Patsy T. Mink: “Mr. Chairman, I think the important message that I want to leave is to echo the words of the chairman of the Committee…”

“Mr. Chairman, I think the important message that I want to leave is to echo the words of the chairman of the Committee on Education and Workforce who spoke about the authorization language that we had for the Teacher Empowerment Act. It is very important when we talk about Pell Grants to understand that the authorization level is $4,800 as a maximum. We are far below achieving what the Committee on Education and the Workforce has established as an appropriate grant for those who qualify. We are not handing money out to students who come into the office and say they would like to have assistance in going to college. There is a very complicated formula, a process in which an analysis is made about the need of each specific student. The monies that we are talking about to add on to the $300 is based upon a very, very strict analysis of the need of that particular student. And the Congress has already said in its authorization that that maximum ought to be $4,800. And we are only talking about $3,800 today. We have to meet this challenge. Look at what we are doing. We are bringing in 200,000 foreigners to come in and beef up our high-tech industry. High-tech industry is supposed to be the future of this country, the future of the world; and we are not meeting the challenges of higher education.”