Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I have listened to part of the previous presentations. I think the impression has been given that if we just had a…”

“I have listened to part of the previous presentations. I think the impression has been given that if we just had a Democratic Senate we could accomplish so much more. But I think in the process of making such a presentation many things have been overlooked or not quite stated in a factual way. Let me start by saying what has been said--that Republicans have cut $12 billion from college student aid, frozen Pell grants for higher education. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Republican Congress, since President Bush has been in office, has dramatically increased the absolute commitment to helping lower income students, many who are first-time college graduates in their family, and we are helping at the Federal level to an extent never seen before. For instance, Pell grants will grow by $240 million. The number of recipients will increase by 59,000 to 5.3 million students. Funding for Pell grants rose from $8.8 billion in 2001 to $13 billion in 2006. In 2006, the Department of Education expects to make over $77 billion in grants, loans, and other aid to over 10 million students. It is a fact that we are increasing Pell grants. We are increasing the number of students who are eligible for Pell grants. We need to be honest when we are talking about what the difference would be if there were a Democratic Senate versus the Republican accomplishments.…”