Improving Access to Higher Education

Making college more affordable for students and their families is a strong priority of my office. And I am pleased that the 110th Congress passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (S. 2371), which provides more than $20 billion in new student aid and benefits. This legislation expands loan forgiveness options, cuts student loan interest rates in half over five years, provides a significant increase to the Pell Grant, and includes a new program to limit student loan payments to 15 percent of their monthly income.  The College Cost Reduction and Access Act will help make a college education more affordable for more Virginians.

With my support, the Senate also passed the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2007, (H.R. 4137), which was signed into law on August 14, 2008.  The bill authorizes the federal government’s major federal student aid programs, expands post-secondary education opportunity, particularly for low-income individuals, and increases affordability for moderate income families as well. 

Included in the Higher Education Opportunity Act is a bipartisan bill that Senator John Warner and I introduced to establish a program to help historically minority colleges to improve student access to technology, computers, and the Internet.  All colleges and universities should have cutting-edge technology available in order to serve their students and train them to enter the global 21st century economy.

Most recently in the 111th Congress, the Senate passed and the President signed into law the Health Reform and Education Reconciliation Act, which includes additional funding for Pell grants, Community Colleges and Minority Serving Institutions. 

These bills will continue Congress’ effort to make college more affordable and accessible and will ensure our federal dollars are reaching all students by:
  • Boosting college aid by roughly $20 billion over the next five years;
  • Increasing Pell grants;
  • Making loan payments more manageable for students;
  • Providing tuition assistance for excellent undergraduate students who agree to teach in high-need subjects in high-need schools;
  • Making a landmark new investment in minority serving institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic Serving Institutions, for critical support services that help recruit and retain students;
  • Encouraging and rewarding public service by providing loan forgiveness for college graduates that go into public service professions, such as military officers, first responders, firefighters, nurses, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, early childhood educators, public defenders, librarians, and others;
  • Developing new strategies to help colleges contain costs and making online information on college costs for students and parents more user friendly; and
  • Implementing new reporting requirements and disclosures to help students and parents make better-informed decisions about higher education and higher education financing.