A bill to amend the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 to extend the termination date for mandatory price reporting.

Mr. President, I rise today to join my chairman, Senator Enzi, in the introduction of a bill that will bring much needed relief to students and families struggling to pay for college. We plan to report out this bill from our Committee later this week. The assistance it contains can not come soon enough.

In today's global economy, a college degree is more valuable than ever. Students and workers must have the skills they need to succeed. When I graduated from high school, good jobs were available to high school graduates. Today, that is not the case. More and more jobs-- particularly jobs that can reasonably support a family--require men and women to have a college degree or certificate, and the best jobs require advanced degrees.

But today, many families across America are facing a combination of hope and anxiety as their children go back to college--hope that their children will do well and anxiety about rising costs that are swamping family budgets.

Public tuition is up 35 percent over the last 4 years. Nationally, last year, almost 200,000 qualified students didn't go to college at all because they couldn't afford the high cost. According to new data from the Congressional Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, the poorest students face an average unmet financial need of nearly $6,000.

Many who find a way to go to college are borrowing more heavily than ever. In 1990, only 16 percent of students took out a college loan. Today, it is 52 percent. Thirty years ago, the typical student aid package was 60 percent grants and 40 percent loans. Today, it is the reverse--40 percent grants and 60 percent loans. The average undergraduate now has $17,000 in college debt.

Families across the country are dedicating larger and larger portions of their income to send their children to college. In Massachusetts, after taking the average financial aid package into consideration, a family making the average salary must contribute 31 percent of their income to cover the costs of sending one child to college for just one year. In some States, the percentage is even higher. Families are struggling to pay for college and as a result the doors of college are barred for too many students.

Congress can do more to ease the squeeze, and this bill is an important step in the right direction. Many of us would like to do more, and we are concerned that $7 billion in this bill will be dedicated to Reconciliation, which will be used to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.

Nevertheless, the assistance in this bill for students and for their families is substantial. It provides at least $5.5 billion for additional grant aid to the students who need it the most. It improves the existing student loan programs by making important changes to create real competition between the various programs and keeping the cost of loans affordable. It also strengthens the act's graduate studies program, and expands access to loans and grant aid for these students.

The bill also strengthens programs to prepare students to go to college and stay in college, such as GEAR UP and TRIO. We extend and improve programs to support minorities, such as the Hispanic Serving Institution Program, the Tribal College Program and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program. A new program supports institutions serving large numbers of Native American students.

We are making small improvements in getting qualified young people to college, but we still have much to do to keep them enrolled and earn a degree. The committee has made an effort to address the retention issue by including programs to help students succeed in college.

We also continue our focus on teacher preparation by strengthening partnerships with the K-12 systems who hire the teachers, and giving priority to preparing teachers for shortage subjects such as special education and math and science.

As the bill recognizes, to help the Nation compete in today's global economy, we must strengthen the teaching of math and science in schools and colleges. It is shameful that America is now ranked only 29th in the industrial world in math education, and that we have fallen from third in the world to 15th in producing scientists and engineers.

The bill provides strong incentives for math and science graduates to teach for at least 5 years in the schools that need them most. We also create a new scholarship program for low income students, pursuing careers in math, science, technology and engineering, and high need foreign languages.

From our earliest days as a nation, education has been the engine of the American dream, and we can't let it stall. A larger share of our population needs to participate in postsecondary education. We looked at ways to expand access to working adults through modular and compressed coursework, and to students with disabilities who can benefit from taking courses rather than taking standardized tests.

Our goal is to give all students and their parents the support they need to benefit from education and keep our country strong in the years ahead.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Higher Education Amendments of 2005.

Education beyond high school and lifelong education opportunities are vital if we are to retain our competitive edge in the global economy and make every American a part of our Nation's success story. Our workforce needs education and training that will

meet the demands of tomorrow's workplace.

Technology, demographics and diversity have brought far-reaching changes to the U.S. economy and the workplace, including an increased demand for a well-educated and highly skilled workforce. Those changes will continue and the need for skilled workers will only increase in the years to come.

The reauthorization of the Higher Education Act is an important part of meeting these concerns. Today's students will become tomorrow's leaders, in the economy, in education, and in every other aspect of our society. A strong postsecondary education will be the key to their future success in those roles.

I am pleased to be introducing this legislation with my distinguished colleague and ranking member of the Committee, Senator Kennedy. He and I both share a commitment to improving access and quality of postsecondary education for all students, and a strong interest in keeping America competitive in this global economy.

The legislation we are introducing today will improve postsecondary education by strengthening the accreditation process, improving access through the use of technology, supporting student financial aid programs, reducing the need for remedial education, helping more students complete high school, and supporting transitions for all students from high school to college.

