S6468 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 10, 1995

Not only do scouts well serve the

communities in which they live, they

are constantly acquiring knowledge

and skills which will serve them well in

later years—and make them better

citizens. In scouting lies much of the

hope for America in the fast approaching next century.

It is reassuring to know that Vermont still has within its borders able

young people willing to serve in the

best interests of their State and Nation, as did the boys of the long ago

Civil War days.

I want to congratulate the Boy

Scouts of America on their 85 years of

excellent service to the United States

and welcome the Vermont boy scouts

to my home city of Rutland for their

celebration. Rutland is where I served

in my youth as a boy scout. I hope the

Vermont camporee is as enjoyable and

successful as it is historic.

f∑

WORKING FAMILIES ANXIETY

OVER EDUCATION CUTS

∑ Mr. DODD. Mr. President, we should

never lose sight of the meaning of the

decisions we make here for ordinary

Americans and their families. This

point was brought home to me by an

article in Monday’s New York Times,

‘‘Families Await News on Cuts in Education Aid.’’ I ask that this article be

printed in the RECORD at the conclusion of my remarks.

This is a difficult time of year for

parents of college-age children. Along

with their sons and daughters, they

anxiously await college acceptance or

rejection letters and financial aid offers. They worry about children away

from home for the first time, about

summer jobs, about SAT scores and

grades and about the job market for

college graduates. But for the vast majority of parents, the biggest worry is

how they will be able to make it all

possible for their children.

This year, unfortunately, there is another gnawing worry for millions of

families who rely on Federal student financial aid to make college possible.

Serious cuts in these programs are

being proposed. The Contract With

America calls for the elimination of

one of the key pillars of Federal support for college students—the in-school

interest subsidy on guaranteed Federal

loans. The Domenici budget plan calls

for the elimination of this subsidy for

graduate students, but it goes on to

proposes overall education cuts so severe that the subsidy for all students is

called into question.

In addition, campus-based aid programs and other higher education programs are endangered by the severe

cuts proposed in discretionary spending

for educational activities. This casts a

shadow over the future of the College

Work Study Program, the Supplemental Education Opportunities Grant

Program, the State Student Incentive

Grant Program, and the Perkins Loan

Program.

Mr. President, education has always

been one of the most solidly placed

rungs on the ladder of economic opportunity. For generations, American

families have sacrificed to assure their

access to the best education possible.

That has paid off for us as individuals

and for us as a nation. And yet many in

Congress are prepared to turn their

backs on this record of success.

As we debate the budget resolution in

committee this week and on the floor

as early as next week, there is clearly

a great deal hanging in the balance,

not the least of which are the hopes

and dreams of American families for

their children’s future. I urge all my

colleagues to read this excellent article

and consider our country’s future.

The article follows:

[The New York Times, May 8, 1995]

FAMILIES AWAIT NEWS ON CUTS IN EDUCATION

AID

(By Lynda Richardson)

These are uncertain times for the family of

David and Maureen Grau of St. Paul, Minn.

As they await final word on financial aid for

the colleges that three of their eight children attend, they worry what sacrifices will

need to be made, and even which child might

not go.

The Graus know that some cuts in Government aid are likely. In the next several

weeks, Congress will begin considering the

strongest assault in recent years on the

array of college loans, grants and workstudy programs that many lower- and middle-class families have relied on since passage of the nation’s first major Federal student aid program, the Higher Education Act

of 1965.

And across the nation, governors and legislatures are cutting the state university

budgets and considering deep reductions in

aid for impoverished students.

But in the absence of decisions on what

will be cut, the most the Graus can do—like

thousands of other Americans—is make contingency plans and hope for the best. Two

daughters will cram three extra courses into

their full college loads next year so they get

through school faster, saving tuition. And all

three will work full time—or more—this

summer.

Baby-boomers, the Graus were themselves

beneficiaries of Federal student loans and

grants back in the 70’s. Mr. Grau, 44, is now

a registered nurse; his wife, 42, is a homemaker. With an annual income of $36,500,

they save and scrimp. They have not bought

new furniture, other than a couch, in 23

years.

