III 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 395 

Establishing the American Competitiveness through Education (ACE) 

resolution. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 9, 2006 

Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. REID, Mrs. BOXER, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. STABENOW, and Mr. MENENDEZ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Establishing the American Competitiveness through 

Education (ACE) resolution. 

Whereas one of the top priorities for our families and our 

country is ensuring that young people get the education 

they need, from early childhood to higher education, to 

succeed at work and in life; 

Whereas the economy and future of the United States depend 

on maintaining a highly skilled and educated workforce 

with the ability to compete in an increasingly high-tech 

global economy; 

Whereas millions of hard-working middle-class families now 

struggle to afford the rising cost of higher education, 

which averages $12,127 per year at a public 4-year colVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:45 Mar 09, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR395.IS SR395

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•SRES 395 IS

lege and $29,026 per year at a private 4-year college for 

the 2005–2006 school year; 

Whereas between 2000 and 2005, the cost of tuition and fees 

increased 57 percent at public 4-year colleges and 32 percent at private 4-year colleges; 

Whereas during the 1985–1986 school year, the maximum 

Federal Pell Grant covered 55 percent of the cost of tuition, fees, room and board at a public 4-year college, but 

during the 2005–2006 school year the maximum Federal 

Pell Grant covers only 33 percent of such cost, leaving 

today’s students burdened with more debt or unable to 

afford a college education at all; 

Whereas at the same time that college costs are rising substantially, President Bush recently signed into law the 

largest cut in student loan programs in the history of the 

Nation and now proposes a budget for fiscal year 2007 

that would eliminate new funding for Federal Perkins 

Loans and freeze the maximum Federal Pell Grant 

award at $4,050, where the maximum Federal Pell Grant 

has been since 2003, reducing the real value of the maximum Federal Pell Grant to the families who depend 

upon it; 

Whereas the President’s budget also breaks promises to our 

children, their parents, and their schools; 

Whereas school districts must meet tough new standards 

under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 

107–110; 115 Stat. 1425), but the President’s budget 

underfunds this effort by $15,400,000,000; 

Whereas all children deserve an education that will prepare 

them for the 21st century global economy, but the President is proposing to leave 3,700,000 children behind by 


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•SRES 395 IS

failing to fully fund title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) 

at the level promised in the No Child Left Behind Act 

of 2001; 

Whereas in 1975 Congress committed to fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

1400 et seq.), in order to provide an appropriate education to students with special needs, yet for the second 

year in a row the President’s budget retreats on that 

commitment by reducing the Federal Government’s share 

of the cost for educating students with special needs, 

placing a greater financial burden on States and local 

school districts; 

Whereas research shows that every dollar invested in highquality early childhood education yields $13 in benefits to 

the public, but the President’s budget would eliminate 

Head Start services for 19,000 children; 

Whereas despite the importance of education, the President 

now is proposing a $2,100,000,000 cut to Federal education funding, which would be the largest cut in the 26- 

year history of the Department of Education; 

Whereas the President’s budget proposes to eliminate or substantially reduce funding for 42 existing education programs, including Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities State Grants, Educational Technology State 

Grants, Elementary and Secondary School Counseling 

Programs, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for 

Undergraduate Programs (GEAR-UP), and Federal 

TRIO Programs; 

Whereas every child deserves a safe, healthy, supervised place 

to go after school, but the President’s budget denies 


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these opportunities to 2,000,000 disadvantaged students 

by funding 21st Century Community Learning Centers at 

less than half the level promised in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001; and 

Whereas the education cuts in the President’s budget would 

eliminate the ability of many working families to ensure 

a quality education for their children, deny many young 

people the opportunities that flow from a college education, reduce the competitiveness of the United States 

workforce, and harm the Nation’s economy: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE SENATE. 

3 It is the sense of the Senate that— 

4 (1) Congress should act to make college more 

5 affordable by— 

6 (A) increasing tax benefits to offset college 

7 costs, such as expanding the Hope Scholarship 

8 Credit and the deductibility of college tuition; 

9 (B) substantially increasing the size of 

10 Federal Pell Grants to better reflect the in11 crease in the cost of higher education; and 

12 (C) making student loans more affordable 

13 by reducing interest rates and fees for students 

14 and families; 

15 (2) Congress should keep its promises to the 

16 children of the United States, particularly by fully 

17 funding the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the 


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1 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the 

2 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.); and 

3 (3) Congress should reject the cuts in the Presi4 dent’s education budget for fiscal year 2007. 

5 SEC. 2. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘American Com7 petitiveness through Education Resolution’’ or the ‘‘ACE 

8 Resolution’’. 

Æ 


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