FOLLLOWING SENATOR COLLINS’ URGING, SENATE COMMITTEE SAFEGUARDS CAMPUS-BASED AID FUNDS

WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Susan Collins is applauding the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) for opposing a proposal that would have changed the current formula used to distribute funding for campus-based aid programs in its draft Higher Education Act reauthorization bill. The House version of this bill included a proposal that would result in a 52 percent cut in campus-based aid in Maine. In early August, Senator Collins wrote a letter to the Senate Committee strongly opposing the inclusion of such a proposal in the Senate version of the bill.

"By safeguarding these funds, higher education institutions in Maine will continue to provide aid to students who would otherwise struggle to afford post-secondary education," Senator Collins said. "I am pleased that the Senate HELP committee rejected the proposal that would result in drastic cuts to campus-based aid in Maine. Ensuring that all Americans, and Mainers, have access to higher education has long been a priority of mine, and I will remain committed to this cause." If the provision included in the House were to be implemented, the University of Maine System would see a cut of over $6 million, a 66 percent cut. Husson College in Bangor, where Senator Collins once served as an administrator, would face a 65 percent cut.

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