The Graus hold many of the bedrock American beliefs that swept the new Republican

leadership into office. They go to Mass every

Sunday. They are anti-abortion. Each child

has a chore at home. Now, they say they are

feeling betrayed.

‘‘We never questioned whether or not college education was available to us,’’ Mrs.

Grau said. ‘‘Loans, grants and college workstudy were there for the taking. All that was

truly needed was a desire, and now you have

a lot of hurdles.’’

House Republicans have called for $1.7 billion in cuts in money already appropriated

in the $34 billion Department of Education

budget for the 1995 fiscal year. They have

proposed $20 billion in higher education cuts

over the next five years.

The largest cut would come from ending

the Government subsidy of interest on loans

while students are in college, which could

save $12 billion in five years. Currently, a

student who borrows $5,000 for freshman year

owes $5,000 at graduation. Under the proposal, interest would be added to the principal each month, so the $5,000 would become

$6,000 or so in debt at graduation. Students

would see an average of 20 percent to 25 percent more debt when they graduate, financial aid officers say.

Republican leaders, in their first 100 days,

also suggested dismantling Federal aid programs that are managed by colleges, including the Perkins loans for needy students,

Supplemental Educational Opportunity

Grants and work-study programs in which

the Federal government pays 75 percent of a

student’s salary and the institution pays the

rest.

‘‘It is safe to say that every low- and middle-income family with a student in college

and hoping to send a child to college has a

stake in the outcome of the debate that Congress is holding now and will be holding for

the next few months,’’ said Terry Hartle,

spokesman for the American Council on Education, a Washington-based association of

1,700 colleges and universities. ‘‘Many families would find their plans for college disrupted, fundamentally changed or eliminated by major changes in Federal student

aid.’’

But the Republicans who have proposed

them say the cuts are necessary for the financial health of the nation. Bruce

Cuthbertson, a spokesman for Representative John R. Kasich, the Ohio Republican

who chairs the House Budget Committee,

said of loan subsidies, ‘‘We think it’s a matter of fairness. We just put this on equal

footing with all other types of loans one

would receive.’’

The potential cuts have stirred public protests and private anguish. In the Bronx, Elba

Velez, a single mother of three, worries that

the cuts will halt her family’s fragile upward

mobility.

‘‘The programs that are being cut are for

the people who need them the most,’’ said

Ms. Velez, who left welfare behind after getting her degree in the 70’s. Her son is a freshman at Wesleyan University.

Carmen Vega Rivera and her husband,

John, worry that their high school senior

will never go to college. Financial aid was

crucial to Mrs. Rivera’s education. She now

heads an East Harlem tutorial program.

THE PRESENT—BEING MARRIED WITH CHILDREN

The three Grau college students are among

the nearly half of all 14.7 million college students who receive student aid. Two daughters attend Concordia College, a small liberal arts school in St. Paul, and the third is

at the University of St. Thomas there. Besides the subsidized loans, the young women

get a wide array of aid from the Federal Government, the state and the college, and both

work during the school year.

At Concordia, Amy, a sophomore, who

lives at home, received $12,305 in aid this

year. Her sister, Sarah, a freshman who lives

on campus, was awarded $13,308. The total

cost of Concordia is $15,550 for dorm students

and $14,500 for students living off campus.

The Graus pay the rest.

Their older sister, Rochelle, a junior who

plans to attend graduate school, is interested

in biomedical ethics and philosophy. She received $17,028 in aid this year to pay for

books, fees and other expenses at St. Thomas, which has an average student cost of

$16,263.

Rochelle and Amy are lining up full-time

summer jobs, as counter help at a fast-food

restaurant and as an office administrator.

Sarah will work as a counselor at a day

camp.

‘‘They are thinking maybe a part-time

evening and weekend job also,’’ said her
May 10, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6469

mother, Maureen Grau, 42. This would rule

out summer courses, but the women want

enough money to pay their expenses all year.

Mrs. Grau received a degree in health and

physical education at the College of St.

Catherine in town. Mr. Grau received a degree in English and education at St. Thomas.

He taught, then worked as a mechanic. Four

years ago, he returned to college to become

a nurse.

