Speaker
Nancy Pelosi will join U.S. Representatives Mitchell, Grijalva and Pastor on
February 19, 2007 at 2 p.m. at ASU-Tempe in the Memorial Union – Arizona
Ballroom to talk about college affordability to Arizona students and concerned
Arizonans. The event will be the first
domestic trip by Speaker Pelosi since being elected to the post in early
January.
“At
a time when young people are voting in greater numbers and paying greater
attention to the political process, it is critical that Congress is addressing
issues that concern them,” said Devin Mauney, Arizona Students’ Association
(ASA) Board Chair. “Affordable and
accessible higher education is a top priority for young Arizonans.
In
January, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to lower interest
rates on student loans as one of their first legislative acts. According to a recent report by the Arizona
Public Interest Research Group (Arizona PIRG), the legislation will save
millions of students, and more than 33,000 Arizona students, thousands of
dollars over the life of their loans.
Arizona U.S. Representatives Giffords, Grijalva, Mitchell, Pastor and
Renzi voted to pass the student loan interest rate cut.
“Paying
for college is a crucial issue for millions of families in Arizona and across
the country,” said Luke Swarthout, Arizona PIRG’s Higher Education
Advocate. “It shows that Congress is
listening to the concerns of students and their families that they have made
paying for college a top priority in the 110th Congress. We are proud that the Speaker has chosen to
talk with a student audience about higher education on her first domestic
trip.”
Congress
has also focused on increasing access by increasing the maximum Pell Grant award
for the first time since 2002. The 2007
budget passed last week by Congress, included a $260 increase in the maximum
grant award up to $4,310. The Pell Grant
is the federal government’s premier grant aid program and helps more than 5
million low income students each year access a college education. The increase was short of the $5,100 maximum
grant level identified by student and higher education groups as necessary to
restore the purchasing power of the grant aid.
“Lowering
interest rates and increasing the Pell Grant are great first steps to make
college more affordable,” said Ross Meyer, Arizona State University-Tempe
Student Government Association President.
“However we need Congress to keep their focus on the challenges of
students and their families and pass comprehensive higher education reform this
year,” Meyer concluded.
