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ENEFGY AND I\i]INEHAL RESoURCES

WAIER, POWER, AND OCEANS

OvERSTGHT AND INVESTcATToNS

April2l,2015

President Eileen Klein

Arizona Board of Regents

2020 N. Central Avenue
Suite 230
Phoenix, AZ 85004-4593
Dear President Klein:

As you and the Board of Regents prepare to vote in the coming weeks on tuition issues that impact
students across Arizona,I urge you to support our families and our state's economic competitiveness
by granting full in-state tuition for beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA) program. While the Board's recent proposal to lower tuition rates for DACA beneficiaries is
a positive step forward, it does not go far enough to meet the needs of our students and our
community.
I have heard from and met with many students in my Phoenix and Washington, D.C. offices who, as
DACA beneficiaries, struggle to afford the costs of higher education as they pursue their goals of
becoming doctors, teachers, lawyers, and contributing members of communities across our state. I
also regularly hear from DACA beneficiaries at Maricopa County Community College who already
benefit from in-state tuition and exempli0, the kind of leadership we need to keep in our state.
Our young people cannot wait in limbo while the State of Arizona continues to waste valuable
taxpayer resources on a frivolous lawsuit against the Maricopa County Community College system.
Their futures shouldn't be delayed because of partisan politics. Students across Arizona are counting
on your leadership to provide the financial security they need to continue their education. Allowing
young people to achieve their goals by attaining a higher education is good for our economy and for
Arizona businesses seeking talented young people to retain their competitive edge in the global
marketplace. Denying in-state tuition to these students does not mean they will remain enrolled and
pay higher out-of-state rates - most will simply be unable to afford the cost of classes and may be
forced to abandon their studies, unfairly disrupting their educational trajectories.

I urge the Board to follow Maricopa County Community College's lead by putting our students and
our economy above partisan politics and by doing right by young Arizonans striving to achieve their
dreams.

g,&,H
Member of Congress

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