. And for those of you in the audience and 

others, I have always been a very strong proponent of what has 

been called earmarks. I don’t even know why it is called that. 

We have always referred to it as ‘‘congressionally directed funding’’ because Congress directs it one way or the other. I always give 

a little tutorial on the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution of the United States gives the power of the purse to Congress, not to the President. 

The President of the United States cannot spend one nickel of 

taxpayers’ dollars except for what the Congress gives him the authority to do. And so, it has almost gotten to the point now where 

the President says they get to decide where all the money goes. 

Well, that is not so. That is not so. 

And so, we have fought hard in Congress to retain the right and 

to retain what is a constitutional obligation to direct monies to certain things. A lot of the programs that you have, like Barnabas Uplift, is the kind of a program, it doesn’t fit into a niche. I mean it 

doesn’t fit into Social Security. It doesn’t fit into WIA. It doesn’t fit 

into some structured kind of program. 

And so, those of us who have this authority and responsibility 

would look at things like this, and you say, can we help them out? 

Is there some way that we can direct some money to programs like 

this to see if they really work? Sometimes they don’t. Quite honestly, sometimes we put money into certain things, and they just 

don’t pan out very well. 

But we can put a small amount of money into programs like this. 

They are backed by a lot of times religious institutions, nongovernmental organizations, Boys and Girls Clubs or the Y, or things like 

that, and so you get a lot of bounce off of that dollar out there. And 

they really do take one dollar of taxpayer money and really magnify it a great deal and help a lot of people. 

And so, we look at those very closely. And Barnabas Uplift, from 

everything that I have been able to see and my staff has been able 

to see, is one of those that just does a wonderful job in taking a 

taxpayer dollar and boosting it a lot, and helping people that don’t 
48 

quite fit into a structure or someplace that would come from Washington. 

And so, that is why I happen to have a disagreement with my 

own President on this. But it is a funny thing about Presidents. I 

don’t know what it is. They just think they get to run everything. 

And I don’t care what party they are. Every President that I 

have known since Jimmy Carter, and I have been there since Carter. Well, I was there with Ford. Every single one of them, it 

doesn’t make a difference whether they are Republicans or Democrats, once they get in there, they think they got to run it and Congress doesn’t count for anything. And this President is in the same 

mold. I don’t know why it is, but they get there. 

So we are having this little bit of a battle, but we have had it 

before with other Presidents. And so, we are going to do everything 

we can to, again, make sure that we are able to respond to needs, 

to seek out and find good people who are doing wonderful things 

in their community that may need just a little bit of help to do 

something. 

So I am glad you brought that up. I wasn’t going to talk about 

it, but I think that people should understand when the President 

says he is going to veto any bill with earmarks, he is going to have 

to veto his own budget. 

Now next week, when does the President’s budget come out? 

Next week? 

MALE SPEAKER. February 14. 

Senator HARKIN. February 14, the President’s budget comes out. 

I will give you a little preview. I am going to go over to the floor 

of the Senate. I am going to have a chart there. I am going to have 

the President’s budget—Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 

that is the President’s budget arm—they are going to have their 

budget. 

And guess what? There are going to be certain programs that are 

going to increase and certain things that are going to decrease. 

That is the President’s earmark. That is what the President wants 

to do. 

Well, what about what we in Congress may want to do? We may 

not want to do exactly like the President wants to do, but that are 

his earmarks. That is his decision on how to spend taxpayers’ dollars. And so, when we earmark money, that is our decision on how 

we should spend it. And quite frankly, I think we have the upper 

hand because the Constitution of the United States is clear. Only 

Congress has the power of the purse and not the executive branch. 

So I didn’t mean to get off on that. But it is just that I feel very 

strongly, as you can tell, about—— 

Mr. DOTZLER. We are with you. 

Senator HARKIN [continuing]. Keeping our ability to help good 

people and good things out there that I have done work with Boys 

and Girls Clubs and the Y and so many other things where just 

a little bit of funds really go a long way. So I guess that wasn’t 

so much of a question as to just elaborate a little bit upon what 

you said. 

But give us just another little flavor of this. How do you find the 

people that help you so much? You have a lot of people who volun-
49 

teer their time on the weekends, evenings. How do you find people 

like that? 

Reverend ANDERSON. Iowans, particularly small-town Iowans 

really want to help their neighbors. My favorite story is Iowa Falls. 

I was there making a presentation describing what we are doing 

in Waterloo with Barnabas Uplift. And an elderly woman with a 

walker came over and asked me, ‘‘Well, what would that cost to do 

something like that for the folks here in our town?’’ 

You know, I hem and haw, ‘‘It is hard. There are a lot of variables. I can’t really put a price tag on it right here and now.’’ ‘‘No, 

how much would it cost?’’ ‘‘Oh, at least $20,000.’’ And she handed 

me a $20,000 check. 

Senator HARKIN. Jeesh, whoa. 

Reverend ANDERSON. So we opened the program there. The 

Roman Catholic and Lutheran Church pooled together. Some 

weeks, the Lutherans provide childcare and the Catholics cook the 

meal. The next week, we change. We get retired teachers to come 

do childcare. So when the student is done with class, the child has 

been fed. The homework is done. They are ready for bed. 

Just about every time we find a barrier for someone who wants 

to get a job to get a good job, we try to eliminate that barrier just 

by the pastors, the priests, the Imams, and the leaders of the community just calling out and saying we can really help a family by 

doing this. When we are able to do that, there is no shortage of volunteers. There are people very much wanting to help. 

But this sort of social entrepreneurism does need some cash up 

front, Senator, and your office has been very helpful with us. And 

your office has pushed us to create documents so that this program 

could be duplicated anywhere in the country, and that is an experiment to try to create something new. 

Senator HARKIN. That is the other thing that we can do with 

these earmarks, is find programs that are really successful and 

multiply them. There are a lot of places that are now nationwide 

that started out as a program just like that. And you duplicate it, 

and you build it up regionally, nationally. And then pretty soon, it 

doesn’t take much Government support at all to keep it going. 

Reverend ANDERSON. If I may, we received the first earmark, 

and at the end of the year it was set for, we contacted Department 

of Labor, where the money came from, and said this is way more 

efficient than we thought it would be, and we didn’t spend all the 

money and we don’t want another earmark. And so, we were able 

to run for a second year with no additional funds. 

Senator HARKIN. Great. 

Reverend ANDERSON. We came back and said now we have expended all that money. We would like to expand to five more cities, 

and that is in the bill that didn’t make it. 

Senator HARKIN. Yes. 

Reverend ANDERSON. It is great to cut the budget. But to cut the 

budget by taking job opportunities away from the poorest Iowans 

is bad math and in some ways just plain mean. 

Senator HARKIN. Bad morals, too. 

Jonathan Keniston, great story. What would happen if you 

couldn’t get a Pell grant? 

Mr. KENISTON. Well—— 
50 

Senator HARKIN. And your wife, too, right? 

Mr. KENISTON. Yes. 

Senator HARKIN. And she is going to school now? 

Mr. KENISTON. Yes, that is correct. You know, that Pell grant 

funding is just fundamental to us being able to juggle the finances 

and taking care of three children under the ages of 5, paying our 

bills, and moving forward. And time is such a precious commodity 

that when you are going through school it is hard to come by. 

And the faster we can go through school, which is allowed by the 

Pell grants that we have been taking advantage of, just I guess will 

accelerate us faster into our positions and our careers. 

Senator HARKIN. Now, tell me again, where are you in school? 

Mr. KENISTON. I am graduating in a couple of months from 

Hawkeye. 

Senator HARKIN. Right. 

Mr. KENISTON. And then I have been accepted at Allen College 

in the radiography program. 

Senator HARKIN. Right here. Good. 

All right, Dr. Durham, you have got a good student coming your 

way. 

Dr. DURHAM. Indeed. 

Senator HARKIN. But I think, again, just illustrative of because 

you have three children. 

Mr. KENISTON. Yes. 

Senator HARKIN. And I assume you have no other family support. 

Your father has passed away. And so, you rely just upon these 

grants and, I guess, work that you do, part-time work? 

Mr. KENISTON. Yes. 

Senator HARKIN. That is why this is just so vitally important on 

these Pell grants to make sure that we continue those. 

Now I have a whole bunch of questions here. I have a feeling 

that many of them are for me, but there may be some for the 

panel. Again, I just open it up to the panel, anything else that you 

think that we should know or take into account just listening to 

some of the things we have been talking about here. If you have 

anything at all that you would just like to bring up, I just throw 

that out at all. 

Dr. ALLEN. Senator Harkin. 

Senator HARKIN. Dr. Allen. 

Dr. ALLEN. What I am hearing across the seven individuals today 

is something that I think needs to be underscored. That the Federal programs that we all depend upon in some way are complemented by efforts at the State level and the private sector. 

Senator HARKIN. That is right. 

Dr. ALLEN. And so, it is really just not the Federal Government, 

but that Federal Government support forms a baseline that is so 

important for the other pieces to be successful. I will give you an 

example, which I might have mentioned earlier. 

My wife and I had the pleasure and the privilege of being the 

co-chairs of United Way for this area of the State this year. And 

if you look in those agencies that are supported by the Federal 

Government, there are also other pieces to it, private giving, and 

other sources of revenue. But there is also a fairly consistent finding that, despite all these different sources, we came up short and 
51 

that the agencies couldn’t provide all the services that were being 

requested. 

And so, I think we want to be sure that we understand this is 

part of the piece of all of these other sources, but still that baseline 

support is so important. 

Senator HARKIN. I think that is an important point to make. 

Anything else that anybody would like to add to that? 

I am going to try to respond to some of these questions. Some 

may be for you. I just happened to see the first one here was (reading question card), ‘‘Can the House kill the health bill by refusing 

to fund it?’’ 

The answer to that is yes, and we anticipate that will probably 

happen. As you know, there was a repeal motion in the House that 

passed. There was a repeal amendment this week in the Senate, 

and it didn’t pass. 

And so, we have anticipated that the House, because of the Constitution, as you know, those bills originate in the House—there 

may be efforts to not fund a certain portion, or no money—usually, 

it would be ‘‘no funds can be expended for this purpose’’ but then 

that has to come to the Senate, and we don’t have to accept that. 

The real question is—what happens—because you know for the 

President to sign a bill, it has to pass both Houses in the same, 

exact form—what happens if the House digs in its heels and says, 

no, they won’t fund this and the Senate says we will, then what 

happens to funding for the Government? 

And that is where there is a lot of talk about, will there be a 

shutdown of the Government, because we will run out of money to 

run the Government? I hope it doesn’t come to that. I hope it 

doesn’t come to that. 

The second thing is that because of the scoring by CBO, the 

healthcare bill, as it is now being implemented, actually saves 

money. As I said, they estimate about $240 billion this decade. In 

order to stop something in that healthcare bill, that is going to cost 

money. And so, if they want to stop the funding, they are going to 

have to come up with the money to make up for the deficit or find 

some way of raising the money for it because the healthcare bill 

saves money. 

So that is just my way of saying that you are probably right. I 

think there will be attempts to do that, but I hope in the end they 

will not be successful and that we will be able to move ahead. 

I just say this on the healthcare bill. I don’t know why we are 

fighting this battle again. I am not saying that there are not things 

in the health reform bill that can’t be modified or changed. I said 

when we passed the health reform bill, I likened it to a starter 

home, you know? Yes, well, you can change a little bit here and 

add a little bit here, move something here. That is true of any law 

that we pass. 

So I would, if people have suggestions on how to modify it and 

make it better and change it, okay, fine. That can be a good debate. 

