On the House
Armed forces and college debt round off week on Capitol Hill
By Representative Heath Shuler

Last week the House of Representatives took up legislation to change our nation's course is Iraq, the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act, H.R. 2956.

For four years the men and women of our Armed Forces have performed in Iraq. They have carried out every military mission put before them with unsurpassed professionalism, courage, and success. Now, after spending four years in the middle of an everdeteriorating sectarian conflict, we must allow our Armed Forces to focus on the military missions for which they are trained. We can and will continue the fighting terrorists that threaten America wherever they exist. I will always vote to provide our troops with the funding they need to protect themselves and carry out their missions, but I cannot and will not allow America's men and women to police the civil war that is being waged in Iraq.

After waiting for four years to see real progress made in the stabilization of post-war Iraq and for the Iraqi government to stand up and take ownership of its country, the time has come for a truly new and different course. Last week saw the release the Initial Benchmark Assessment Report required by the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act of 2007. The report lists eighteen benchmarks for the stabilization and longterm security of Iraq. It states that the Iraqi government has made unsatisfactory progress on many of the major benchmarks including eliminating militia control of local security, increasing the number of Iraqi Security Forces units capable of operating independently, and establishing a date for provincial elections. Additionally, the report states that the "prerequisites" for disarming the militias in Iraq are not even present.

We have heard repeatedly from numerous military commanders that the President's military-only solution to continuing violence in Iraq is not the proper course of action. General David Petraeus, commander of American forces in Iraq, has himself said, "There is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq, to the insurgency of Iraq." We need a new course and H.R. 2956 provides the opportunity for that new course.

This bill requires that a responsible redeployment of American forces begin within 120 days from its enactment and be transitioned to a limited presence by April 1, 2008. The bill also requires that the President submit to Congress a comprehensive strategy for continued U.S. involvement in Iraq by no later than January 31, 2008. This strategic plan must include a discussion and comprehensive plan to protect U.S. national security interests in

" Iraq and the broader Middle East region after the redeployment of American forces. The President would also need to publicly justify the mission and number of troops required to conduct postredeployment missions in Iraq.

Every American hopes and prays that our troops return home quickly and safely. However, those of us in elected office must not only fervently hope and pray - we must act. Last week we did.

The House also addressed the issue of college affordability last week. The College Cost Reduction Act, H.R. 2669, passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support and will help thousands of working families across North Carolina pay for college.

The College Cost Reduction Act, which is the single largest investment in financial aid for college students since the GI Bill was passed in 1944, will boost financial aid by nearly $18 billion over the next five years. The bill is paid for at no new cost to the American taxpayers and pays for itself by reducing the excessive federal subsidies paid to private lenders in the college loan industry by $19 billion. The bill also provides for $750 million in federal deficit reduction.

Every year over 90,000 students at North Carolina's 4-year public colleges and universities take out need-based loans to pay for their education. The typical North Carolina student finishes their education with more than $13,000 in debt.

Through the College Cost Reduction Act the maximum value of the Pell Grant scholarship will increase by $500 over the next five years. When combined with other Pell Grant increases passed or proposed by Congress this year, the maximum Pell Grant would reach $4,900 in 2008 and $5,200 in 2011, up from $4,050 in 2006. This increase in the Pell Grant's maximum value will restore its purchasing power and benefit nearly 6 million low- and middle-income students.

The bill also cuts interest rates in half on need-based student loans, reducing the cost of those loans for millions of student borrowers. Like legislation passed by the House earlier this year, the College Cost Reduction Act would cut interest rates from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent in equal steps over the next five years. Once fully phased-in, this would save the typical student borrower - with $13,800 in needbased student loan debt - $4,400 over the life of the loan.

As we compete in the global marketplace of the 21st Century, we must invest in our children's education. The return we see from each dollar that we invest in our children's education is immeasurable. It is one of the greatest investments we can make for our future.

We must ensure that the doors to America's colleges and universities remain open to every student, regardless of their family's wealth. With this bill, along with the work we have already done this year in the House, we are ensuring that every American student who wants to go to college can go to college.

This week the House will return to the discussion and debate of appropriations bills for the 2008 Fiscal Year.

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