Among the most important provisions of this bill is a program that would provide additional grant aid to those students with the greatest financial need. This legislation would also focus its resources on increasing the number of math and science graduates by providing additional grant aid for students in their third and fourth years of college.

This legislation would also increase access to Federally guaranteed student loans, which would help ensure that students are not forced to take out higher interest loans from other sources. It would also expand the role of institutions and guaranty agencies in providing financial literacy to students, so they will make better choices regarding their financial future.

In addition to these priorities, the bill would also help to address the Federal deficit in a meaningful way, by saving $7 billion over the next 5 years. Although we were forced to make some difficult choices in reaching this level of deficit reduction, I am pleased that we were also able to write good policy, provide increased support for students and put in place a program that will help strengthen America's place in the global marketplace our economy.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined by my colleague Senator Harkin to introduce legislation today that would extend the termination date for mandatory price reporting.

Due in large part to concerned Iowa livestock producers, Congress passed the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act, LMPR, in 1999 to help improve market transparency.

Since Mandatory Price Reporting was implemented by USDA in 2001, I have heard from producers across Iowa who question the integrity and accountability of the reported prices under Mandatory Price Reporting under this law.

While there is a lack of ``believability'' regarding the information generated by Mandatory Price Reporting, nearly all producers across Iowa feel strongly that the information would be valuable if the program had more credibility and improved transparency.

Thanks to producer comments and dissatisfaction with the current program, Senator Harkin and I offered to initiate a Government Accountability Office, GAO, examination of the Mandatory Price Reporting program.

I then conditioned my support of any multi-year extension or revision of Mandatory Price Reporting on the GAO study results.

Unfortunately, there is growing pressure from packers and ``packer lackeys'' to act before the GAO report is completed.

Under the auspice of ``consensus'' a number of groups serving packer interests are pushing agendas contrary to the interests of Iowa's pork producers and cattlemen.

The Iowa livestock community believes any congressional action before receipt and review of the GAO report would be premature and ill- advised.

The goal of re-authorization should be to improve the existing legislation to the best of our ability based upon the best available information and analysis.

If the non-partisan GAO is not allowed to complete its work before the law is re-authorized, Congress will be neglecting the opportunity to review and reflect upon an exhaustive study.

Let me be clear, livestock producers in Iowa do not think it is prudent to move forward without substantive review and potential improvement of the current program. Only those entities that fear transparency should be fighting for a 5 year extension with no consideration for the GAO's pending conclusions.

The House Agriculture Committee passed out a five year extension and I hope they will take into consideration the remarks made by me today. I look forward to protecting the interests of family farmers and believe this another way of providing that protection.

Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined by my colleague Senator Harkin to introduce legislation today that would extend the termination date for mandatory price reporting.

Due in large part to concerned Iowa livestock producers, Congress passed the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act, LMPR, in 1999 to help improve market transparency.

Since Mandatory Price Reporting was implemented by USDA in 2001, I have heard from producers across Iowa who question the integrity and accountability of the reported prices under Mandatory Price Reporting under this law.

While there is a lack of ``believability'' regarding the information generated by Mandatory Price Reporting, nearly all producers across Iowa feel strongly that the information would be valuable if the program had more credibility and improved transparency.

Thanks to producer comments and dissatisfaction with the current program, Senator Harkin and I offered to initiate a Government Accountability Office, GAO, examination of the Mandatory Price Reporting program.

I then conditioned my support of any multi-year extension or revision of Mandatory Price Reporting on the GAO study results.

Unfortunately, there is growing pressure from packers and ``packer lackeys'' to act before the GAO report is completed.

Under the auspice of ``consensus'' a number of groups serving packer interests are pushing agendas contrary to the interests of Iowa's pork producers and cattlemen.

The Iowa livestock community believes any congressional action before receipt and review of the GAO report would be premature and ill- advised.

The goal of re-authorization should be to improve the existing legislation to the best of our ability based upon the best available information and analysis.

If the non-partisan GAO is not allowed to complete its work before the law is re-authorized, Congress will be neglecting the opportunity to review and reflect upon an exhaustive study.

Let me be clear, livestock producers in Iowa do not think it is prudent to move forward without substantive review and potential improvement of the current program. Only those entities that fear transparency should be fighting for a 5 year extension with no consideration for the GAO's pending conclusions.

The House Agriculture Committee passed out a five year extension and I hope they will take into consideration the remarks made by me today. I look forward to protecting the interests of family farmers and believe this another way of providing that protection.

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Agriculture be discharged from further consideration of S. 1613 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the measure be printed in the Record.