Pell Grant Equity Act of 2007

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 990) to provide all low-income students with the same opportunity to receive a Pell Grant by eliminating the tuition sensitivity provision in the Pell Grant program, as amended.

Today, Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 990, the Pell Grant Equity Act of 2007.

This is a bill that is designed to adjust an inequity in the current law that works against the interest of many college students in those States that have low tuition.

At a time when we have seen tuition and fees of public colleges and universities increase significantly, there is a notable exception to that trend, and that is that California community colleges recently decreased their tuition and fees from $26 a credit to $20 a credit. For a student taking 13 credits for two semesters, they save $520 in tuition for the year. This is almost unheard of in a day of skyrocketing college costs. Unfortunately, a provision in the Higher Education Act penalizes students attending low-cost institutions, such as California's community colleges.

The provision known as ``tuition sensitivity'' reduces the Pell Grant for the neediest of students attending higher education institutions with the lowest tuition. The result is that thousands of low-income students receive a lesser Pell Grant.

The Pell Grant Equity Act eliminates this discriminating provision in the law, ensuring that students receive the full amount of the Pell Grants they are entitled to receive. This is a very important bill for these students and for their families.

This is legislation that my colleague, Mr. McKeon, the senior Republican on the committee, worked very hard last year to get into the Higher Education Act. It was passed on the floor of the Congress. He worked very hard to bring this matter to the attention of all of the Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, but as you know, that legislation was not passed in the end, and that is why we are here today because this has an immediate impact on those students who find themselves in this situation. And I want to thank him for all of the effort that he made to adjust this inequity in the law over the last couple of years as we have tried to deal with this within the Higher Education Act.

This bill is a 1-year fix, and we do so because we anticipate that this would cover the upcoming academic year. And we would hope to be able to make the permanent changes when we reauthorize the Higher Education Act in this Congress.

According to the Congressional Research Service, our bill will help approximately 96,000 students receive an average of $100 more in a Pell Grant aid. Sometimes that doesn't sound like a lot of money, but in grant aid to these students and these families, this is an important amount of money because it is not just the tuition that is going down, it is other costs continue to go up.

This increase will help make a real difference for these students in meeting not just their tuition costs, but the costs of their books, their supplies, transportation, room and board, and expenses that quickly add up.

We know this is an issue because we have received letters and heard stories from the community colleges, from the students and from their families. It is a situation where you can find two siblings, one at Cal State school and another at a nearby community college. Both students take similar courses, enrolled full-time, live at home, commute to colleges, both have filed Federal financial aid forms and have an expected family contribution of zero. So both qualify for the maximum Pell Grant. Due to the current rules, the sibling attending the community college will receive $402 less, even though the educational costs overall are the same for those two individuals.

That is why we need to pass this legislation today. It has strong bipartisan support. And it will keep the Pell Grant as a strong part of our Federal student aid program targeted to those in the most need.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, earlier in the first few hours of this session, this Congress took a bipartisan vote to cut interest rates for the neediest students who are borrowing money. Those same group of students, many of them are still eligible for the Pell Grant. This action we take today, again on a bipartisan basis, I think will be very helpful to these students and to their families as, again, they try to put together the resources necessary so that they can begin their advanced education in the higher education system in this case. Hopefully in community colleges, they will continue to try to figure out, along with the State legislatures, how to lower the cost of that college. And this would provide an additional incentive, since they know now that those students will not be punished in a sense because they are going to a lower cost college at that time.

I would like to thank the staff of both committees for all of the work they did on this, for the senior Republican, Mr. Keller, on the subcommittee, and Mr. McKeon on the full committee, and to Mr. Hinojosa, the chairman of the subcommittee, for all of their work. We look forward to a quick passage here and hopefully a speedy passage in the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 990, the Pell Grant Equity Act.

I thank my friend and colleague, Chairman Miller, for his work on this legislation. I also thank Ranking Member Keller of the Higher Education Subcommittee and Chairman Hinojosa for working with us on this measure.

The Pell Grant Equity Act will repeal a Federal rule known as ``tuition sensitivity.'' This arcane rule reduces the annual maximum Pell Grant for students attending institutions with very low tuition charges.

In a time when we are trying to keep the cost of education down, we penalize students that choose to go to a school that is charging less tuition. It seems like we have it really mixed up, and I am glad this bill is coming out to help us change that. Simply put, Mr. Speaker, a student should not be forced to sacrifice grant aid because of their choice of one institution over another.

As Congress and the President work to continue improving student aid programs, it is illogical that certain students who may otherwise be eligible for a maximum Pell Grant won't get it simply because of where they go to school. Moreover, repealing this rule takes away an incentive for some low-cost institutions to raise their tuition in order for their students to become eligible for the maximum Pell award.

The tuition sensitivity rule is estimated to impact between 90,000 and 100,000 students each year, with these students losing hundreds of dollars in grant aid annually, the students that need it the most.

With many California community colleges reducing their cost of attendance this semester, the tuition sensitivity rule is expected to have an even more substantial impact for students in that State if not corrected.