Mr. Grau says he and his wife are not in a

position to help their college-age daughters

because they have five more children at

home, ages 8 to 17. ‘‘How am I going to educate them?’’ he asked. ‘‘I don’t know.’’

THE PAST—ERECTING A LADDER OF

OPPORTUNITY

For the Graus, the commitment to college

education goes back three generations on

Mrs. Grau’s side; four on her husband’s. But

for hundreds of thousands of low-income

Americans, like Elba Velez of the Bronx, the

‘‘War on Poverty’’ in the 1960’s brought access to college degrees for the first time.

Federal student-aid programs began small

but expanded under the Nixon, Carter and

Reagan Administrations.

Not since the G.I. Bill, after World War II,

had the Federal Government played so

strong a role in insuring that a specific segment of the population got a chance to go to

college. Minority enrollment, in particular,

showed a dramatic increase.

‘‘The generation that preceded this one has

tremendously benefited from Governmental

assistance to attend college,’’ said Jamie P.

Merisotis, the president of the Institute for

Higher Education Policy in Washington.

‘‘Both for individuals and the nation, the

payoff is clear.’’

Ms. Velez was on welfare in the 1970’s when

she decided to go to college. She had considered a job in Manhattan’s garment district

but said that when she saw the assembly

lines of uneducated women hunched over

heavy machinery, ‘‘I looked around and said,

‘This is not for me. I’m going to take charge

of my life. I’m not going to let anyone tell

me what I am going to be.’’’

Ms. Velez enrolled at Bronx Community

College in 1979. With the support of Federal

Pell grants—created in 1972—and state tuition aid for needy students, she received a

bachelor’s degree in business administration

from Baruch College in 1983.

‘‘I have more power,’’ she said. ‘‘I am able

to provide for my children, but I’m also able

to give back to the community.’’

But she is concerned about her children’s

future, with the cost of private colleges averaging $9,995 last year. ‘‘I just want my children to have an opportunity to go on to

school,’’ she said.

Her 19-year-old son, Daniel, a bookish

young man interested in science and creative

writing, gets a $13,975 scholarship from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. In a

work-study job that pays $1,400 a year, Daniel re-stocks and cleans the salad bar in the

dining hall. He also receives $7,825 annually

in subsidized loans, as well as Pell and Supplemental Educational Opportunity grants.

He and his mother contribute about $2,090 a

year to make up the rest of Wesleyan’s

$26,790 tuition and board costs.

To offset college costs next year, Daniel

hopes to find summer work at a fast-food

restaurant.

His sister, Felicia, a senior at Central Park

Secondary School in East Harlem, was recently accepted at Syracuse University. Her

financial package covers only $19,000 of the

school’s $25,000 cost. Felicia cannot expect

much help from her mother.

And just last week, Ms. Velez learned that

she may be laid off at Bronx Community College as part of the cost cutting proposed for

the city university system.

THE FUTURE—$93,000 A YEAR AND STILL WORRIED

Walking into a noncredit class at New

York University more than two decades ago,

Carmen Vega Rivera remembers the sea of

mostly Hispanic and black faces. Like Mrs.

Rivera, many also were first-generation college students.

She and the others were enrolled in the

state’s Higher Education Opportunity Program, created in 1969 for students with both

academic and financial need who wanted to

go to private colleges. Gov. George Pataki

proposes cutting that, along with similar

programs at state and city universities,

though many legislators are fighting to restore the programs. H.E.O.P. alone would

save $22.5 million this fiscal year, the Governor’s office said.

Mrs. Rivera was 49th of 500 students at the

High School of Art and Design in midtown

Manhattan but scored poorly on the verbal

portion of the Scholastic Assessment Test.

‘‘My chance of coming through the traditional admissions was not likely,’’ she said.

With intensive counseling, emotional support and tutoring in the special N.Y.U. class,

Mrs. Rivera received her bachelor’s degree in

education and the arts in 1976.

Now, at 41, she earns $65,500 a year as executive director of the East Harlem Tutorial

Program. Her husband, John, who manages a

commercial building, only recently began a

$27,000-a-year job. He had stayed at home for

the last decade to look after their son,

Jaime, now 10.

