College Affordability

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor for his steadfast leadership of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, and introduction of the College Affordability Act.

But I cannot do that without further recognizing my colleague and my friend, Chairman Elijah Cummings, whose family was from South Carolina, Clarendon County, to be exact, which is the home of the Briggs v. Elliott case, one of the first cases challenging school segregation. He understood the power of a high-quality education, and I know that he would be so incredibly proud of this remarkable piece of legislation that is being introduced this week.

This is an achievement that reflects the priorities of the entire Democratic Caucus to expand opportunities and make college affordable and accessible for all students.

I am proud that this bill embraces and reflects my priorities in Congress, including the Pell Grant Restoration Act, the Teacher Debt Relief Act, the Teacher Diversity and Retention Act, and the Jumpstart on College Act.

These bills would respectively protect student aid of vulnerable students who have been defrauded; provide educators with much-needed student debt relief so that they can stay in the classroom; reinforce critical programs that help develop a diverse educator workforce; and provide a robust investment in dual-enrollment classes that will lower the cost of a degree for students who need it most.

This bill is a year's-long effort to level the playing field for every demographic of students across the country, from veteran students, to working parents; and from small family farmers, to public servants. It is for students hoping to become the first in their family to go to college and afford it.

This bill is for families who struggle to put enough in the bank for their children's education. This bill is for students who struggle to fill out the overly complicated FAFSA; who struggle to earn degrees and keep the lights on while working and raising children; who utilize the Pell grant and other Federal aid to make it through, and still find themselves in debt.

My own journey reflects the challenges of navigating a system that simply is not built for everyone, of jumping through untenable hurdles to complete a degree. So it is deeply gratifying today to be part of the change that I so desperately needed as a student, to give a new, more diverse generation of students the supports they need to succeed.

The College Affordability Act would immediately lower the cost of college for students and families across the country by expanding Pell grants, incentivizing free community colleges, and driving States to substantially reinvest in their public institutions.

The bill invests in teachers by fixing a broken Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and TEACH Grant system, and permanently funding historically Black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions, all proven incubators of diverse educators.

The bill raises the quality of higher education by holding accreditors and schools accountable and weeding out bad actors. The bill also improves the completion rate for underserved communities through more robust and flexible student support.

This bill tackles the growing student default crisis by making student loans cheaper to take out, simpler to understand, and easier to pay off.

With the passage of the College Affordability Act, for-profit colleges will no longer be able to look at students as mere profit centers to swindle out of their Pell or GI dollars.

The bill closes loopholes to prevent veterans and low-income students from predatory for-profit institutions and creates more guardrails to ensure that every student can have the peace of mind that the degree they are investing in has value upon graduation.

That is all Americans want--the opportunity to get an education that opens the doors to a life of achievement, fulfillment, and economic power, and to be self-sufficient.

The College Affordability Act is a downpayment on the success and financial stability of students in my district and across the country. I am proud to have contributed to it and I support it here today.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source