Rubén Hinojosa: “I do not object to the three higher education bills under consideration today. In fact, this body passed these bills…”

“I do not object to the three higher education bills under consideration today. In fact, this body passed these bills with broad bipartisan support last year, and I voted for all three of them. I do object, however, to our wasting time revisiting legislation that we have already worked out instead of completing the work that remains to be done. The Higher Education Act represents our national commitment to ensuring that a college education is possible for anyone--regardless of income, race, or ethnicity. This law supports our students and our institutions of higher education in their pursuit of academic excellence. It represents the single largest Federal investment in education with over $75 billion in student financial assistance distributed annually. This Congress the Higher Education Act must be reauthorized. Instead of considering the act as a whole, the majority decided to pass the reauthorization in parts. The parts that we are considering today have already been passed. What we are failing to discuss today are the programs at the very heart of the matter--the student aid programs: Pell grants, student loans, work study. We are also failing to discuss the instrumental Federal supports to the institutions that serve low-income and minority students--titles III and V of the Higher Education Act. The titles that support Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Tribally Controlled Colleges.”