STATESBORO  — The proposed College Affordability Act, introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Oct. 15, looks to save college students and families of the middle-class an abundance of money.

The three main objectives of the CAA are to lower the cost and improve the quality of college, hold universities accountable for student success and expand opportunities for students through flexible options and strong support for students of all backgrounds, according to the CAA fact sheet. 

There are 44 million Americans who have student loan debt, according to the fact sheet. Once approved, the CAA would update the Higher Education Act of 1965 with an estimated cost of $400 billion. 

“It is a down payment on making public institutions tuition-free that would cost a fraction of what was spent on the GOP tax cut, which overwhelmingly benefited corporations and the wealthy,” the fact sheet reads.

The value of Pell grants will increase under this act and allow students to focus on paying for food, housing and other basic essentials for living on their own. The FAFSA will be simplified under this act, as well as repayment plans and other student loan related processes. 

Campus diversity is encouraged in the act, prohibiting the discrimination of any race, color and national origin. In an effort to combat Secretary Devos’s “survivor blaming”, the act strives to create stronger accountability for colleges to prevent and track sexual assault, harrassment and hazing cases. 

The CAA would increase and reauthorize mandatory funding for Historically Black Colleges and

Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and other Minority Serving Institutions, according to the fact sheet. Incarcerated individuals will be given a second chance at success by repealing the ban on Pell Grants for incarcerated students.

The full CAA fact sheet can be accessed here. 

Sarah Smith, The George-Anne News Editor, gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu