Hearings to Be Held on Education Funding

Kicking off a process that may change the way federal dollars are spent on higher education, U.S. Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) will conduct the first in a series of public hearings Thursday on reauthorizing the Higher Education Act of 1965.

The gathering, to be held at Cal State Northridge, will feature a host of speakers, from parents to students to CSUN President Blenda J. Wilson, addressing which federal programs work, which don’t and why.

In addition to McKeon, Reps. Frank Riggs (R-Windsor) and Peter Hoekstra (R-Michigan) are expected to attend.

Other hearings are planned for Arizona, Michigan and Washington, as well as in other California cities.

“Over the next several months, we will do what Congress should have done long ago--we will listen,” McKeon, chairman of the subcommittee on post-secondary education, training and lifelong learning, said in a statement. “In addition, we will go to the schools and see firsthand how our children are being taught.”

A seminal piece of education legislation, the Higher Education Act was first enacted to help low-income Americans gain access to colleges and universities. The act governs numerous government programs, including grant, loan and work-study programs that offer $35 billion a year in financial aid to 7 million students.

While no specific recommendations for change will be made until after the hearings are completed this summer, McKeon’s press secretary, Armando E. Azarloza, said the congressman may well consider streamlining, consolidating or eliminating some programs.

“We have identified a multitude of federal programs that maybe shouldn’t be there,” Azarloza said.

Thursday’s hearing will be held from 9 a.m. to noon in the Shoshone Room of CSUN’s Satellite Student Union, on the corner of Zelzah Avenue and Lassen Street. Parking is available in the adjacent parking structure.