Every time politicians talk about national priorities, we hear about how education should be our country's number one concern. Our nation's economy needs a highly educated workforce, they tell us, if we are going to be able to compete in the new global economy. A college education, they warn us, is now a necessary ticket to a middle-class and decent paying job. And a strong democracy, they sometimes point out, depends on well-educated and informed citizens.

Unfortunately, many of those who talk the loudest in Washington often do the least. Despite all the rhetoric about the importance of education, the federal government has failed to allocate the funding that millions of young people and their families need to make higher education affordable.

The bottom line is that the cost of a college education is soaring, and students and their families are going deeper and deeper into debt to pay for that education. Twenty-five years ago, the maximum federally funded Pell Grant (which was designed to be the main portion of student aid) covered more than 80 percent of the average cost of attending a public four-year college, and about 40 percent of the cost of attending a private college. Today, the maximum Pell Grant covers only 39 percent of the average cost of attending a four-year public college, and only 15 percent of the cost of attending a private college.

In fact, the average Pell Grant, adjusted for inflation, has not increased at all in ten years. Federal student aid, which 20 years ago was a grants-based system, is now a loan-based system. Pell Grants today account for only 10.7 percent of all student aid, while federal students loans comprise 51.4 percent. The end result of this policy is that students graduating with four-year degrees bear an average debt of $19,000, not including what their parents owe. Students finishing graduate school are even deeper in debt.

It strikes me as extremely unfair to young Americans, and contrary to the best interests of our country, that millions of them are beginning their careers so deeply in debt. Among other things, it forces many new graduates to take jobs that earn them enough to pay off their loans, rather than pursuing the careers that would satisfy them and serve society. It is impossible to calculate how many excellent teachers, childcare workers, nurses, law enforcement officers and other professionals we have lost as a result of the federal government's failure to adequately fund financial aid programs.

Accordingly, in the new Congress that has convened this January, I will be proposing substantial increases in the federal support for higher education, including:

--doubling the funding for Pell Grants, from $7.6 billion to $15 billion;

--doubling total federal spending on aid to post-secondary students from $13 to $26 billion; and