Following are just a few of the issues that I will address through legislation in 2005: securing more funding for education, helping children receive mental health care, ensuring that school teachers and other public employees receive the retirement benefits they earned, and expanding research into the threat of abrupt climate change.
By investing in our students, we invest in the future of our country. An important part of this investment is ensuring that all students, regardless of their family's income, have access to higher education. That is why one of my priorities will be increasing the amount of money available to low-income students who qualify for Pell Grants. Pell Grants provide nearly $12.8 billion to low-income students for higher education, and they help make college possible for approximately 5.3 million students each year. Pell Grants are the foundation of our need-based financial aid system, to which other resources may be added. Unfortunately, over the past 20 years, the value of Pell grants has declined drastically. In 1975, the Pell maximum award covered 80% of the average tuition and costs at a public four-year institution. But today, it covers less than 40% of these costs. This decline in grant aid has forced students to rely more heavily on student loans to finance their education. And for some students, it has made college out of reach altogether.
With education costs continuing to rise at both public and private institutions, I believe that increases in grant aid are needed. The maximum Pell Grant award has remained at the same amount for the past three years, and I intend to make increasing the Pell Grant maximum award one of my top priorities this year. In Maine, an increase of $450 dollars in the Pell Grant maximum award would provide an additional $6.3 million in Pell Grant aid for students in our state.
Our system of higher education is in many ways the envy of the world. But its benefits today have not yet been distributed equally to all Americans. As tuition rises, the road to higher education in America gets steeper and harder to climb for lower and middle-income families. Increasing Pell Grants is one way to keep the doors to higher education open to all students, no matter what their financial means.
Another priority of mine is to help families struggling to care for their children with mental illnesses. After learning about families all over the nation, including Maine, who have had to relinquish custody of their mentally ill children and place them in either the child welfare or juvenile justice system in order to receive care, I requested that the General Accounting Office conduct a study of the problem. In the summer of 2003, I chaired two days of hearings on the topic in the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. The GAO report and the testimony at the hearing were devastating. After surveying state and local authorities, GAO learned that, in 2001 alone, parents placed more than 12,700 children into the child welfare or juvenile justice systems just so their children could receive the mental health care they need. Moreover, many states did not participate in the study, which suggests that this figure is only the tip of the iceberg.
These statistics are sad and troubling, but what was most wrenching was the testimony by three mothers, including one from Maine. They told us they were advised by state officials that the only way to get the intensive care and services their children needed was to relinquish custody and place them in the child welfare system. No family should ever be faced with such a decision
That is why I am introducing legislation that would help states better care for children with mental illness by authorizing $55 million for grants to create statewide systems of care for these children. The "Keeping Families Together Act" takes a crucial step forward to meeting the needs of children with serious mental or emotional disorders.
Another issue Maine constituents have contacted me about concerns inequities in the Social Security system. I believe that individuals should receive the retirement benefits that they have earned throughout their careers. I have worked with Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) on the "Social Security Fairness Act" to repeal sections of current law that unfairly reduce earned Social Security benefits for many public employees. The windfall elimination provision (WEP) and the government pension offset (GPO) affect many of Maine's teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public employees who have also worked in the private sector.
The WEP reduces Social Security benefits for retirees who paid into Social Security and who also receive a government pension from work not covered under Social Security, such as pensions from the Maine State Retirement Fund. While private sector retirees receive monthly Social Security checks equal to 90 percent of their first $612 in average monthly career earnings, government pensioners are only allowed to receive 40 percent -- a harsh and unjust penalty of $316 per month.
The government pension offset reduces an individual's survivor benefit under Social Security by two-thirds of the amount of his or her public pension. Estimates indicate that 9 out of 10 public employees affected by the GPO lose their entire spousal benefit, even though their deceased spouses paid Social Security taxes for many years.
This simply is not fair. Individuals who have devoted many years to public service should not be penalized when it comes to their retirement benefits. When Congress considers Social Security reform this year, I will work to remedy this inequity.
Another of my priority issues may also be one of the greatest threats facing the globe: abrupt climate change. Scientific findings from institutions such as the University of Maine's Climate Change Institute, The National Academy of Sciences, and the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, all describe serious consequences that could result from abrupt climate change. These findings make it clear that additional research should be conducted to identify the likelihood and potential impact of a sudden change in climate resulting from global warming. It is vital to our environment that Congress approve funding for additional climate change research. Therefore, I will introduce legislation to provide $60 million for this effort.
I learned more about the implications of abrupt climate control during a visit to Ny-Alesund, Norway, the northernmost community in the world. Ny-Alesund is a center for international Arctic scientific research, with a focus on the environment. During the visit, I was briefed by scientists involved in the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA), a multi-year assessment to evaluate the impact of climate change and increased ultraviolet radiation across the Arctic region. Their findings are cause for concern.
The scientists told us that while some climate changes are the result of natural variability, the global climate is changing more rapidly than at any time since the beginning of civilization due to an increase in greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. Using computer models, the ACIA scientists project "very significant warming for the Arctic over the next 100 years." Further, they warn that global warming presents "serious challenges to human health . . . and possibly even the survival of many cultures."
We must continue to learn more about the causes and implications of global warming by funding abrupt climate change research.
Other issues I look forward to addressing in the new Congress include ensuring that Maine's first responders receive their fair share of homeland security funding; reforming the Postal Service, which is the linchpin of a $900 billion industry and vital to the U.S. economy; expanding access to affordable health care, particularly in rural communities; securing Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds, and other issues important to Maine.
As we move forward in this new Congress I encourage my Maine constituents to contact my office with any concerns or questions via email at http://collins.senate.gov/high/contactemail.htm, fax at (202)224-2693, or phone at (202)224-2523. Or you can contact one of my six state offices. I look forward to continuing to serve Mainers in the 109th Congress.
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