![]()
|
For Immediate Release July 31, 2008 |
Contact: Kerry McKenney/Nkechi Mbanu (202) 225-3436 |
||
Payne Votes to Send Landmark Higher Education Legislation to the President Legislation Addresses Skyrocketing College Tuition Prices, and Creates A More Consumer-Friendly Higher Education System |
|||
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Donald M. Payne, senior member of the House Education and Labor Committee, today joined an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives to approve final legislation that would address the soaring price of college tuition and remove other obstacles that make it harder for qualified students to go to college. By a vote of 380 to 49, the House approved the Higher Education Opportunity Act (H.R. 4137) , which would reform and strengthen the nation’s higher education programs to ensure that they operate in the best interests of students and families. The legislation builds on the Democratic Congress’ efforts to make college more affordable and accessible for all qualified students. Last year, Congress enacted into law a $20 billion increase in college financial aid over the next five years, the largest increase in student aid since the G.I. Bill of 1944. “Today, I am pleased that my colleagues demonstrated their commitment to putting aside partisan and ideological differences in order to reform our nation’s higher education programs through the advancement of the long-delayed reauthorization of the Higher Education Opportunity Act,” said Payne. An October 2007 report from the College Board showed that, over the previous five years, tuition and fees had increased across the board, at public and private colleges and at two-year and four-year colleges. In New Jersey, tuition and fees at a public four-year institution grew by 7% between 2006-07 and 2007-8. The bill would address these rising prices by encouraging colleges to rein in price increases, ensuring that states maintain their commitments to higher education funding, providing students and families with consumer friendly information on college pricing and the factors driving tuition increases, and streamlining the federal student financial aid application process. “As a former educator, affordable and accessible education for all students has been a top priority,” Payne stated. “I am especially pleased that this legislation aims to increase the purchasing power of Pell Grants by raising the maximum award to $6,000 in the upcoming academic year from $4,300, followed by incremental increases of $400 in subsequent years to reach a maximum grant of $8,000 in the academic year 2014 – 2015.” The legislation also strengthens provisions previously approved by the House to avoid conflicts of interest in the student loan programs. The bill’s new provisions include requiring better consumer disclosures and protections on private student loans. Together these protections form a Bill of Rights for college consumers.
H.R. 4137 is a comprehensive reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, the primary federal law aimed at expanding college access for low- and middle-income students If enacted, this would be the first time the Higher Education Act was reauthorized since 1998. The current law expired in 2003. |
Washington, DC Office 2209 Rayburn House Office Building · Washington, District of Columbia 20515 Phone: (202)-225-3436 Fax: (202)-225-4160 |
||
District Offices | ||
50 Walnut Street,
Suite 1016 Newark, New Jersey 07102 Phone: (973)-645-3213 · Fax: (973)-645-5902 |
333 North Broad Street Elizabeth, New Jersey 07208 Phone: (908)-629-0222 |
253 Martin Luther King Drive Jersey City, New Jersey 07305 Phone: (201)-369-0392 · Fax: (201)-369-0395 |