Success for Rural Students and Communities Act of 2021

Mr. President, helping students achieve their education and career goals has long been a priority for me. I come to the floor today to introduce two bipartisan bills. Both are aimed at helping students pursue higher education, complete their degrees, and have satisfying work lives.

Prior to my election to the Senate, I worked at Husson University in Bangor, ME. Many of Husson's students, for the most part, are first- generation college students. They are the first in their families to take that step of pursuing higher education.

I saw firsthand the importance of several Federal initiatives: Pell grants, work study, and TRIO--programs that are specifically aimed at students whose families have little or no experience at all with higher education.

The first bill that I am introducing today is the Educational Opportunity and Success Act. It would reauthorize and strengthen the Federal TRIO Programs.

I have been a longtime champion of TRIO. It helps students prepare for, succeed in, and graduate from college or other institutions of higher learning. I would like to thank Senators Tester, Capito, and Baldwin for joining me as original cosponsors.

Congress created the TRIO Programs because it recognized that low- income, first-generation college students often face significant obstacles to accessing and completing higher education. Our bipartisan bill would reauthorize these programs, modestly increase grant sizes, and make it easier for administrators to reach students who would benefit from TRIO.

The bill also updates the way that the programs are evaluated and streamlines the application process. The bill would also increase the small stipend for Upward Bound students. Upward Bound is one of the TRIO Programs. These stipends make their college visits more accessible. These visits are often the first time that these young people have experienced a college campus. And it would create a new stipend for veterans participating in the Veterans Upward Bound Program.

The Educational Opportunity and Success Act would also institute a commonsense process for correcting TRIO applications that have minor errors.

Now, let me give you a concrete example. In 2017, the Department of Education initially rejected dozens of Upward Bound applications based on arbitrary, nonsubstantive formatting criteria, such as line spacing or font size irregularities. The Department lost sight of the goal of serving students and instead focused on whether the formatting criteria were followed exactly correctly.

One of these applications was from the University of Maine at Presque Isle. It had used 1\1/2\ spacing instead of double spacing in text appearing in graphics in just two of the application's 65 pages.

Imagine that the application was not considered on its merits at all because of a spacing error that accompanied graphics on 2 pages of a 65-page application. The Department's bureaucratic decision would have denied 960 disadvantaged Maine high school students from the chance of fulfilling their academic potential.

After many months of advocacy, I worked with the Department of Education. I kept pressing the Department. And I worked with my Appropriations colleagues to reverse this ill-conceived policy. But it took Federal legislation to move the Department from its bureaucratic decision, which affected potentially 960 students in northern Maine. It affected students that were in other high schools as well across this country. I remember Montana was one of those that was affected.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle ultimately received its TRIO grant to serve those students. The bill that we are introducing today would prevent the Department of Education from rejecting applications simply on the basis of formatting criteria. This is a commonsense reform that will prevent unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles in the future. We should be making sure that Federal funds get out the door efficiently and focus on the students they are meant to serve.

I have met so many Maine TRIO students and have loved learning about their dreams for the future. One of them is a priest who serves in Skowhegan, ME. Neither of his parents went beyond the eighth grade. He, through the encouragement of the Upward Bound Program, went to Dartmouth and then on to the seminary and is now a priest.

Let me tell you about another outstanding individual, Jason Judd. Jason grew up in Athens, ME, a very small community. Jason said: I knew that education was the only way I could escape poverty. Upward Bound taught me how to be successful in education and encouraged me to pursue my passions.

Jason is a first-generation college graduate. With the support of Upward Bound, he went to the University of Maine at Farmington and earned his bachelor's degree. He chose to go into school administration. He received his master's degree from the University of Southern Maine in educational leadership and earned his doctorate from Northeastern University in organizational leadership studies.

Now, Jason is the executive director of Educate Maine, where he works to improve education in our State. TRIO put him on the path to success. And now Jason supports students just like

himself across the State of Maine, a real success story that TRIO helped make possible.

The TRIO Programs have changed the lives of first-generation students across Maine and the country, opening the doors to the opportunities provided by higher education. I would ask all of my colleagues to support this important legislation to extend and improve the TRIO Programs

Mr. President, the second bill I am introducing today is the Success for Rural Students and Communities Act. This bill would help students living in rural areas achieve their higher education goals and connect them with economic opportunities in their communities. I want to thank Senators Hassan, Cornyn, and Smith for introducing this legislation with me.

According to census data, two out of three Maine schools are in rural communities, and more than half of Maine students attend these schools. Ninety percent of Maine's students graduate from high school. That is great. But only 62 percent enroll in some kind of higher education right away. Unfortunately, an even lower percentage of Maine students go on to actually earn a degree or a credential. That often leaves them with student debts but without the credential or degree that they need.

