WASHINGTON – Days after securing control of U.S. Congress for the first time since 1994, Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate began to formulate their agenda for the upcoming 110th Congress. Among the top agenda items for Democrats are higher education initiatives that could increase federal spending.
Chief among the higher education projects for Democrats is an attempt to make college more affordable by slashing interest rates and increasing funds for Pell Grants. College Republicans cut $12 million from the program to reduce budgetary spending. Other plans include increased funding for teacher education, higher education research, and tax deductions geared towards math, science, technology and engineering students.
It’s an agenda that will be spearheaded by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., in the House of Representatives and Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., in the Senate.
Miller will chair the House Committee on Education and Workforce after serving as the ranking Democratic member during the 109th Congress. He was a vocal critic of Congressional Republican efforts to cut Pell Grant funding as well as other proposals that were included in the yet-to-be-passed reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.
Kennedy will chair the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
Other key committee assignments that will dictate higher education policy and funding includes in the House Rep. David Obey, D-Wisconsin, who is slated to chair the House Appropriations Committee. Obey is a former chair of the committee and is likely to promote education issues. In the Senate, Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., the longest-serving member of the Senate, will chair the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Much of what Democrats attempt to accomplish in higher education are centered on affordability and improving K-12 education with involvement from universities.
In the area of affordability, a House Democratic leadership position paper, “A New Direction for America,” sites a proposal to cut interest rates on college loans to 3.4 percent for students and 4.25 percent for parents, a savings of $5,600. Democrats also want to increase the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,100 and increase tax deductions for tuitions paid by families that make up to $160,000.
“We want to lower interest rates on the cost of college for students who are now turned away from college because of increased debt that they have to absorb,” Miller said in a Nov. 9 interview with Oakland, Calif., Fox affiliate KTOV.
Richard Vedder, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, said some of the Democratic proposals could be a launching pad for institutions to raise tuition. He said the issue is not too few students go to college, but that too many are admitted.
“The Democrats are making college affordability a big issue, which is a good thing,” Vedder said on his center’s blog. “However, the solutions to the problem that they propose may be worse than the disease.”
Democrats also want to improve K-12 education with initiatives geared at increasing the number of students who are in college. Some of the proposals – teacher scholarships specifically – have been championed by UNC officials here in North Carolina.
One such scholarship includes a proposed cooperation agreement between the states, businesses and universities for students who aim to study science, engineering, or mathematics. The proposal would attempt to benefit 100,000 students over the next four years, according to the Democratic plan. Also, there are plans for additional tuition assistance funding for teachers to cover tuition costs.
“We must give our students more opportunities to be highly-trained in math, science, and technology so they can turn ideas into innovation,” the Democrats said in their policy paper.
In regards to research, Democrats want to increase funding for research initiatives, which would likely benefit research institutions like UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State. Specifically, Democrats want to double funding for the National Science Foundation and create regional so-called Centers for Excellence to promote technological advances.
“Independent scientific research provides the foundation for innovation and future technologies,” the Democrats say in their agenda. “But federal funding for research and development has declined steadily over the last decade, and sound science has been compromised by political interference.”
The 110th Congress is scheduled to begin on Jan. 3.