When I taught at Flint Central High School, a student could graduate from high school and immediately start a good-paying job. That's not the case today.

Today you need more training or even a college education. Yet, college costs have grown nearly 40 percent in the past five years and students are graduating from college with more debt than ever before. Every year, some 200,000 students in America are denied a college education solely because they can't afford the cost.

Just recently, Congress sent to the president's desk legislation that provides the largest increase in college financial aid since the GI Bill of Rights of 1944. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act will help millions of students and families pay for college at no additional cost to U.S. taxpayers.

The bill became law Thursday with the president's signature.

This legislation melds good education policy with fiscal responsibility by investing in human capital while reducing the budget deficit. It increases college financial aid by more than $20 billion over the next five years.

The bill is funded by cutting $20.9 billion in excessive federal subsidies paid to lenders in the college loan industry. In addition to providing additional funds to financial aid and Pell Grants, the bill reduces the federal budget deficit by $750 million.

Currently, more than 180,000 Michigan students receive Pell Grants. From 2001 to 2006, the cost of attending college rose by almost 40 percent, yet the maximum Pell Grant increased by only $300, about 8 percent. As a result, while the share of four-year public college costs paid by the maximum Pell Grant was 42 percent in 2001, it dropped to 30 percent by 2006. This bill makes a long overdue boost to the maximum value of the Pell Grant, which will reach $5,400 by 2012, a $1,090 increase.

To reduce the cost of loans for 144,000 Michigan students at four-year colleges, the legislation cuts interest rates on need-based student loans in half over the next four years, from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent. Once fully phased in, this will save $4,240 in interest over the life of the loan for the typical Michigan student borrower, who carries $13,000 in need-based loan debt.

Making college more affordable will make our economy more competitive. The strength of our economy rests on having a highly skilled and well-educated work force to foster the next generation of American leaders.

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act will ensure that no qualified student is denied a college education for want of money.

This is one of the most critical bills that this Congress will enact - making college more affordable and accessible for millions of American students, strengthening our work force and stimulating our economy.

Dale E. Kildee of Flint has been a Democratic member of the U.S. House since 1977. He serves on the House Education and Labor Committee, which wrote the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.