Maine's experience is not unique. Rural students tend to graduate from high school at higher rates than their peers in urban districts and at about the same rate as their suburban peers, but fewer rural graduates enroll in college upon graduation than their urban and suburban counterparts. Our bill would authorize $60 million for demonstration grants to create community partnerships that help rural students access college and career pathways

Community stakeholders, such as local school districts, colleges, universities, regional economic development entities and community organizations, would join together to help students and their families navigate higher education opportunities and address barriers that too often stand in the way to their achievement.

For example, partnerships could work together to expose students to college campuses, courses, programs, and internships. They could focus on enrollment and completion rates of rural, nontraditional students, who may find that they need additional credentials or who once began but did not finish postsecondary education.

Today, as you well know, many of the employers require something more than a high school diploma--perhaps a college degree, a skilled trade credential, or a professional certificate. Our bill would encourage schools and local employers to work together to put students on pathways into the high-demand jobs available where they want to live. Several strategies could be developed and tested, including work-based learning opportunities like apprenticeships, internships, and a sequence of courses on the path to a certain skill or job.

In northern Maine, the Aroostook Aspirations Initiative is using this model successfully to help put students on pathways to academic and career success. The initiative collaborates with local businesses and with colleges and universities to offer seminars that guide students throughout their education. Students can team up with employers in the area through internships that give them the experience and the careers they wish to pursue.

Last year, I met, from Aroostook County, a student named Katelyn Amero, who came to Washington to talk about her career goals. Katelyn hopes to pursue a career in medicine. In 2019, Katelyn participated in the Emerging Rural Leaders program at the University of Chicago, which provides opportunities for rural high school students to enroll in college courses over the summer months. That program has helped put her on the path to becoming a physician.

The Success for Rural Students and Communities Act would support dynamic programs such as the Emerging Rural Leaders program and the Aroostook Aspirations Initiative. It would encourage other communities to innovate in similar ways.

Both bills I am introducing today would provide critical support for students across the country who are seeking to achieve their college and career dreams. I urge my colleagues to support both of these bills

Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague from Arizona, Senator Sinema, in introducing legislation to support the ongoing operation of the national child abuse hotline, which is currently operated by Childhelp, a national non-profit. Of all the major national help hotlines, the crisis line for child abuse and neglect is the only one without a Federal authorization and dedicated funding. Our bill, the National Child Abuse Help Hotline Act of 2021, would give the Administration for Children and Families the authority to award funding to increase Federal support for this important hotline.

Tragically, on average, five children die every day from child abuse and neglect. According to the most recent Department of Health and Human Services' Child Maltreatment Report, 656,000 children were victims of child abuse and neglect in 2019, and a heartbreaking 1,770 children died--including three young children in Maine. The many stresses created by the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated the risks for vulnerable children, and I fear that the data from 2020 and 2021 will show a worsening crisis.

According to the CDC, ``heightened stress, school closures, loss of income, and social isolation resulting from . . . . the COVID-19 pandemic have increased the risk for child abuse and neglect.'' As Michelle Fingerman of Childhelp, the current operator of the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline, details: ``There is a wide range of fallout from pandemic anxiety and school shutdowns. There is more abuse already occurring in homes where caregivers are melting down from the stress, children are trapped at home with abusers, schools and daycare are closed, and therapists and other frontline providers are now more difficult to access.''

Despite these risks, official reports to child protection agencies have declined across the country, in some places by as much as seventy percent. But, fewer official reports does not mean abuse and neglect are on the decline. To the contrary, less in-person contact between children and mandated reporters like teachers, physicians, and coaches is one explanation for this reporting decline. Additionally, while the number of emergency department visits related to child abuse and neglect decreased in 2020, the percentage of visits severe enough to require hospitalization increased. Better access to prevention and intervention services can help stop these troubling trends.

The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline is a resource that is accessible to children and families across the country, especially while many children are still not attending school in person full-time. A simple phone call or text to the hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child can connect people with those who can come to a child's aid before the unimaginable occurs. The hotline saw 11,573 contacts in May 2020, which is more than 40 percent higher than during May 2019. Childhelp's text and online chat platforms also experienced a significant volume increase last year. For the past few years, Congress has appropriated $1 million to pilot these platforms, and our legislation would help the grantee chosen by ACF expand its reach to more children and families.

The helpline serves a wide range of individuals in every single state--at-risk children, distressed parents seeking crisis intervention, and concerned individuals who suspect that child abuse may be occurring. In Maine, where one in every 71 children is a victim of abuse, the National Child Abuse Hotline assisted nearly 200 callers in 2019. Those in need are connected--either on the phone, text, or online

chat--with social workers who can offer confidential crisis intervention, information, and referrals to emergency, social service, and support resources.