Still, even with a $93,000 combined income,

Mrs. Rivera said her family lives from paycheck to paycheck, renting an $800-a-month

apartment near Yankee Stadium. There are

bills for medical problems and deaths in

their extended family, and they support a 17-

year-old daughter, Taina, and her 7-monthold child.

If Mrs. Rivera had her dream, Taina would

attend New York University, she said. But as

the family now explores state and city universities, everything seems up in the air.

‘‘As a parent, it’s eating up my mind all

the time,’’ she said. ‘‘I’m thinking, ‘How am

I going to pull it off? Is it all going to work

out?’’’

∑ Mr. BUMPERS. Mr. President, I rise

TRIBUTE TO AVIS B. BAILEY

∑

ftoday to pay tribute to a fellow Arkansan, Avis B. Bailey. Avis is the owner

of Avis Nissan in Fayetteville, and I

am proud to say, was honored last

week by the U.S. Small Business Administration as the 1995 Arkansas

Small Business Person of the Year. I

had a chance to visit with Avis and her

husband last week on the Capitol steps,

and I was immediately convinced that

this honor is richly deserved.

Avis Bailey was born and raised in

Prairie Grove, AR. The youngest of six,

she married right out of high school

and then moved with her husband to

Tulsa, OK. Twelve years later and a

single parent, she returned to northwest Arkansas and settled in Fayetteville, where she worked in her brother’s

transmission repair shop. In 1971, Avis

took another job as a cashier at Hatfield Pontiac and Cadillac, one of Arkansas’ oldest and most respected Cadillac dealerships. This became job No. 3

for her. However, in less than 2 years

Avis was out from behind the cashier’s

desk crunching numbers and in the

showroom selling Cadillacs. It was not

long before she became one of the

State’s top salespersons for automobiles and, within 10 years, manager

of the dealership.

Avis told me she could remember

when new Cadillacs started selling for

over $10,000. It was at that time that

her father told her she needed to get

out of the business. He said no one

would pay that much for a car. Mr.

President, 20-some-odds years and

many success stories later, Avis B. Bailey bought that Pontiac-Cadillac dealership where she started as a cashier. I

know many people who still dream of

owning a Cadillac someday, and here is

Avis with a whole parking lot full. Her

whole career is a testament to what

hard work and dedication can accomplish. She has truly risen through the

ranks of the small business world.

In 1991, Avis bought a Nissan dealership that was nearly bankrupt. Its

standing in the community was down,

but Avis took the initiative and the

gamble to take that failing business

and turn it around. Within 3 years, she

more than doubled the volume of sales

and her number of employees. Sales totaled $11.7 million in 1994 for Avis Nissan. Avis and her partners have also

bought four more automobile dealerships in Arkansas, adding both to the

economy and to the community. She

and her partners are now owners of

Mazda and Ford dealerships in northwest Arkansas as well.

Mr. President, we need more people

like Avis Bailey in this country. She is

more than a shrewd business woman.

She is filled with a spirit that can

make a difference. Avis avidly supports

the athletic programs of the University

of Arkansas, she is a member of both

the Fayetteville and Springdale Chamber of Commerce, and she’s a friend to

area grade schools, working to furnish

school supplies and clothing. We need

more people who aren’t afraid to roll

up their sleeves, work hard, and make

a difference in their communities. Mr.

President, I hope you will join me in

congratulating Avis Bailey on being

named the Arkansas Small Business

Person of the Year for 1995.

f∑

THE MISSING SERVICE

PERSONNEL ACT

∑ Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I

am pleased to cosponsor the Missing

Service Personnel Act of 1995, introduced by Senators DOLE and LAUTENBERG earlier this year.

The Missing Service Personnel Act is

a significant and an appropriate piece

of legislation. It would establish new

methods for determining the status of

missing service personnel and improving the means by which full accountability is achieved. Due in part to the

handling of POW/MIA cases by the Department of Defense and the United

States Government since the Vietnam

war, existing procedures have been

criticized as being unresponsive to the