So I am especially pleased, just as I am sure Chairman Miller is, that this measure will benefit many of those seeking postsecondary education in our home State.

Mr. Speaker, I must say that as much as I support this bill, I wish it could have been the law of the land much sooner. This measure was included in the College Access and Opportunity Act, which the House passed last year to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. Similarly, had House Republicans, or anyone else for that matter, been able to offer this as an amendment to H.R. 5 earlier this year, I would have done so.

As is often the case in Washington, it is better late than never. I am pleased to support this measure which helps students and is fully paid for in accordance with the budget rules.

Again, I thank my colleagues. And I hope we can find more opportunities for bipartisan cooperation on college access down the road.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the ranking member of the subcommittee, Mr. Keller, such time as he may consume.

Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank Chairman Miller for bringing this legislation, for his kind words, and the opportunity to work together, something that will benefit students who are in great need of this extra help.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 990, which will provide all low-income students with the same opportunity to receive a Pell grant by eliminating the ``tuition sensitivity'' provision in the Pell grant program. The Federal Pell grant is need-based aid that serves as the foundation of a student's financial aid package. In fiscal year 2006, more than 5 million undergraduate students received the Pell grant scholarship, with 74 percent of these recipients having a combined family income below $30,000.

Mr. Speaker, under current law Pell grants are awarded to students based on the difference between the appropriated maximum Pell grant award and the student's expected family contribution, which is a measure of the student's and their family's ability to pay for education expenses.

The ``tuition sensitivity'' provision of the Pell grant comes into effect when the appropriated award is above $2,7000.00. The provision then reduces the Pell grant scholarship, received by the poorest students attending institutions with the lowest tuition. As a result of this provision, two students with the same low-income background and family expenses could be awarded different amounts for the Pell grant although they are both entitled to receive the maximum amount.

Although both students share the same economic hardships, the student attending the college with the lower tuition would receive a smaller Pell grant, thus requiring their expected personal and family expenses to the institution to rise. However, if these same two students attended universities with matching tuition expenses, the award amounts would be equal.

Just because a student attends a school with low tuition, that does not mean that he or she can expend more from their personal and family income. A needy student should receive the same amount regardless of their institution's tuition.

Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 990, which would provide all low-income students with the same opportunity to receive a Pell grant by eliminating the tuition sensitivity provision in the Pell grant. Every student in our Nation who plans to further their education, whether at our Nation's most expensive or least expensive schools, deserves that opportunity. Our Federal Government has made the provisions to financially assist students, especially those from low-income families, in their quest to attend college and we must ensure that every student has this opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join Chairman Miller and Ranking Members McKeon and Keller in cosponsoring the Pell Grant Equity Act. I would like to thank them for their leadership in bringing this bill forward without delay.

Currently low-income students who attend low-cost institutions have their Pell Grants reduced because of the provision called ``tuition sensitivity'' in current law. It is contrary to common sense and our shared goals of providing access to higher education for low-income students to systematically reduce the grant aid for the neediest students who often attend low-cost institutions because they are more affordable.

According to the Congressional Research Service, our action today will benefit 96,000 low-income students and increase their Pell grant by an average of $108. When you are a low-income student, every penny counts and this increase will make a real difference.

The colleges in my congressional district serve some of the lowest income students and families in the Nation. They work very hard to keep tuition low and limit increases to a minimum. This legislation will ensure that their efforts to contain costs are not undone by aid policy that reduces the Pell Grant because the institution charges low tuition.

The Pell Grant Equity Act will immediately lift tuition sensitivity for the upcoming academic year. As we move towards the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, we will make this repeal permanent and put all low-income students on an equal footing in the Pell grant program.

I look forward to continuing this spirit of bipartisanship as we consider the rest of the Higher Education Act and thank my colleagues for treating this issue with the sense of urgency it deserves.

I strongly encourage all my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 990--The Pell Grant Equity Act of 2007. This legislation is a simple measure to reduce the real and perceived barriers to a higher education for many low-income families across the United States.

Community colleges and other low-cost institutions offer life- changing educational opportunities for motivated students. Pell grant recipients are by definition motivated.

The Pell grant program works as a contract between the Federal Government and the individual. The Government says, ``we will provide you with the means to get a higher education if you desire to invest in yourself.''

Removing the tuition sensitivity provision of the Higher Education Act will help students cover the full cost of attending college, which is significantly higher than tuition alone.

For over 30 years, Congress has consistently increased funding available to the Pell grant program and increased the maximum grant that each student can receive. Why? Because the program works. Pell grant recipients regularly go on to succeed in jobs with career potential and upward mobility.

Increased access to higher education is an important goal for the Congress because having an educated workforce is essential to our country's future. As former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan once said to me, ``if our people are educated there isn't a problem we can't solve. If they aren't, there isn't one that we can.'' Eliminating tuition sensitivity from the Pell grant program is a positive step towards making college education available to everyone who wants one, and there isn't a higher goal than that.