But just to say repeal it outright is going back a couple of years 

and fighting old battles again and, plus, just increasing the deficit 

in this country. 
52 

Let us see (reading question card), ‘‘I feel the health insurance 

exchanges are an exciting new policy. Can you go into more depth 

on them, how they are going to impact at the State level?’’ 

Well, when the exchanges are up by 2014, it just means that any 

individual or small business, self-employed who is not on a private 

insurance policy through their employer can then go to the exchange, and on that exchange, there will be several different policies. And so, you can pick and choose those policies that are best 

for you or your family. There will be competition. There will be 

transparency. Everybody will know what every policy has, how 

much they cost, what they cover. 

And then there will be a sliding scale of subsidies for individuals, 

tax credits for businesses and others that want to go on that exchange. And so, it is just going to open up—again, let us say that 

someone is, as I said earlier, in a job—they don’t want to move because maybe they have a pre-existing condition or they will just 

lose their health insurance, but they would like to go out and do 

something else. 

Well, now they will be able to do that, go on the exchange, get 

a health insurance policy, be able to get a subsidy for it, if they 

qualify, and not fear that they will never be without health insurance coverage for any part of their life. And so basically, that is 

how the exchanges are going to work on the State level. 

Now, again, will there be changes made to that? Well, you know, 

we will see how they work and how they are being implemented 

and there may be modifications to it down the road, but that is basically how it is going to work. 

Is there anything else I can add to that? I’ll check with my experts here. 

Senator HARKIN. (reading question card) ‘‘The President has proposed cutting CSBG funding by 50 percent. This will dramatically 

impact our most vulnerable families. How does the Senator feel 

about this proposed cut?’’ 

Kim, you mentioned in your statement, at least in your written 

statement, that you were working with a certain community action 

agency. Was it—— 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Right. Operation Threshold, which is our community action agency here. 

Senator HARKIN. Operation Threshold. Well, tell me, what would 

it mean in terms of your association with them and what would 

they do if they were cut by 50 percent? 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Well, our families rely on those—that entity 

and that agency. For example, they have got—women, infants, and 

children (WIC) services come through—— 

Senator HARKIN. Women, infants, and children services. 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Yes, excuse me. Yes, come through Operation 

Threshold, as well as just the administration of their entity as they 

work to serve the community’s most vulnerable population. 

Senator HARKIN. Do they—— 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Their mission is children and families in poverty. 

Senator HARKIN. Do they administer the Head Start program in 

your area or not? 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. They do not. 
53 

Senator HARKIN. They don’t. 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. We are a stand-alone program. 

Senator HARKIN. Okay. Some in places they do. 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. In the State of Iowa, there are 19 Head Start 

grantees, and 16 of them are community action programs. 

Senator HARKIN. Administered by the community action programs? 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Yes. Yes. 

Senator HARKIN. How many people here know what a community 

action agency is? How many people know what they are? 

Senator HARKIN. Oh, good for you. That is great. 

Community action agencies have been wonderful in many ways. 

First, because they involve local people. They get local control and 

they are able, to have flexibility in what they can do. And all community action agencies have boards of directors who are made up 

of local citizens. 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Elected officials. 

Senator HARKIN. Elected officials, business people. 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Right. And participants in the program. 

Senator HARKIN. And participants in the program. I have met a 

lot of business owners who are on boards of the community action 

agencies, educators. And so, what this does is it allows the local 

communities to get a good feel for these programs and how they 

work and what the WIC program is or the Head Start program or 

the LIHEAP, the Low-Income Heating Energy Assistance Program, 

and how they work. 

To me, this is the essence of good government, to get it out to 

people and let them make some decisions on how these things operate. For the life of me, I don’t understand this proposed 50 percent 

cut. No one checked with me on it, and it happens to be in my jurisdiction. And I can tell you, I will do everything I can to prevent 

that from happening. 

I just—I don’t get it. I don’t get that. 

