Bill Text: IA HR113 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

Iowa House Resolution 113 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: A resolution urging Congress to enact legislation to ensure that students from Iowa and throughout the United States have access to debt-free higher education at public colleges and universities.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 19)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-04-25 - Resolution filed, laid over under Rule 25. H.J. 752. [HR113 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-HR113-Introduced.html

House Resolution 113 - Introduced

PAG LIN




                    HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.    
            BY  HALL, OLDSON, HEDDENS, ANDERSON, KEARNS,
       BEARINGER, BERRY, OURTH, STECKMAN, SMITH, ABDUL=SAMAD,
        GASKILL, COHOON, WESSEL=KROESCHELL, WINCKLER, STAED,
                     HUNTER, MASCHER, and HANSON
  1  1 A Resolution urging Congress to enact legislation
  1  2    to ensure that students from Iowa and throughout
  1  3    the United States have access to debt=free higher
  1  4    education at public colleges and universities.
  1  5    WHEREAS, the economic competitiveness of the United
  1  6 States and Iowa in the global economy requires a
  1  7 well=educated workforce; and
  1  8    WHEREAS, Iowa ranks 8th in the country in students
  1  9 graduating with the highest debt, with the average
  1 10 statewide debt load for Iowa's public and private
  1 11 college and university graduates at $29,732; derailing
  1 12 promising futures and diminishing the economic benefit
  1 13 of these graduates' talents; and
  1 14    WHEREAS, current and future young people in Iowa and
  1 15 throughout the rest of the nation should have the same
  1 16 opportunity offered to those who went to college in
  1 17 previous generations, including the ability to attend
  1 18 state colleges and universities without taking on
  1 19 burdensome debt; and
  1 20    WHEREAS, in 2016, higher education is more important
  1 21 than ever because it is an essential step to entering
  1 22 and remaining in the middle class; and
  1 23    WHEREAS, because of the importance of higher
  1 24 education to the nation's economy, the United States
  1 25 and its state governments should expand the opportunity
  2  1 to pursue and attain higher education to more people
  2  2 than had that opportunity in the past; and
  2  3    WHEREAS, public investment in higher education pays
  2  4 off, as evidenced by the facts that the post=World War
  2  5 II G.I. Bill resulted in a 7=to=1 return on investment
  2  6 for our national economy and that workers with college
  2  7 degrees earn more money, pay more taxes, and rely less
  2  8 on government services; and
  2  9    WHEREAS, student loan debt saddles the very students
  2 10 who most depend on a college degree to level the
  2 11 economic playing field with a burden that constrains
  2 12 career choices, hurts the credit rating of the
  2 13 students, prevents people from fully participating
  2 14 in the economy by purchasing goods and services, and
  2 15 threatens essential milestones of the American dream
  2 16 == including the purchase of a home or car, starting a
  2 17 family, and saving for retirement; and
  2 18    WHEREAS, a national goal of establishing a
  2 19 debt=free public higher education system would include
  2 20 significant federal aid to states, including Iowa; NOW
  2 21 THEREFORE,
  2 22    BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
  2 23 That the Iowa House of Representatives urges Congress
  2 24 to enact legislation affecting students attending
  2 25 public institutions of higher education that does the
  2 26 following:
  2 27    1. Ensures that such students have access to
  2 28 debt=free higher education, meaning students who
  2 29 graduate can do so without debt.
  2 30    2. Supports efforts to increase aid to the states
  3  1 so that states can increase investments in higher
  3  2 education and bring down education costs for students.
  3  3    3. Increases financial aid to students to help
  3  4 cover the total cost of college attendance.
  3  5    4. Encourages innovation by states and institutions
  3  6 of higher education to increase efficiency, lower
  3  7 costs, and enable speedy and less=costly degree
  3  8 completion.
  3  9    5. Reduces the burden of existing student loan
  3 10 debt; and
  3 11    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Chief Clerk of
  3 12 the House of Representatives shall transmit certified
  3 13 copies of this Resolution to each member of Iowa's
  3 14 congressional delegation.
       LSB 5428HH (4) 86
       kh/rj