Legislative Priorities
111th Congress
2010 Community College Federal Legislative Priorities
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Enact the American Graduation Initiative
The American Graduation Initiative (AGI) would provide unprecedented federal support for community colleges to help return the nation to world leadership in higher education attainment by 2020. The AGI is a significant component of the FY 2010 budget reconciliation legislation (H.R. 3221; no Senate bill yet), which Congress should enact as soon as possible. Final AGI legislation should allow community colleges to compete for grants throughout the ten-year program, rather than directing all grants to states for years 5-10 of the program, as in H.R. 3221. The matching requirement for these grants should be no more than 1 to 3. Community colleges should be allowed to use facility funds as grants with a match of 3 to 1 by all non-Federal sources.
Help Community Colleges Respond to Huge Demand For Education and Training
During the last two years, community colleges have seen a 16.9% enrollment increase as the economic downturn has caused more and more students to seek their programs. The colleges have simultaneously been faced with significant state and local budget reductions. As a result, colleges cannot retain nor hire sufficient numbers of faculty to meet the student influx, resulting in a denial of access for thousands of students. The House-passed Jobs for Main Street Act (H.R. 2847) includes a $23 billion Education Jobs Fund which would provide badly needed financial support; it should be enacted along with the Community College Emergency Stabilization Fund Act (H.R. 4196), which authorizes a new program designed specifically to help community colleges provide needed services to help mitigate the recession’s impact.
Increase the Pell Grant
Pell Grants help more than 2.5 million low- and moderate-income community college students attend college each year by helping cover the cost of tuition, books and equipment, and living expenses. Pell Grants are the foundation of the federal student aid system and represent the nation’s commitment to providing access to college for all qualified students. Congress needs to provide sustained increases to the maximum grant, which will reach $5,550 for the 2010-11 award year. Community colleges support the Administration’s effort in budget reconciliation to increase the Pell Grant maximum each year by the Consumer Price Index plus one percent.
Reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act
Congress should reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) this year to enhance the ability of workers to obtain postsecondary education and training. WIA reauthorization legislation should prioritize the community college role in delivering training services; authorize and fund the Career Pathways Innovation Fund as proposed by the President; and deliver integrated support for adult basic education that emphasizes bridges to postsecondary education and training. The current onerous reporting requirements for training providers need to be dramatically streamlined. The federal government should directly support One-Stop Career Centers, rather than diverting resources from other critical programs.
Extend and Improve Higher Education Tax Incentives
Community colleges strongly support the consolidation, streamlining, and retargeting of federal higher education tax benefits to the neediest students. The $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, offers many positive features including partial refundability. The AOTC should be made permanent and further improved to ensure that more needy students, particularly Pell Grant recipients, are eligible for the credit, which is largely precluded under current law.
Strengthen the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act Programs
Congress should continue its bipartisan support for the improvement of career and technical education (CTE) programs at the secondary and postsecondary levels by increasing funding for the Perkins CTE programs in FY 2011 to $1.4 billion. The Basic State Grant, Tech-Prep and other Perkins programs help community colleges improve their CTE offerings that lead to high-demand, high-skilled occupations.
Enhance Funding for Higher Education Programs
Congress should continue to support the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program and enact the Administration’s proposed increase of $___ million in FY 2011. Increased funding also is needed for key higher education programs such as Title III-A (Strengthening Institutions), Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Predominantly Black Institutions, and rural colleges, as well as for workforce training programs.
Pass the DREAM Act
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act (H.R. 1751, S. 729) provides a path to legal status for thousands of undocumented students that were brought to this country as children, worked their way through high school, and now face an uncertain future. The DREAM Act would return to the states the decision of whether to extend in-state tuition to undocumented students. The DREAM Act has strong bipartisan support and the legislation should be enacted now.
Improve the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
The reauthorized ESEA (“No Child Left Behind) should reflect the critical role played by community colleges in working with the nation’s K-12 system. Community colleges look to partner with the federal government through the ESEA to offer more dual enrollment programs and early college high schools, as well as play an enhanced role in teacher preparation and professional development linked to high standards.
Support Community College Sustainability Initiatives
Community colleges support legislation that would expand their capacity to provide workforce training and education in alternative energy, energy efficient construction, sustainable energy technologies, and other “green” economy industries and bolster college initiatives to improve sustainable practices on their campuses and in their communities. The Community College Energy Training Act (S. 1097, H.R. 3731) would authorize a competitive grants program for community colleges to develop their renewable energy training programs and related sustainability initiatives.