Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word to engage in a colloquy with my colleague from California.
Mr. Chairman, I had intended to offer an amendment designed to correct an inequity in current law which penalizes students who attend low-cost colleges. Since 1973, the Federal Pell Grant program has helped nearly 80 million low- and middle-income students pay for college. At just one community college in my district, Glendale Community College, about 3,500 students receive Pell grants each year. And while their tuition may be less than $1,000 for an academic year, the full cost of attendance for a 9-month academic year is estimated to be over $5,600; and that is for a student living at home with parents or relatives.
Unfortunately, these students and others at community colleges in California do not receive the full Pell grant award. At these colleges, books can often surpass the cost of tuition; and add to that other costs and fees of higher education, and there is an enormous burden on the lowest-income students. The tuition sensitivity provision unfairly penalizes these students in States like California, which have kept tuition low by strong State support for higher education. These are the poorest students at the least expensive schools.
My colleagues might be wondering why they have not heard of the tuition-sensitivity provision. The answer is that right now this rule only affects California students. However, as the Pell grant increases, the tuition-sensitivity rule will limit financial aid to students in other States, like Texas, North Carolina, Arkansas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, just to name a few.
By repealing the tuition-sensitivity trigger, we assure fairness and equity; we incentivize States to support higher education, not back away from funding.
I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Mckeon), for all his work on this issue and his willingness to work together in the reauthorization process. He has done an extraordinary job for the students of California.