NEW YORK - February 20 - Speaker Nancy Pelosi will join U.S. Representatives Mitchell, Grijalva and Pastor on February 19, 2007 at 2 p.m. at ASU-Tempe in the Memorial Union – Arizona Ballroom to talk about college affordability to Arizona students and concerned Arizonans.  The event will be the first domestic trip by Speaker Pelosi since being elected to the post in early January.

“At a time when young people are voting in greater numbers and paying greater attention to the political process, it is critical that Congress is addressing issues that concern them,” said Devin Mauney, Arizona Students’ Association (ASA) Board Chair.  “Affordable and accessible higher education is a top priority for young Arizonans.

In January, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to lower interest rates on student loans as one of their first legislative acts.  According to a recent report by the Arizona Public Interest Research Group (Arizona PIRG), the legislation will save millions of students, and more than 33,000 Arizona students, thousands of dollars over the life of their loans.  Arizona U.S. Representatives Giffords, Grijalva, Mitchell, Pastor and Renzi voted to pass the student loan interest rate cut.

“Paying for college is a crucial issue for millions of families in Arizona and across the country,” said Luke Swarthout, Arizona PIRG’s Higher Education Advocate.  “It shows that Congress is listening to the concerns of students and their families that they have made paying for college a top priority in the 110th Congress.  We are proud that the Speaker has chosen to talk with a student audience about higher education on her first domestic trip.”

Congress has also focused on increasing access by increasing the maximum Pell Grant award for the first time since 2002.  The 2007 budget passed last week by Congress, included a $260 increase in the maximum grant award up to $4,310.  The Pell Grant is the federal government’s premier grant aid program and helps more than 5 million low income students each year access a college education.  The increase was short of the $5,100 maximum grant level identified by student and higher education groups as necessary to restore the purchasing power of the grant aid.

“Lowering interest rates and increasing the Pell Grant are great first steps to make college more affordable,” said Ross Meyer, Arizona State University-Tempe Student Government Association President.  “However we need Congress to keep their focus on the challenges of students and their families and pass comprehensive higher education reform this year,” Meyer concluded.

Cutting Interest Rates, Lowering Student Debt, a recent report by Arizona PIRG, can be downloaded at http://arizonapirg.org/AZ.asp?id2=29641

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