Statement from John B. King Jr., president & CEO of The Education Trust, on the advancement of the PROSPER Act

WASHINGTON – Today, John B. King Jr., president and CEO of The Education Trust, issued the following statement on the House Education and the Workforce Committee vote to advance a bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act or HEA.

“We are disappointed the Committee voted last night to advance legislation that would take our higher education system backward. Even more disappointing is that several amendments that would have improved the bill, including amendments to strengthen Pell and invest in evidence-based interventions that have been shown to improve student success like the CUNY ASAP program were not adopted.

“As Congress continues to consider reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, we sincerely hope it will start to work in a bipartisan way to craft a strong bill that advances access, affordability and completion – especially for students of color and those from low-income families – instead of continuing to pursue this shortsighted and misguided path.”

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