Senator Coleman has been a leader in increasing Pell Grants, and works to reduce the cost of college

Partisan Critics Claim…

Senator Coleman has not been a leader in making the cost of college more affordable, raising Pell Grants, and supporting other programs to reduce the cost of college.

They Need to Get their Facts Straight....

Senator Coleman has been a leading voice in Washington to increase Pell Grants and has worked across party lines to fight for programs that will help reduce the cost of college. He’s led bi-partisan initiatives to raise the maximum Pell Grants and supported successful legislation that will raise the maximum grant to $5,400 within 5 years. In addition, Senator Coleman introduced legislation to reduce the cost of college textbooks, and has supported substantial increases to the Perkins Loan, and TRIO programs.

THE FACTS: Senator Coleman has been a leader in increasing Pell Grants, and working across party lines to reduce the cost of college.

Pell Grants, and The College Cost Reduction and Access Act

• During his time in the U.S. Senate, Senator Coleman has been a leading champion of increasing the maximum Pell Grant award, joining Senators Kennedy (D-MA), and Feingold (D-WI) in writing to the President on multiple occasions to request an increase in the maximum Pell Grant. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which passed the Senate and was signed into law this past September, will increase the maximum Pell Grant to $5,400 by 2012 and increase the family income level at which a student is automatically eligible for the maximum Pell Grant to $30,000.
• The College Cost Reduction and Access Act will also provide $228 million over four years to fund Upward Bound projects which are designed to provide support for low-income students to succeed in their secondary education and enroll in, and graduate from, institutions of postsecondary education.
• Additionally, the bill creates the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grants program. TEACH grants will provide $4,000 a year, with a $16,000 maximum, to undergraduate and graduate students who agree to teach a high-need subject in a high-need school for four years.
• The bill also creates a new loan forgiveness program for full-time public service employees in emergency management, the military, law enforcement, public education and public child care.
• All in all, this important bi-partisan legislation, passed with Senator Coleman’s support will provide an additional $21.57 billion over five years for federal student aid programs. In Minnesota alone, 81,816 Pell Grants were awarded last year providing $179.4 million of support for individuals seeking higher education who might otherwise be unable to afford the tuition.

College Textbook Affordability Act of 2007

• Introduced by Senator Coleman, the College Textbook Affordability Act of 2007 would require publishers to provide professors with the price of a textbook in writing as well as the history of revisions for a textbook or supplemental material and whether the textbook or supplement are available in an alternative format. The legislation would also require textbooks and supplemental materials sold as a bundle also be sold separately.
• In addition, it would require colleges and universities to include the international standard book number, or ISBN number and retail price of all required and optional materials in the course schedule for the upcoming term. Also, when asked, schools must provide bookstores with access to the course schedule, ISBN number of course material, the maximum student enrollment for a course, and the current enrollment numbers.

Perkins Loans and TRIO Programs

• Reaching across party lines, Senator Coleman joined Senator Cantwell (D-WA) in sending a letter to the Senate Budget Committee asking them to maintain funding for Perkins and restore funding for the Perkins Loan Federal Capital Contribution.
• Senator Coleman also joined colleagues in sending letters to the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, in order to fight reductions in the Perkins Loan program, and increase funding for TRIO by $100 million.