New England Board of Higher Education » DREAM Act

DC Shuttle: More Haggling Over How to Pay for Student Loan Interest Rate Extension, College Access

John O. Harney — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 13:40:04 +0000

In a bid to break the stalemate over offsets for student loan interest rate legislation, Republican leadership in the House and Senate proposed two alternative proposals on Thursday. While general agreement exists on the desire to extend the current 3.4% interest rate on federal student loans for one year, delaying an increase to 6.8% scheduled for July 1, lawmakers have been unable to come to consensus on how to pay for the estimated $5.9 billion cost. On April 27, the House passed a bill (H.R. 4628) eliminating funding for the Prevention and Public Health Fund to pay for the interest rate extension, while Senate Democrats are pushing a bill (S. 2343) which would end a tax benefit for S corporations. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) sent a letter to President Obama, asking that he work with them to pass bipartisan student loan interest rate legislation. The first option would offset the interest rate extension's cost by increasing retirement contributions from federal employees by 0.4% each year for 2013-2015. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that the increase, which was also included in the administration's FY2013 budget request, would raise $8 billion in revenue through 2017, and $18 billion through 2022. The Republicans' second offset proposal is a combination of three smaller measures. First, the duration of the in-school interest subsidy for subsidized federal loans would be limited to 150% of the usual time required to complete the degree program being pursued, for an estimated $1.1 billion in federal savings over 10 years. Second, the Medicaid healthcare provider tax threshold would be gradually scaled down to 5.5% beginning in 2013 for $11.3 in savings over 10 years. Lastly, state and local government pension payers would be required to determine whether a worker's pension is derived from government employment in order to prevent Social Security overpayments, for $2 billion in savings over 10 years. All three proposals are similar to those put forth in recent administration budget requests.

Congressman David Rivera (R-FL) introduced the Studying Towards Residency Status Act (H.R. 5869) on Wednesday as an alternative to DREAM Act legislation championed by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), which has been offered and rejected in various forms over the past several years. Sen. Durbin's latest bill (S. 952) would provide a path to citizenship for certain children of undocumented immigrants who attend college or serve in the military. Under Congressman Rivera's bill, undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. before they turned 16 and have lived here for five consecutive years would be eligible for conditional non-immigrant status for five years if they have graduated from higher school and been accepted to a four-year institution of higher education. Fellow Republican from Florida, Sen. Marco Rubio has said that he plans to introduce an additional DREAM Act alternative by the end of the summer which would provide visas—although not a path to citizenship—to the children of undocumented immigrants who attend college or serve in the military.

On Thursday, the Education Department announced the College Savings Account Research Demonstration Project, which will provide about 10,000 high school students participating in the GEAR UP program for low-income students with college savings accounts and financial counseling. The impact of the savings accounts and counseling on college access and success will contribute to policy recommendations at the local, state, and federal levels.

As a member of New England Council, we publish the DC Shuttle each week featuring higher ed news from Washington. This edition is drawn from the Council's Weekly Washington Report Higher Education Update, of June 4, 2012.

Founded in 1925, the New England Council is a nonpartisan alliance of businesses, academic and health institutions, and public and private organizations throughout New England formed to promote economic growth and a high quality of life in the New England region. The Council's mission is to identify and support federal public policies and articulate the voice of its membership regionally and nationally on important issues facing New England. For more information, please visit: www.newenglandcouncil.com.

DREAM Act: What It Could Mean for Waking New England?

John O. Harney — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 20:00:10 +0000

According to a June poll by First Focus, an advocacy organization dedicated to making children and families a priority in federal policy, 70% of Americans support the DREAM Act. Rallies are occurring all across the country. There is even a hunger strike in Texas to help get the bill passed. In addition, legislators from the six New England states seem to be highly in favor of it. Eight of the region’s 12 U.S. senators and 19 of its 22 members of the House are likely to vote yes on the DREAM Act, according to www.dreamact.info.

The DREAM Act would grant undocumented youth eligible for a six-year-long conditional path to citizenship that requires completion of a college degree or two years of military service.

How might the act affect New England?

Based on data from the U.S. Census, Department of Homeland Security, and StateMaster, my rough and conservative estimates indicate that approximately 206,000 illegal immigrants live in New England. About 121,000 of them would be under age 35 (so potentially eligible for DREAM Act benefits).

NEBHE’s New England 2025 initiative states that New England will need 665,000 additional college degrees by the year 2025. While not all of those eligible under the DREAM Act would become college graduates, if only 20% of those eligible earned a college degree that would be an additional 24,280 college degrees.

A lot is said about the potential cost of the DREAM Act, but this is a country built on the belief that education is a strong investment. The real concern should not be what the cost of the act is, but what benefit an investment in 25,000 college degrees would bring New England. Or even more so, what is the cost if we lose students? America needs to support all talented individuals within its borders if we are to maintain our status as the top economy in the world.

Mass. Gov. Patrick Vows In-State Tuition for Illegal Immigrants

NEBHE Admin — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 19:42:35 +0000

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick vowed to push for in-state tuition for illegal immigrant students at state colleges during his second term.

Patrick announced the plan earlier this month at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition's annual Thanksgiving luncheon. Though no specific details were revealed, Patrick's plans draw on many of the 130 immigration reforms recommended by an advisory panel a year ago.

The vows came weeks after Patrick won re-election with heavy support from Massachusetts immigrant communities and after a unanimous ruling by the California Supreme Court granting illegal immigrants the same reduced tuition at public colleges and universities available to legal residents of the state.

The high-profile immigration issue isn't confined to California and Massachusetts. Nine other states have laws similar to California's, and the U.S. Department of Justice continues to challenge Arizona's controversial new immigration law.

Additionally, The Wall Street Journal today endorsed the DREAM Act, a proposal that would provide undocumented students brought to the U.S. as children with the opportunity to earn permanent legal status.

Massachusetts advocates include Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong and Boston City Councilor Felix Arroyo who will join a coalition of religious leaders today to speak at a DREAM Act rally at St. Paul Cathedral in Boston.

Speakers will urge Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown to support the bill in Congress. Brown, who is opposed to the bill, called the program a form of amnesty. "I am opposed to illegal immigration, and I am deeply disappointed that Washington politicians are playing politics with military funding in order to extend a form of amnesty to certain illegal immigrants."

Bipartisan Support for DREAM Act

NEBHE Admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:24:41 +0000

Amid mixed reaction to Arizona's immigration law, a new national poll reveals strong bipartisan support for the DREAM Act, federal legislation introduced by Sens. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) that would provide undocumented students brought to the U.S. as children with the opportunity to earn permanent legal status.

The undocumented students would have to meet certain requirements such as residency in the U.S. for at least five years, staying out of trouble, earning a high school diploma or GED and completing at least two years of college or military service.

A survey suggests that 70% of Americans favor the DREAM Act, which leaves it to the states whether to charge the lower in-state tuition to undocumented students.

If passed, the DREAM Act could provide about 65,000 young people with improved access to a higher education and a legal means by which to contribute to society.

For more information about the poll results click here.