Date: 2011-02-16
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Let me say that I rise to join with the ChuMooreJackson Lee amendment and that I now rise to introduce the Jackson Lee amendment. which also addresses the question of the Pell Grant. I would hope that my colleagues would be allowed to debate it. I consider this an emergency. and I will make this point as the gentleman makes his point of order. Mr. Chair. let me just refer to where we are today because we are needing to be engaged in creating jobs. I am not sure what my colleagues heard in the last election. but what I heard was that we needed jobs. It is clearand I hope that we can see thiswe have been here for 5 weeks plus. and the number of jobs that have been created by the Republicans is zero. So here we are now with a 15 percent cut on Pell Grants. What does that mean? It means that schools all around the Nation will not be able to provide Pell Grants to the individual students who need them. In fact. in my own district. with this 15 percent cut. this 5.550 going down to 4.705 will drastically impact students in my constituency. For example. the cuts will jeopardize education and the future of 16.570 students who are currently dependent on Pell Grants in order to finance their education. 5.726 are currently studying at Texas Southern University and 10.847 at the University of Houston16.570 in my district alone. Those from the State of Montana will lose their Pell Grants. Those from the State of Alabama. from the State of Connecticut. and from the State of Wisconsin will lose their Pell Grants. But the real insult is that this will stop the education of thousands upon thousands of students in the middle of their education. Again. how many jobs have the Republicans created?-zero. I always want to bring this chart. which is very hard to see. but we can see how many jobs we lost in the last administration. We are on the rise of creating jobs. In fact. the CBO said that our future is great. It will not be great with a misguided plan to eliminate $600 million from the Pell Grant program. It is absolutely absurd. For example. let me share with you thoughts from The New York Times: This CR is ideologically driven. We started with a $74 billion cut. but because the Republicans decided that it is preferable to abide by polls. they decided to move to a draconian and ludicrous $100 billion. That means that $600 million was cut from Pell Grants. In addition to an amendment that I did not offer. the NIH. we see that those grants that were competitive for fellowships and research have also been drastically cut at Texas Southern University and at the University of Houston. and many State institutions in Texas are impacted by the cuts of the NIH grants. But this is the greatest sin: In a meeting that I had with my community colleges and my school districts. they were in complete panic about losing Pell Grants that will then impact on the wonderful upsurge of jobs from what we had lost in the last administration. I would simply ask my colleagues: Why are we going down a pathway that would take away the growth that we have provided? So I would ask. as we look to the future. that this be restored. My amendment and Ms. CHUS amendmentthe one that I joined and the one that I intended to speak onwas. in fact. to restore these dollars. A new Wall Street Journal survey of economists shows they expect the economy to expand at the fastest pace since 2003 but not with these draconian cuts. Why wouldnt they do as the Presidents budget has done. which is to get rid of the 2 percent tax cuts for the billionaires? We might be able to provide $600 million for students. But no. We want to. I guess. stand with ideological viewpoints and with individuals who say. I was sent here to budget cut. You were sent here to govern. You were sent here to protect the American people. Students who will create the workforce of the 21st century. you are now telling them they cant get an education. Let me say this: The Constitution reminds us of what a wonderful country we live ina country that believes we all are created equal. We dont have the same economic opportunities. meaning the same wealth. but we do have the ability to access education through wonderful programs like the Pell Grant program. Now youre telling poor and lowincome students the door is closed. the lights are out. youre not equal. and you dont deserve an education. I would say that this is an abomination. Support the amendments that will provide for $600 million restored to the Pell Grants. I ask my colleagues to vote for the amendment. Mr. Chair. I move to strike the last word. H.R. 1. the Continuing Resolution making appropriations to fund the federal government through September 20. 2011 contains some very deep cuts that will be very hurtful to many Americans. especially those who are the most vulnerabledisadvantaged women and families. children. minorities. the elderly. and our nations university students. The proposed cuts in the CR will have a disproportionate effect on the lowincome and minority portions of our population. As we face a large deficit and growing debt. we know that cuts will have to be made. And yes. some of those cuts will be painful. However. we must be careful not to place added burdens and cause greater harms to those Americans who are the most vulnerable and in need of our support the most. The proposed CR calls for a 15 percent reduction in funding for Pell grants. Such a cut will reduce the maximum Pell grant award from its current level of $5.550 to $4.705. This would present a serious problem for institutions of higher learning. but more importantly. it creates a major hardship on students. Current students who receive Pell grants would have to figure out a way to come up with nearly an additional $1.000 in order to continue their education. Students who have been accepted to school and have received their financial aid packages are also put in a position that would force them to find and secure additional funds for their schooling. Pell Grants provide the basic foundation of federal student aid and help more than 8 million students afford to attend college. To some of us. $800-$1.000 may not seem significant. However. to a student who qualifies for Pell grant assistance. and relies on those funds. this would be a great hardship. potentially forcing students to take time off from their schooling. In my district in Houston. TX. these cuts will jeopardize the education and future of 16.570 students who are currently dependent on Pell grants in order to finance their education5.726 currently studying at Texas Southern University and 10.847 at University of Houston. 16.570 students in one Congressional District alone will be unfairly affected by these cuts. In the entire state of Texas. 650.790 students currently enrolled in school will be forced to deal with unexpected financial hardships under this provision. In other words. in my state alone. the number of students negatively impacted by this drastic cut to Pell grant funding is more than the entire population of Washington. DC. Nationwide. more than 9 million students would potentially be impacted. Mr. Chair. these cuts are an unnecessary and unfair hardship that will be forced on college students. These young men and women represent the future labor force of our country. and in these trying economic times. I believe it is extremely appalling for Members of Congress to purposefully jeopardize the educational and economic future of our country.