Bonamici hears concerns of community colleges, students
April 24 2021
Federal aid is coming, but lawmaker is told that colleges would like help to maximize benefits.
Community colleges and their students will benefit from an array of federal aid programs, but presidents and students told U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici they would like help maximizing their benefits.
President Joe Biden's pandemic recovery plan, which Congress passed and Biden signed on March 11, contains $40 billion for higher education — Oregon's share is estimated at $400 million — plus $39 billion nationally for child care, and other sums for vaccinations, food and housing assistance.
"These are challenging systems to navigate. We've been doing this for more than three years. We know we need benefit navigators to help students to do that," Mark Mitsui, president of Portland Community College, said during a conference call with Bonamici.