Norton's D.C. Tuition Program Preserved, Extended and On the Way for Signing (9/18/07)

Norton's D.C. Tuition Program Preserved, Extended and On the Way for Signing
September 18, 2007

**(Reach DCTAG at 727-2824 or click here)

Washington, DC-Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) scored an important victory for D.C. students and families, as the Senate today passed her D.C. College Access Act (H.R. 1124), extending the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant Program (DCTAG) for another five years. The popular benefit is set to expire on September 30, at the end of the fiscal year. However, the President, who always has supported the program in the past, is expected to sign the bill when it arrives on his desk. TAG provides multiple higher education opportunities for D.C. students by granting up to $10,000 annually, which covers the difference between in-state tuition at most public colleges, or up to $2,500 annually to attend private institutions in the city and region. The House passed H.R. 1124 in May.

Norton fought an amendment that passed to put a means test on the program for families with income over a million dollars because the highly successful and popular program was not designed to be income based. Norton said, "Procedures were in place to block the bill if we refused to support the amendment that would cover only income after deductibles, etc., and therefore, affect a negligible number of families. The program is a substitute for a state university system for the District, which unlike every state, has only one open admissions state university, the University of the District of Columbia (UDC).

Norton said that DCTAG has more than delivered on the federal investment. The program is credited with a 60 percent increase in college attendance over five years and has impressive retention rates. For the 2005-2006 school year, almost 5,000 students received funding from TAG to enroll in 646 universities and colleges in 47 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Norton also insisted on Historically Black College and University (HBCU) funding for UDC that the District had long sought, when she first sought TAG. The university has received thousands of dollars annually in HBCU funding since 1999, as a result.


**(Reach DCTAG at 727-2824 or click here)