A bit of information: Higher education costs ala Jeff Bingaman
Monday, August 25th, 2008
This is New Mexico, and I really appreciate these newsletters which gives us an idea of a few important issues that the Senate are working hard on. Give a hand to communication!
Making College More Affordable
Just one year after Congress passed the largest increase in student aid in more than 50 years, I am pleased to report we have enacted another bill that helps make college more affordable and accessible to New Mexicans.
At the end of July, the Senate passed The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, which makes it much easier for New Mexico students to navigate the financial aid process and qualify for financial assistance. It also increases the maximum Pell Grant award and provides those grants year round so students can take courses in the summer.
The legislation requires greater transparency in the costs of attending college, helps reduce the costs of college textbooks and holds colleges accountable for their rising costs. It also reforms the student loan system and provides loan forgiveness, scholarships, and fellowships, and removes barriers for students with disabilities to qualify for financial aid.
I am particularly proud of the increases in funding for minority serving institutions included in this legislation. As a member of the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee that finalized the bill, I urged the inclusion of increased funding levels for Hispanic Serving Institutions to $175 million. This funding is used to support two-and four-year Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs); most New Mexico colleges will qualify for such funds.
Also at my urging the bill creates a long-overdue program for graduate students enrolled at HSIs and funds it at $69 million over six years. The graduate program will provide support for fellowships and other services for graduate students. It will also provide funding to improve facilities and for faculty development, as well as for technology and distance education.
In addition to providing aid to HSIs, I was also able to include a provision that authorizes $25 million for Native American Serving Institutions – an initiative that provides funding to nontribal colleges with a student population that is at least 10 percent Native American. Grants of at least $200,000 would support curriculum development and academic instruction, faculty development, the purchase of books and other educational materials, and academic tutoring and counseling. Currently, eligible schools in New Mexico include San Juan College, University of New Mexico-Gallup, and New Mexico State University-Grants.
The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 also helps students prepare for and succeed in college by strengthening the TRIO and GEAR UP programs and requiring students enrolled in these initiatives to take more rigorous school coursework such as Advanced Placement classes.
This new bill, which I expect will soon be signed into law, comes just one year after The College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 was enacted. That measure increased student aid by more than $20 billion over the next 5 years, of which New Mexico will receive $200 million.
Making sure that our nation remains competitive and continues to be an economic leader in the world is very important. We can retain this position by making sure students have the best and highest levels of education. New Mexico has a tremendous talent pool that, if given the tools, will succeed in becoming the nation’s best doctors, teachers, agriculture specialists, technical specialists, and businessmen and women. This bill goes a long way in helping us achieve that goal.
Housing Crisis
Our flagging economy is affecting millions of American families, many of whom are trying to avoid home foreclosure. To help those families, Congress approved the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 – a measure aimed at stabilizing the housing market and providing relief to hundreds of thousands of Americans who are struggling to keep their homes.
The bill provides assistance for communities devastated by foreclosures, counseling for families in need and also contains programs that assist returning soldiers to avoid foreclosure. It also provides tax benefits for homeowners, homebuyers, and homebuilders aimed at helping the housing market recover. It also modernizes the Federal Housing Administration, implements greater oversight and creates a new program that would help at least 400,000 families save their homes from foreclosure.
One of the most important parts of the bill is the affordable housing trust fund it creates to address the imbalance between the amount of extremely low-income households in our country and the number of affordable rental housing units available to them. The National Housing Trust Fund doesn’t cost the taxpayers because it does not require annual funding from Congress. Instead, it is funded by tapping a portion of the profits that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac make on their mortgage loans, which are estimated to yield at least $300 million a year and perhaps as much as $700 million.
This long-overdue legislation will provide some relief to struggling Americans.
Consumer Protection
As a result of an alarming number of recalls of imported products found to be dangerous to children, Congress has approved and the President has signed consumer protection legislation.
High levels of lead and other poisonous chemicals were found in toys and other imported goods entering the United States. Reports of injuries, and in rare cases even deaths, have eroded consumer confidence in the safety of products coming from overseas.
The Consumer Safety Commission Reform Act takes aim at transforming the commission into a much more effective watchdog. The bill also increases investment so that more safety inspection personnel can be hired and the lab facilities can also be updated. It also protects children from unsafe products by requiring testing and certification of children’s products, and by banning the use of lead in children’s toys. The bill also mandates tracking labels for children’s goods that will enable the purchaser to ascertain the manufacturer, production time period, and other identifying characteristics to help easily identify recalled products.
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