Date: 2006-03-30
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Chairman. and Members of the committee. we have come to the end of this debate. and we must address a fundamental distinction between these bills. One of these bills recognizes the affordability gap. if you will. between the cost of a college education -and the struggles of American families and students to purchase that education. I appreciate all the discussion by the previous speakers as to how they have authorized -an increase in the cap and they have donie all this. The fact of the matter is. there is no money for that authorization. The President promised that he was going to raise it to $5.100. no money has been forthcoming. In fact. if you look over the last 5 years. there is $16 billion in additional spending for education -that is over and above what the Republicans have reported out of the appropriations cycle over those last 5 years. So this promise of additional money some time in the future if you vote for this authorization is brought to you by the very same. people who. over the last 5 years. have been cutting education over and over and over. And that is why you see this gap. this gap between the cost of an education and the ability of a family to pay for it and what a fulltime Pell grant means to these students. that we are down now to about 30 percent of the real cost of that education. What does that mean? That means that these students are struggling and in many instances fully qualified students are not able to take advantage of going to college. That is. just unacceptable in this country. They said that they did not do more of this because they did not think it was totally the responsibility of the Federal Government to pay for an education. Well. let me explain to them. students are deeper in debt.. Families are deeper in debt. They are. borrowing mhore money than ever. You have raised the limits on how much they can borrow because they have to borrow. More students are working more hours to try to- make up for the money that they cannot.borrow. the money that they do not get in grants. And what we kre suggesting is for the students and the families in the most need. in the most need. that we roll back the increased cost that you are going to saddle them with in July and go to a 3.4 percent interestrate rather than a 6.8 percent interest rate. There is no way to suggest that somehow. this .would make it totally the responsibility of the Federal Government. That is laughable around every kitchen table in America. As families are sitting down with their young people and trying to put their aid packages together. the .loans. the grants. the borrowing. the family contribution. the work of. their students. to see whether or not they can acquire a 2year or 4year education. they -would laugh in your face if you said. well..this is all the responsibility of the Federal Government. No. The Federal Government made a decision after World War II that we thought that people should not be turned away from college because they cannot afford it. And that is the people that we are trying to help. and that is the people. those most in need. that we are trying tohelp with this substitute. with Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. SCOTT. Mr. DAVIS. Mr. KILDEE. and myself. because those are the people who tragically and unfortunately and unnecessarily are making a decision. The other charge was that the only thing I could suggest where you could pay for this was tax cuts to the wealthy. I will give you another one. How about the tax cuts to -the oil companies that you did in the energy bill? Maybe you can take those oil companies that have world recordbreaking profits and maybe you could ask them to give back some of the tax cuts you gave to them last month or the month before and use that to help pay for the education of those families and children most in need. So this legislation just shows two real differences between the parties: The party that continues to cut education almost $16 billion more than what Congress finally reported out because the Democrats took them dragging and screaming. and the party that is going to decide that we are going to help these families. And we are either going to roll back that raid on student aid with this down payment or you are going to neglect the needs of these families and students. And I hope that people will vote for the substitute and against the bill.