Washington, DC – U.S. Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX), chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness, delivered the following statement recently on H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act, which was on the House Floor recently:

"I rise in strong support of H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act.

This legislation will complete our work on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and build on the historic investment we made last year in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.

We opened the 110^th Congress taking a fresh look at our higher education laws.  Specifically, we called for ideas to:

• close the college access and completion gaps for low-income and minority students

• improve the financial aid application and delivery system

• improve preparation so that low-income and first generation college students are ready to succeed in college – academically, financially, and socially.

• leverage more resources for need-based aid; and

• address the escalating cost of a college education.

This bill offers comprehensive, bipartisan solutions to all of these issues. I would like to thank Chairman Miller and the Ranking Members of the full committee and the subcommittee, my good friends Mr. McKeon of California and Mr. Keller of Florida for working with us to craft a bill that every member of this chamber should be proud to support.

We are falling behind in producing college graduates. During our hearings, we learned that the United States has gone from first to fourth in the world for college graduates in the workforce.  We are only one of two industrialized nations where older workers are more likely to have a college degree than younger workers. 

This comes at time when the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a shortage of 3 million college educated workers as early as 2012.

The gaps in college access and completion is large and growing for low-income and minority students.  According to the Education Trust, since 1994, White students have increased in college completion by 10 percent. African American students have only increased by 5.5 percent, and Hispanic students only by 3 percent. Given that over forty percent of our public school children are racial or ethnic minorities and one in five is Hispanic, it is imperative that we act swiftly and decisively to close the gaps.

That is what the College Opportunity and Affordability Act will do.

H.R. 4137 will close the college access and completion gaps by increasing the authorized Pell grant maximum to $9,000 and providing access to the Pell grant and the Academic Competitiveness and SMART grants year-round.

The legislation recognizes the critical role that Minority-serving institutions will have to play if we are to produce the college graduates our economy needs to thrive. These institutions represent less than one-third of all colleges and universities but enroll more than half of all minority students in postsecondary education. 

H.R. 4137 authorizes increased investment in building the capacity of these essential institutions and ensures that they are full partners in teacher preparation, and our national competitiveness and innovation agenda. Additionally, H.R. 4137 includes the Minority-serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Program, which is a major step forward in ensuring that these colleges and universities can maintain a state of the art educational delivery system.

I am particularly proud of our work to strengthen minority access to the STEM fields through the Youth Engagement in STEM partnerships and programs that focus on preparing teachers for these high-need fields.

The College Opportunity and Affordability Act also addresses gaps at the post-baccalaureate level. It has been 10 years since I first introduced legislation to create a graduate program for Hispanic-Serving Institutions and with the passage of this legislation we will be one step closer to enacting this long-overdue program. Additionally, our bill includes the Patsy Mink Fellowship program to provide support for women and minorities to complete graduate degrees and join the ranks of university faculty, where they are severely under-represented.

H.R. 4137 will improve early college preparation by strengthening GEAR UP, TRIO, and HEP and CAMP and emphasizing financial literacy and early financial aid estimates.

The bill will leverage resources through partnerships.  One example is the new Grants for Access and Persistence program which will leverage state and private resources to increase student aid so that low-income first generation college students are prepared to enroll and succeed in college.

H.R. 4137 takes real steps to address college costs though public information, accountability, and incentives at the state and institutional level to keep tuition increases low and college within reach of all students. 

The legislation protects students and families by bringing sunshine and real consumer protection to the student loan programs – both federal and private.

Finally, the legislation before us today recognizes our collective obligation to the men and women returning from war and seeking to resume their lives. Our nation owes our veterans the support to achieve their dreams through a college education after so valiantly serving our country."