Every year the Appropriations Committee on which I serve sets aside funding for local projects. Each Member of Congress participates in directing these funds to their Congressional districts.
Project requests from constituent groups are an important connection between national and local interests. Significant developments are made possible by bringing much needed federal dollars to a project that would otherwise be impossible to complete.
I direct my top priorities to projects that provide for economic development, improved health care, better education, and renewable energy.
On this page is a list of projects that I have submitted to the Appropriations Committee for consideration for federal funding. Every effort has been made to ensure this list is complete and accurate. If your organization has submitted a project which does not appear on this list or you are aware of such a project, please contact my office at (202) 225-5261.
Today, I will vote in favor of The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (H.R. 3221), marking the single largest investment in aid to help students and families pay for college in history -- and at no cost to taxpayers. It will expand access to an affordable college education to more American students, transform early education opportunities, and build a world-class community college system. The bill reforms the system of federal student loans to save taxpayers $87 billion – and then invests $77 billion of those savings back into education, particularly by making college more affordable, and directs $10 billion back to the Treasury to reduce entitlement spending. Among its many provisions, it increases the maximum Pell Grant from $5,350 in 2009 to $5,550 in 2010 and $6,900 in 2019 and keeps interest rates low on subsidized federal student loans.
The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which mirrors President Obama’s student loan reform proposal, will make college more affordable and our nation more competitive by transforming the way our student loan programs operate:
• First, it will help more students graduate with less debt. Too many students are graduating with record debt, partly because grant aid doesn’t cover nearly as large a share of college costs as it used to. Our legislation will allow us to invest $40 billion in the Pell Grant scholarship, to keep interest rates affordable on need-based federal student loans, to simplify the federal student aid application process, and in other forms of aid that will help low-income, middle class and minority students pay for and complete college – at no additional cost to taxpayers.
• Second, it will stabilize and safeguard the federal student loan program that students and families depend on to pay for college. The intertwined economic and credit crises have exposed serious vulnerabilities in the structure of the federally-guaranteed student loan program – putting it on life support. Families shouldn’t have to worry about whether the roller coaster fluctuations of the financial markets will hurt their access to low-cost student loans. By originating all new federal loans through the cheaper Direct Loan program, students and parents will be able to receive the exact same loans with the added assurance that these loans are entirely reliable, no matter what happens in the economy. This simple change will save taxpayers $87 billion over 10 years.
• Third, it builds on the best of what works in the private sector to provide borrowers with top-notch customer service. The legislation will allow state non-profit lenders and private industry to continue doing what they do best – servicing loans. It will allow private entities to compete for contracts to service these loans – ensuring that students get the best services available and maintaining jobs in communities across the country.
• Fourth, it will eliminate waste and create a streamlined, cost-effective program for families and taxpayers. Each year, billions of taxpayers dollars are being sent into a program that no longer works – and that the Department of Education can administer for a much lower cost. This is exactly the kind of waste we need to eliminate in tough fiscal times. By cutting out the middleman, this legislation will save taxpayers $87 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It’s a smarter business decision for taxpayers and families.
Investing in higher education has been and remains a priority of my legislative agenda. In the past, I’ve voted on many measures to increase the quality and affordability of higher education, including reducing interest rates on student loans, and the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007. I look forward to supporting bills that work toward building opportunity for America’s future.
As we debate health care in the House and Senate, I’d like to take an opportunity to dispel some rumors that are being spread about this groundbreaking legislation. First and foremost, this health reform plan will not put your insurance company out of business and force you into a socialized plan. If you like your insurance, you can keep it. The point is to offer health care to hardworking Americans who are denied coverage and care from the industry, but by no means do we intend to impose the public option for those who don’t need or want it.
Another rumor being spread around is that health care will be rationed by bureaucracy. This is completely not true. Under this proposal, doctors, nurses and patients will make medical decisions, not big insurance companies or the government. Our opponents want to leave patients at the mercy of big insurance companies that make decisions to protect their profits not your health.
One last myth I’d like to discuss is that Americans will be forced out of their current plans in this health reform plan. No American will be forced out of their current plan. If you like your plan, as I stated earlier, then you can keep it. This is an effort to make the employer-based system work better by giving every American the peace of mind of knowing that their health needs will be covered by insurance. No one will have to worry about being denied insurance based on a pre-existing condition, or being without coverage if their employer drops coverage, they lose their job, or change employers.
I will continue to address other myths about this plan as the week progresses.
The primary goal of a sound health care reform plan is to provide health care for every American while keeping cost low, but quality high. America’s Affordable Health Choices Act will open up a public health option that would compete with private insurers within the health insurance exchange. Private health insurance plans would still be available, but the public option would create a level playing field to allow each American to get health insurance at a competitive cost.
The public option would meet the same benefit requirements and comply with the same market reforms as private plans, and individuals with affordability credits can choose among private carriers and the public option. The public option will promote primary care, encourage coordinated care and shared accountability, and improve its quality. Provider participation is voluntary, and Medicare providers are presumed to be participating unless they opt out.
With a level playing field, self-sufficiency, innovation and cost containment, the public option provides a very viable alternative to private plans.
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