WASHINGTON – This week, the House Committee on Education & Labor overwhelmingly passed the College Affordability Act. As a leading member of the Committee, United States Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05) played a dynamic role in drafting and marking up this critical piece of legislation.
The College Affordability Act, which reauthorizes the Higher Education Act, lowers costs for students, expands opportunities for all young Americans to get a post-secondary education, and supports teachers. It invests in educators by fixing the broken PSLF and TEACH grant systems, permanently funds Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Minority Serving Institutions, and encourages institutions to develop comprehensive campus mental health and suicide prevention plans. The bill also makes the single-largest increase in Pell Grants since the program's creation, incentivizes free community college, and increases TRIO and GEAR UP funding to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds enroll and succeed in higher education.
The College Affordability Act includes 15 bills led or co-sponsored by Congresswoman Hayes.
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Rep. Jahana Hayes has been a public school teacher in Connecticut for more than 15 years and was recognized in 2016 as the National Teacher of the Year. Currently serving her first term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Hayes sits on the Committees on Education & Labor and Agriculture and proudly represents Connecticut’s 5th District.