WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia, spoke on the floor of the Senate today during consideration of H.R. 1124, a bill to extend the District of Columbia College Access Act of 1999.  The bill authorizes the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant (TAG) program through September 30, 2012.  The measure passed by a vote of 96 to 0.                                                                       

The District of Columbia College Access Reauthorization Act (H.R. 1124/S. 343), introduced by Congressman Tom Davis (R-VA) and Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) respectively, reauthorizes the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant (DCTAG) program for another five years, through September 30, 2012. The DCTAG program was authorized in 1999 to function as a State higher education system for D.C. residents. The District of Columbia is not a state and does not have a state education system to provide affordable higher education opportunities for its high school graduates.

Under current law, DCTAG provides scholarships to D.C. residents who attend public colleges outside of the District of Columbia, private post-secondary institutions in the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia, or any historically black college or university. Students who attend public schools receive grants equal to the difference between the in-State tuition paid by residents of the state and the out-of-State tuition charged to nonresident students with an annual limit of $10,000 and $50,000 aggregate. Private-school students receive a $2,500 maximum annual grant and $12,500 maximum in aggregate. The private-school tuition grants are restricted to nonprofit institutions. DCTAG is currently funded at $33 million. The President's budget and the District of Columbia's budget propose increasing funding for the program to $35.1 million for FY 2008.

Since the first grants were awarded in 2000, the program has dispersed more than 26,000 grants, totaling over $141 million to 9,769 District students. More than 1,500 have graduated from college, and 38 percent of students receiving grants are the first in their family to attend college. The District of Columbia has seen a 60 percent increase in college attendance among D.C. public school graduates, with 55 percent of those students being the first to attend college in their family. For the school year 2005-2006, the DCTAG program provided $30.5 million to more than 4,700 students.

The following is Senator Akaka's floor statement as prepared for delivery:

Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 1124 and the opportunity it provides for DC's college-bound students.  The reauthorization of the District of Columbia College Access Act of 1999 would continue a successful and effective scholarship program.

The D.C. tuition assistance grant program, or D.C. TAG, provides scholarships to cover the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition for eligible D.C. residents attending any public college or university in the country.  D.C. TAG awards those recipients up to $10,000 annually and $50,000 total in tuition assistance.

The original purpose of the bill was to address the concern that college-bound students in the District were at a disadvantage because D.C. lacks a state university system.  D.C. TAG expanded higher education opportunities by allowing students to attend public universities and colleges nationwide at in-state tuition rates.

The original bill also allows students to attend a limited number of non-profit private schools to receive scholarships of up to $2500 annually and $12,500 total.   Students who attend any historically black college or university or any private school in the District, Maryland, or Virginia qualify for private school grants.  The 2002 reauthorization clarified that the grants were only for U.S. citizens residing in D.C.

The success of the program is clear.  Since the launch of D.C. TAG in 2000, participation among D.C. residents more than doubled from 1,900 recipients to nearly 5,000 recipients.  D.C. TAG has awarded 26,000 grants totaling over $141 million to nearly 10,000 District students.  I am pleased to say that a few of those grants went to students attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa in my home State.

Not only are more students receiving the grants; more are going to college.  The college enrollment rate for D.C. public school students has doubled to 60 percent and 38 percent of students in the program are the first ones in their family to attend college.  D.C. TAG affords many District residents a chance to go to college when they otherwise would not be able to afford it.

In July my Subcommittee on the District of Columbia held a hearing with the Mayor and his education leadership team on their reform proposal for the public school system.  They offered a realistic picture of D.C. public schools and a realistic vision for accountability and reform.

The Chancellor of Education, Michelle Rhee, and the Mayor are working very hard to improve the unacceptably low performance of D.C. students by recruiting talented teachers, reforming the administrative offices, and repairing crumbling schools.  They deserve all the support that the Congress can provide in their efforts.

As the cost of college tuition continues to rise at both public and private institutions, this scholarship program offers the District's students hope that if they perform well in high school they can have the same opportunity to access affordable, public, higher education as students in Virginia, in Maryland, and across the country. 

Students who know they have the opportunity to go to college are more likely to perform well in high school.  The D.C. TAG program supports the Mayor's efforts to improve D.C. public schools by offering students the chance to go to college at a minimal cost to the Federal government. 

The D.C. TAG bill was reported out of Committee in February, and now is the time to finally get it passed.

I understand my colleague and fellow Committee member, Senator Coburn, has asked that two amendments to the legislation be considered. 

The first amendment would modify the eligibility standard for the scholarship recipients to exclude any student whose family earns an income of one million dollars or more.  Despite the high income threshold, I am concerned about starting down the road of making this a needs-based scholarship program.  The program is designed to provide all D.C. residents access to a range of higher education institutions.  I have agreed to accept this amendment despite my misgivings for the sake of the entire program's reauthorization.

The second amendment, however, I am not prepared to accept.  It would threaten the integrity and success of the program by increasing the grant amounts for private schools. Nearly ten times the number of students in the program attend public schools versus private schools, and an increase in the grant amounts for private schools would reduce overall available funding. 

Fewer students would be able to participate in the program and lower-income students trying to attend more affordable public schools, in particular, would be significantly burdened - in some cases, potentially, being forced to forego college altogether.

For many students, the importance of this program in defraying out-of-state tuition costs means the difference between attending college or not.  I cannot support this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to vote against this amendment as well.

DC TAG has helped thousands of DC students receive postsecondary education.  Its credibility and effectiveness is evident.  I urge my colleagues to support the bill and oppose Senator Coburn's second amendment.

Thank you, Mr. President.     

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