Legislation

Debt saddled students may finally get the help they need to pay for college. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act – if passed by Congress – provides the largest post-secondary reinvestment in decades. Following the commitment outlined by Obama earlier this year, Congress is now taking the lead, showing that quality, affordable college education is critical to move the country forward.

Below is the boost to student aid outlined by the legislation:

• Investing $40 billion to increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $5,550 in 2010 and to $6,900 by 2019. Starting in 2010, the scholarship will be linked to match rising costs-of-living by indexing it to the Consumer Price Index plus 1 percent;

• Investing $3 billion to bolster college access and completion support programs for students;

• Strengthening the Perkins Loan program, a campus-based program that provides low-cost federal loans to students;

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The Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act sponsored by Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ) was intended to improve the Pentagon’s acquisition process, fraught with nearly $300 billion in cost overruns on 95 major weapons systems. more »

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People who live near Niagara Falls are said to become so used to the sound of roaring water that they literally don’t even hear it. A similar phenomenon appears to have taken place regarding one little-known facet of the American workplace, so-called “captive audience meetings,” where employees are forced to listen to their employer’s anti-union speech. more »

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