Ms. YOUNG-KENT. Part of the essences behind community action 

is it is a one-stop shop for our families so they don’t have to go to 

this agency to get that accomplished and this agency to get the 

next accomplished and find another place. But we have got an entity where we can bring services together to serve our vulnerable 

populations. 

Senator HARKIN. Well, what I am doing is, I am going to OMB, 

the President, and I have said, okay, what is wrong with the community action program? Do you have some suggestions on how we 

change it, let me know? I mean, I am all for looking if there are 

better ways of running things and stuff like that. But to just whack 

it by 50 percent? I don’t think so. 

So I am anxious to see why they believe it would be in our best 

interest to cut it by 50 percent. And I have not seen any indication 

of that anywhere in my years in Congress. In fact, I think it has 

been very well run and run with very little overhead. 

Anyway (reading question card), ‘‘As you know, nothing has a 

larger impact on our overall health than what we eat. As you have 

said, there are not enough fruits and vegetables grown in the 

United States.’’ Boy, this is getting a little bit—‘‘what can be done 

to make USDA subsidies match nutritional guidelines?’’ 
54 

Well, that is a good question when you talk about healthcare. 

Well, quite frankly, we have a Secretary of Agriculture, right now, 

that is moving in that direction. I mean, he really has moved on 

these guidelines, and that is a guy by the name of Tom Vilsack. 

We kind of know who he is. 

And I have been very encouraged by what Secretary Vilsack has 

been doing with our guidelines and what First Lady Michelle 

Obama has been doing to make sure we get better foods for our 

kids. As you know, in the waning days of the Congress, we passed 

the new nutritional standards for kids in school. Beginning actually 

this next school year, we are going to get rid of all sugared drinks 

in schools and candy snacks and all that kind of stuff. We are moving toward better school feeding programs, more fruits and vegetables in our school lunch programs. 

So that is taking place, and the new guidelines, as a matter of 

fact, that the Department of Agriculture came out with, I think, 

again are moving us in that right direction. So I feel good about 

that. 

And also in the healthcare bill, we put—a big part of that of the 

healthcare bill is prevention and wellness, and we have set up a 

prevention fund, a wellness fund that is going to be geared toward 

the idea of keeping people healthy in the first place rather than 

just taking care of people when they get sick. 

For example, in January of this year, under the healthcare bill, 

just last month, any person on Medicare can now get a free annual 

checkup with no copayments and no deductibles. They can get 

colonoscopy without any copays or deductibles. They can get mammogram screenings, no copays or deductibles. And they can get a 

health status, a wellness guideline. Every elderly person now can 

get a wellness guideline at their checkup that will instruct them 

about what they should eat and how they should exercise and quit 

smoking and all that. 

Again, that is to try to get our elderly to eat better, exercise 

more, cut back on smoking, stay healthy. So that is part of the 

healthcare bill, and that just went into effect in January. 

Now I am told that there are more comments and questions. I 

am sorry I can’t get to all of them now. You are right. I think we 

have—yes, we have run out of time. But to the extent that I have 

people’s names and addresses, I will answer them and get back to 

you on those. I want you to be reassured of that, that I will have 

my staff get those to me and we will get back to you on them. 

Is there anything else that the panel—you have been very kind 

and generous with your time and your expertise. Any other thing 

for the good of the audience here that we need to go over? 

Erik, do you have anything that we may have missed? I did miss 

one thing. I wanted to—oh, I wanted to thank our sign language 

interpreter, Karlene Kischer-Browne. Thank you very much. 

Senator HARKIN. So if there is nothing else, thank you very 

much, panel. Thank you all for being here, and I will be here for 

a while. If you want to talk to me privately off the record and stuff 

like that, we will be able to do that. 

CONCLUSION OF HEARING

So the subcommittee will stand recessed. 
55 

[Whereupon, at 2:20 p.m., Saturday, February 5, the hearing was 

concluded, and the subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of the Chair.] 

Æ