Thomas Daschle: “no one knows more about the commitment we have made to the students who want to be involved in higher education than the…”

“no one knows more about the commitment we have made to the students who want to be involved in higher education than the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts. He can probably tell us the very day it was done. But in recent times, we have increased the cap, the availability of resources through both loans as well as the Pell grants to students in order to accommodate their additional costs. We have recognized that their costs continue to go up. We have recognized how serious the financial problems are that many of these students have experienced. As a result, we have increased the caps. That is why the original OMB decision is so mystifying. Because as we raise the caps, if we raise the cost, then we have not done anything to help the students, so we have made this raise in eligibility for additional assistance virtually meaningless. I might say, there is a trend here because that is basically what we did with the No Child Left Behind Act as well. We provided more opportunities for students in many respects, but then we underfund by more than $1 billion the resources we should be providing to ensure that act is fully funded. So there appears to be rhetoric, and then there is the reality. There is the rhetoric, and then there is the resources. The rhetoric is: We want to help all these students. The rhetoric is: We don't want to leave any child behind.”