Education
Speaker Pelosi sending the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act to the President, which was signed into law on December 12, 2007 |
Education is the cornerstone to building America’s future. We must make a national commitment to education by strengthening our schools, fully funding special education, and modernizing our classrooms. At the same time, we must work to reduce class size, put in place the means for students to attain higher education, and make sure that we have the best trained, most qualified teachers in the world. Democrats are committed to providing high quality education to all of America’s students, creating a nation ready for the challenges of the 21st century.
Legislation in the 110th Congress:
Largest college aid expansion since the GI Bill in 1944
Because a college education is as important today as high school was a generation ago, the Democratic-led House passed landmark legislation to make college more accessible and affordable for all Americans. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act makes the largest increase in college aid since the GI Bill in 1944, boosting college aid by more than $20 billion dollars over the next five years. The bill was signed into law in September of 2007. Watch:
With today’s economy squeezing families and tuition prices continuing to soar, the high cost of college remains a top concern for Americans. However, there is some good news for college students and their families: New financial aid benefits enacted last year are beginning to kick in for this fall.
Thanks to the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which provides more than $20 billion in federal student aid over the next five years, interest rates on need-based (subsidized) federal student loans have begun dropping from 6.8 percent to 6.0 percent on July 1st – making these loans more affordable for millions of low- and middle-income students. This is the first of step towards halving these interest rates – over the next few years these rates will continue to decrease until they reach 3.4 percent.
WHO BENEFITS FROM THIS INTEREST RATE CUT?
Low- and middle-income students and families
5.5 million students borrow need-based federal student loans each year. This interest rate cut will save the typical four-year student starting college this fall (with need-based student loan debt) about $2,570 over the life of his or her loan.
- According to the Congressional Research Service, 75 percent of need-based federal student loan borrowers have family incomes below $67,000.
- According to the U.S. Census, in 2006, the overall U.S. median income for a family of four was roughly $65,000.
For the 2008-2009 school year, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act will also:
- Increase the Pell Grant scholarship by $490 (raising the maximum award to $4,731).
- Provide up-front tuition assistance of $4,000 each year for students who commit to teaching high-need subjects in high-need public schools.
SIGNED INTO LAW
Uninterrupted access to low-cost student loans, despite credit crunch
In recent months, turmoil in the U.S. credit markets has made it difficult for some lenders in the federally guaranteed student loan program to secure the capital needed to finance college loans, leading some lenders to scale back their lending activity. While no student or college has reported any problems accessing federal student aid to date, it is only prudent for the federal government to make sure that contingency plans are in place that would provide students and families with continued, uninterrupted access to federal loans, regardless of what’s happening in the credit markets. The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 provides new protections, in addition to those in current law, to ensure that families can continue to access the loans they need to pay for college.
SIGNED INTO LAW
Giving colleges incentives to rein in tuition increases
A college education continues to be the best path to the middle class. But more and more, high college prices and other obstacles are putting a college degree further out of reach for America’s students. In addition to rising tuition, students and their families face an overly complex federal student aid application process and a student loan industry mired in conflicts of interest and corrupt lending practices.
The College Opportunity and Affordability Act, which will continue this Congress’ effort to make college more affordable and accessible. This bill would reform our higher education system so that it operates in the best interests of students and families, while boosting our competitiveness and strengthening our future.
PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE
Head Start preschool improved and expanded
The Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act will reinvigorate Head Start and help more children arrive at kindergarten ready to succeed. The bipartisan legislation improves teacher and classroom quality, strengthens Head Start’s focus on school readiness, expands access to Head Start for more children, ensures that centers are well-run, boosts coordination between Head Start and state and local programs, and improves comprehensive services that help children by helping their families.
SIGNED INTO LAW