Chairman Miller Details impact on students with Economic Recovery Act

This past year I had the great honor of meeting with and interviewing Chairman George Miller the head of the Education and Labor Committee in the House. Chairman Miller has an encouraging track record of reaching out to young people to uncover what Congress can do to best impact the difficulties we face in our schools and our higher education.

See my interview with him here:

Congress has now begun to craft their first 100 days of legislation which includes the Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 designed to stimulate the economy like a defibrillator to Dick Cheney's heart.

"With our economy worsening by the day, bold and strategic investments are needed to jumpstart our economy and drive long-term growth and competitiveness," said Miller. "This remarkable effort will get Americans back to work quickly, strengthen educational opportunities for our children, and fuel innovation. Together, with President-elect Obama, we are moving quickly to build a 21st economy and strengthen our nation’s middle class."

Chairman Miller has gone through the many many parts of this bill to look specifically at the assistance it provides to students.

• School modernization: $20 billion to repair, renovate, modernize public schools and colleges and universities, including technology updates;
• Economic stabilization fund to provide relief to states: $79 billion to help states restore cuts to funding for early childhood, K-12, higher education and other vital programs;
• Aid for college students:$15.6 billion to increase the maximum Pell Grant scholarship by $500, for a maximum of $5350 in 2009 and $5550 in 2010;
• A strong, green workforce: $4 billion for job training to help get adult and dislocated back to work, create one million summer jobs for youth, and prepare workers for green jobs and other emerging industries;
• Extended unemployment benefits: $27 billion to continue the current extended unemployment benefits program – which provides up to 33 weeks of extended benefits - through 2009; and
• Health care for the unemployed: $30.3 billion to extend COBRA health insurance coverage to the unemployed, extending the period of COBRA coverage for older and tenured workers.

See the full fact sheet here (pdf)

This comes at a most important time. MSNBC released a story Thursday showing the jump in costs for college tuition. Guess what, its not a cute little hoppy jump, its a big one.

"Final prices will not be set until state budgets are finished in the coming months, but the trend is clear. In California, the governor's proposed budget would raise university fees around 10 percent. Florida's governor is trying to give several state schools more power to raise prices. And universities in both states plan to cut enrollment slots.

Other states could not wait until fall and have passed unusual midyear increases, including a whopping 14-percent increase in New York.

In previous recessions, state-supported institutions have raised tuition between 8 and 10 percent annually for several years running, said Nick Johnson of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington.

In a Today Show report Thursday morning on applying for student financial aid it was reported that there has been an 18% increase in financing available to students. But because the economy is in such dire straights, there has been a 9% increase in the number of students now applying for financial assistance.

The Senate is also at work on its first 10 bills to present in the new legislative session as Mike mentioned last week.

"SB7: Education Opportunity Act of 2009. "To expand educational opportunities for all Americans by increasing access to high-quality early childhood education and after school programs, advancing reform in elementary and secondary education, strengthening mathematics and science instruction, and ensuring that higher education is more affordable." An education omnibus bill that will no doubt be split up into separate pieces of legislation."

I'm grateful to Congress for their hard work and their attention to students who are suffering, I just hope it works and institutions and states don't continue to hike up prices making it totally pointless.

While Wendy's has proposed their own solution with the 3conomy and 3conomics, let me propose a few ways you might be able to make a few bucks for school.
1. Sell your extra house. Don't have one? Its ok... sell your neighbors!
2. Remix Steven Colbert into hiphop music and sell it in key swing states.
3. Offer to cat-sit for the Speaker

Thanks for the ed h/t, Tom.