A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Thank you, David Stocker, COHEO president. I'm pleased that Judy Flink is here; she was just named to the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance. And thank you, Ellin Nolan, and congratulations on beginning your tenure as president of the Committee for Education Funding on behalf of COHEO.

The common thread that brings us all here this morning is a shared interest in fostering access to postsecondary education and helping families pay for college. I like the way it's put on your letterhead: "More education for more people."

I'm very proud that college enrollment rates have climbed substantially under this administration. In 1992, 62 percent of high school graduates went directly to college; today, that figure is 67 percent. Enrollment rates among African Americans and Hispanics have climbed even faster.

You may have heard that President Clinton announced his New Opportunity Agenda for Higher Education last week. I think our proposal shows that we are serious about building on our successes to increase support for students at colleges, universities, and trade schools.

But the president's announcement should also reinforce just how important a role each of you can and needs to play to ensure a continued strong future. And I want to talk a little about this with you today.

When I talk about education, I'm reminded of my children and grandchildren: Crossing a bridge with my grandson one day, I pointed out to him the sun reflecting on the water and he said, "So what?"

So I know firsthand that sometimes it can be hard to connect with young people. But it's so important to help students and their families plan ahead to prepare academically for college and get the financial support they need.

I appreciate so much the efforts many of you have made in another area - our GEAR UP and TRIO programs. As you know, the GEAR UP partnerships link colleges with middle and high school students in low-income communities to help students make the critical decisions to prepare for college.

The reason these initiatives are so important and so successful is because they build on the understanding that federal programs by themselves aren't the answer. They require individuals from communities and from institutions of higher education to commit themselves to bringing more young people into the college-bound pipeline earlier.

Through your work on student aid, you help students pursue academic excellence and advanced training in preparation for professional success. College also has another, equally vital mission: to support and enhance the value of knowledge - to enrich lives and harness the power of learning for learning's sake.

Indeed, with a quality education, the enlightened individual can apply himself or herself in many different areas. As Robert Hutchins, the great educator and former president of the University of Chicago, wrote, "The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives."

In this Education Age, colleges and universities have a central role in educating a broader mix of people to be our next generation of leaders and to prepare all Americans to succeed in the competitive global economy of the 21st century. And it is a role that includes educating the next generation to be good, caring citizens who give something back to their community.

President Clinton and Vice President Gore have worked hard to help open wider the doors to higher education and to give more Americans the opportunity to create a bright future.

We have expanded student aid opportunities by significantly boosting Pell Grants, work-study opportunities, and student loans, and creating the Hope and Lifetime Learning tax credits.

We have been able to reduce student loan interest rates and fees, in part thanks to savings from the Direct Student Loan program. Since 1993, students have saved over $8 billion.

And I was pleased to be with President Clinton last week when he announced that our commitment to expanding opportunities for higher education will grow in the coming years.

In the president's 2001 budget proposal, he will request an increase of nearly $1 billion for Pell grants, new College Completion Challenge Grants, and other initiatives to help students afford and be able to stay in school.

The president's budget would increase the maximum Pell grant to $3,500, a $200 increase from this year and a $1,200 increase since 1993. Our plan would also launch new initiatives to help nearly 18,000 students stay in school and to increase opportunities for students at minority-serving institutions to earn a second degree. And it includes a hefty increase for TRIO and GEAR UP as well.

We also address the campus-based programs. We would increase Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (SEOG) by $60 million, or almost 10 percent, and boost College Work-Study funding by $77 million, to more than $1 billion.

And I know that many of you were concerned that we had limited funds available to reimburse schools for Perkins loan cancellations. Although the president has not announced his Perkins request, I want you to know that we listened carefully to your views and I believe you will see progress in our budget.

The president has proposed to make college tuition and fees tax deductible. This new proposal - the College Opportunity Tax Cut - will treat investments in postsecondary education similarly to investments in our homes. I am particularly pleased that we have designed this tax credit so that it benefits lower income families as much as those in the upper income brackets.

Using the tax code to help families pay for college is truly an idea big enough for the beginning of this 21st century. Don't you think it's terrific? Next year, families could deduct up to $5,000 in college expenses, saving up to $1,400. And starting in 2003, $2,800 could be written off the bottom line of a family's tax return if they spend $10,000 or more on tuition and fees. And this tax deductibility for college will be available every year.

When we first proposed the Hope Tax Credit, critics scoffed at using the tax code to promote investment in a college education. Well, the first year's results are in.

Nearly five million students took advantage of the Hope and Lifetime Learning tax credits last year. The benefits these young people and their families reaped amounted to $3.4 billion.

And, listen to this: fully one-half of the families who used the credit had incomes under $50,000. And about 20 percent had incomes under $20,000.

What that means is that these tax benefits did exactly what they were supposed to do - increase college-going opportunities for millions of students who otherwise wouldn't have had them.

Now these numbers are very important. But they also reveal that the potential for what we can do is even greater. When we created these initiatives, we estimated that nearly 13 million students would be eligible for $7 billion in benefits. So there is plenty of room for improvement and growth.

I am hopeful that all of you will help us spread the word. With all of these initiatives, including the new College Opportunity Tax Cut, the potential for increased opportunities is great - but only if families and students hear about them.

Changing American society tomorrow requires a change in the face of education today. And that means eliminating the inequalities that exist in access to higher education.

Over the last seven years, this administration has worked with you to make strong progress in improving the quality of and access to higher education. But we cannot stop now. We must continue to build on this progress. I hope I can continue to count on your help.

Thank you so much.