“Every single American, no matter what circumstances he or she comes from, deserves every opportunity to earn a college degree.  But, this opportunity shouldn’t come at the cost of years of years of crippling financial debt,” Woolsey said on the House floor.  “That’s why the time has come for this Congress to ease the education burden by increasing Pell Grants, reducing interest rates, and closing the gap between college costs and financial aid.”

The legislation is particularly important to California students, many of whom have been hit by tuition increases in the UC and CSU systems during five of the past six years.  Under the legislation they would stand to gain over $1.4 billion in total debt relief and aid over the next five years, including a $500 increase in the maximum value of the Pell Grant scholarship (up to a maximum of $5,200 in 2011 from $4,050 in 2006); and a 50% cut in interest rates on need-based student loans.  Respectively, 650,000 California students would benefit from the increase in Pell Grants, and 229,000 California students would save an average of $4,800 from the reduction in interest rates.  In supporting the legislation Woolsey highlighted the rising tuition fees of the 6th district’s Sonoma State University, and the burden that it places on students and their families.

“This fall, students at Sonoma State, in my District, will be required to pay nearly $3,000 more a year in tuition - that’s a 10% increase from their current tuition,” Woolsey told her colleagues.  “We need to do better.  We need to work with colleges to keep costs low and we need to invest in financial aid, and today we are finally doing that.”

The legislation pays for itself by reducing excessive federal subsidies paid to lenders in the college loan industry by $19 billion. It also includes nearly $1 billion in federal budget deficit reduction. The Senate is expected to vote on similar legislation this month.

A broad coalition of student advocacy groups and labor organizations support the College Cost Reduction Act. For more information on their support, click here .

 

For a fact sheet on the legislation, click here .

 

To see who benefits from the legislation, click here .