The National Child Abuse Help Hotline Act would provide a meaningful Federal investment to protect children across the country, authorizing $2 million annually for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to award a grant to a nonprofit entity to support a 24-hour, national, toll-free telephone hotline. That hotline will get information and assistance to victims of child abuse or neglect, parents, caregivers, mandated reporters, and other concerned community members. This will not interfere with any state-mandated reporter hotlines and will bolster those state efforts. In fact, the current operator has more than 80 community partners in just Maine alone.

Mr. President, child abuse is preventable, and the helpline's prevention and intervention activities are both successful and well- documented. Consistent Federal support for the National Child Abuse Hotline will improve our ability to reach children of all ages, as well as parents or caregivers, during the pandemic and beyond. I urge my colleagues to support the adoption of this important legislation that could save lives.

Madam President, this pandemic has made it clearer than ever: It is not corporations that drive our economy; it is American workers.

With Marty Walsh, for whom we will vote in a moment on confirmation for the Department of Labor, workers will finally have someone on their side, as the Department that is supposed to look out for them. The Department of Labor is supposed to be the voice for workers in our government. It is their job to make sure workers' rights are protected, that people are safe on the job, that everyone can organize a union and get the overtime pay they have earned.

For 4 years, we have had a Department of Labor full of corporate lawyers. In fact, the Secretary of Labor was a corporate lawyer who made millions of dollars in court attacking labor unions and getting very well paid for it. That Department was full of people who made their careers fighting for corporate boards and CEOs, trying to squeeze every last penny out of workers and skirting labor laws.

And we saw the results. The DOL stopped fighting to raise the overtime pay threshold. In my State, tens of thousands of workers and, nationally, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of workers failed to get a raise as a result.

A year into the pandemic, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, still has not issued an emergency temporary standard to protect workers from coronavirus. When 1,300 workers last year got sick at a Smithfield meatpacking plant, they fined the company a pathetic $10 per worker.

With Marty Walsh, that corporate infiltration of the Department of Labor ends now. Mayor Walsh will put the focus back where it should be: fighting for the people who make this country work.

We know that for far too many Americans, hard work doesn't pay off. They have seen corporate profits go up. They have seen executive compensation skyrocket. They have become

more productive in the workplace, and yet their wages are flat.

Hard work has never paid off for many Americans like it should. That is why voters sent a clear message in last year's election: They are tired of corporations running our economy.

Corporations have had their chance. They failed. If corporations won't deliver for their workers and create an economy where everyone's hard work pays off, with a middle class that is growing instead of shrinking, then we have to step in and fight for workers.

That is what Marty Walsh will do as the Secretary of Labor. He can work with OSHA to finally issue the emergency temporary standard, forcing corporations to take critical steps to protect their workers on the job. He can crack down on corporations that use subcontracting and independent contractors and other tricks to pay workers less and to deny them benefits.

He can get to work on a new overtime rule so that hundreds of thousands more workers will finally get the overtime pay that they have earned. He can defend workers' rights to organize to give them power in their workplace and crack down on corporate union busting.

And, as we know, Marty Walsh has the deep experience in the labor movement to get this done. Too many people in this town don't understand what it is like not to have a voice on the job, to have no power over your schedule, to work hard at a job that doesn't even pay the bills. They don't understand collective bargaining and the power that a union card gives you over your career and your finances and your future.

Marty Walsh does understand that. At the age of 21, he joined the Laborers' Union Local 223 in Massachusetts. He knows what a union means to workers. He knows what workers are up against when they organize.

Like President Biden, he is not afraid to talk about the labor movement, and he doesn't recoil from using the word ``union.'' He is not afraid to take on corporations that exploit their workers.

We already see that change in action. President Biden and Vice President Harris have joined Senator Booker and me and so many of us in standing in solidarity with Amazon workers organizing in Alabama.

Ultimately, it comes back to the dignity of work, the idea that hard work should pay off for everyone, no matter who you are, where you live, or what kind of work you do. Mayor Walsh understands that when work has dignity, people have power over their lives and their schedules--and they are paid a living wage. When work has dignity, everyone can afford healthcare and housing and childcare. They can save for retirement. They can take time off to care for their loved ones.

Mayor Walsh has lived those values. He successfully helped push his State to raise the minimum wage to $15. He cracked down on wage theft. He fought for paid family leave.

He knows how important it is for the people in the room making decisions to actually reflect the diverse workers who make our country successful. It is the job of the labor movement. It is the job of DOL to fight for all workers.

As we work to build back better with a big investment in American infrastructure, Mayor Walsh understands all of the opportunities for workers that come with that. He comes from the building trades. He understands that we can put hundreds of thousands of tradespeople to work building houses and schools and public transit, retrofitting homes and offices and schools. We have a tremendous opportunity to rebuild our economy with workers--not corporations but with workers--at the center.

If you love this country, you fight for the people who make it work. As Secretary of Labor, that is what Marty Walsh will do. I urge my colleagues to support him.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

I yield the floor.