Heidi Alexander: “Senator Jones made a very important point, not only about Alabama, but really about every State. The Pell grant that we…”

“Senator Jones made a very important point, not only about Alabama, but really about every State. The Pell grant that we are talking about is money you don't have to pay back. This is not a student loan that you lay awake at night worrying about. Forty percent of our college students in this country go to community colleges, 2-year colleges. The average tuition at community colleges in America is $3,600. The average Pell grant is $3,600. Just those few facts show that basically 40 percent of those who go to college in America can go tuition-free or close to tuition-free because of the availability of the Pell grant. Now, it is higher in some States and lower in other States, but that is a fact. These are not loans that you have to pay back. These are grants that basically say that, if you want 2 years of college past high school, you can have it. In States like Tennessee and an increasing number of other States, the State government is stepping up to say: Well, if the Pell grant doesn't quite cover your tuition, we will cover the rest of it, so it is tuition-free. It is important for us to say to the American people--to parents, grandparents, and students--that: If you want to go to college, you can; and tuition is probably free or about free, but first, you have to fill out this 108 question FAFSA. That is the problem.…”