HF 441

as introduced - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 02/09/2010 01:37am

1.1A resolution
1.2memorializing the President and Congress to enact a "New Deal for the New
1.3Millenium for Higher Education" to enable states to rebuild public higher education
1.4and to increase access to higher education.
1.5WHEREAS, the recent global financial crisis has brought a renewed focus to the task of
1.6strengthening our public universities as the key to our country's long-term economic viability and
1.7continued prosperity; and
1.8WHEREAS, individuals from all walks of life and of different political persuasions agree
1.9that broad access to high-quality higher education is a key ingredient to a positive economic
1.10outcome for the American people, and the very survival of a strong United States economy
1.11requires a highly educated workforce; and
1.12WHEREAS, an affordable, accessible, high-quality education is good not only for an
1.13individual's personal finances, but more importantly, it is essential for our society's prosperity; and
1.14WHEREAS, for years, stakeholders in Minnesota's education community have advocated
1.15proper funding for high-quality public higher education that is accessible and affordable for
1.16every Minnesotan; and
1.17WHEREAS, unfortunately, due to increasingly dire economic conditions and only modest
1.18federal support, we have witnessed the persistent erosion of public resources dedicated to higher
1.19education; and
1.20WHEREAS, declining state and federal support of public higher education has translated
1.21into fewer, larger classes available to students, compounding the costs and making students timely
1.22progress toward degrees more difficult; and
2.1WHEREAS, the budgetary neglect over many years of the public higher education systems
2.2now warrants a bold approach by policy makers, just as decisive action has been taken to prevent
2.3the collapse of Wall Street; and
2.4WHEREAS, during this economic slowdown, public higher education systems and
2.5institutions are grappling with a surge in applications as unemployment continues to rise and the
2.6need for workers to retrain and reenter the workforce continues to grow; and
2.7WHEREAS, tuition and fees for students at public higher education institutions have
2.8increased dramatically; and
2.9WHEREAS, students and families rely on Minnesota's public higher education to produce
2.10the future entrepreneurs, business owners, peace officers, educators, and public officials; and
2.11WHEREAS, seven hundred billion dollars, the amount that the federal government has
2.12allocated to bail out Wall Street, is more than ten times the size of the United States Department
2.13of Education budget for the 2007 fiscal year, and could be used to send millions of students to a
2.14public university somewhere in the United States this year; NOW, THEREFORE,
2.15BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it calls upon the
2.16President and the Congress of the United States to increase support for public higher education
2.17in the United States and improve student access by enacting a "New Deal for a New Millenium
2.18for Higher Education" to enable Minnesota and other states to rebuild public higher education
2.19systems and to rebuild access for students to our nation's public universities and colleges and
2.20by providing a new federal program for higher education in the amount of seventy billion
2.21dollars, just ten percent of what the United States is spending on the financial crisis, to establish
2.22college-going grants similar to the World War II era GI Bill of Rights, and providing student loan
2.23debt forgiveness for all students who take jobs in public service.
2.24BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is
2.25directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United
2.26States, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk
2.27of the United States House of Representatives, the chair of the Senate Committee on Health,
2.28Education, Labor and Pensions, the chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, and
2.29Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress.