David Price: “it is important that the House move quickly next week to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. As an educator for nearly…”

“it is important that the House move quickly next week to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. As an educator for nearly 20 years, I know the importance of ensuring that a college education is within reach for all of our people. I represent a district that has a tremendous stake in the Higher Education Act. That was made clear in an all-day forum that I convened in Raleigh on September 22 of last year. We received recommendations from the presidents of our institutions of higher education, from a number of students and financial aid administrators and business leaders. I am pleased that the bill reported by the Committee on Education and the Workforce reflects many of these concerns. For example, the committee saw fit to include the highly successful State Student Incentive Grant program in this year's reauthorization. This is the only student aid program that maintains the Federal partnership with the States and encourages them to do their part to help needy students attend college. The cornerstone of the higher education is the Pell Grant program. But more funds are desperately needed to be authorized, and I am extremely pleased that the Higher Education Act included a dramatic increase to a maximum grant level of $4,500. As an original cosponsor of the Campus-Based Child Care bill of the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella), I was pleased to see its inclusion in the Higher Education Act. More and more young mothers are pursuing college degrees.”