"Our strategy begin where innovation so often does: in the classroom and in the laboratory -- and in the networks that connect them to the broader economy. These are the building blocks of innovation: education, infrastructure, research.
We know that the nations that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow. The ability of new industries to thrive depends on workers with the knowledge and the know-how to contribute in those fields. Unfortunately, today, our primary and secondary schools continue to trail many of our competitors, especially in the key areas of math and science. Hundreds of thousands of high school graduates who are prepared for college don't go to four-year or two-year schools because it's just too expensive; they run out of money. And roughly 40 percent of students who start college don't complete college. So all along that education pipeline, too many people -- too many of our young talented people -- are slipping through the cracks. It's not only heartbreaking for those students; it's a loss for our economy and our country.
I know that for a long time politicians have spoken of training -- of job training as a silver bullet, of college as a cure-all. It's not. I don't want to pretend that it is. We know that. But we also know that in the coming years, jobs requiring at least an associate's degree are projected to grow twice as fast as jobs requiring no college experience. Think about that -- twice as fast. We will not fill those jobs, or keep those jobs here in America, without graduating more students, including millions more students from community colleges.
That's why I've asked Dr. Biden to travel the country promoting the opportunities that community colleges offer. That's why I'm grateful that Senator Chuck Schumer, who couldn't be here today, has shown tremendous leadership on this issue. And that's why I've set this ambitious goal: By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. (Applause.) We used to be number one. We should be number one again. (Applause.)
Now, to achieve this goal, we're going to need motivated students, motivated families, motivated communities, local leaders who are doing their part, state leaders who are doing their part. But the federal government has its part to do, as well.
So to reach this goal we've increased Pell Grants and created a simplified $2,500 tax credit for college tuition. We've made student aid applications less complicated and ensured that that aid is not based on the income of a job that you've lost. I hear too much from folks who say, I can't get any student aid because they're still looking at my income taxes when I had a job as opposed to my situation right now.
We've also passed a new G.I. Bill of Rights to help soldiers coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan begin a new life in a new economy. (Applause.) And the recovery plan has helped close state budget shortfalls -- I think the Governor will testify -- because those shortfalls put enormous pressure on public universities and community colleges, while also we've made historic investments in elementary and secondary schools. So we're helping states get through some very tough times without having to drastically cut back on the critical education infrastructure that's going to be so important.
Now, finally, through the American Graduation Initiative that I’ve proposed, we're going to reform and strengthen community colleges to help an additional 5 million Americans earn degrees and certificates in the next decade -- (applause) -- because a new generation of innovations depends on a new generation of innovators.
And just last week, the House of Representatives passed a bill that will go a long way to reform the student loan system so that college is more affordable for more people. Right now, the federal government provides a subsidy to banks to get them to lend money to students. The thing is the federal government also guarantees the loans in case the students don’t repay. So we're subsidizing banks to take on the risk of giving loans to students, even though taxpayers are absorbing the risk anyway. That doesn't make much sense. It costs us more than $80 billion. If we just cut out the middle-man -- the banks -- and lent directly to the students, the federal government would save that money and we could use it for what's actually important -- helping students afford and succeed in college. (Applause.)
That's what the bill -- I want to emphasize this just because every once in a while you may not know what your members of Congress are doing for you. These three guys right here are standing up for young people. We need senators to do the same. (Applause.) The bill that they voted on -- the bill that I proposed -- here's what it does: It takes the $80 billion the banks currently get and uses it to make Pell Grants larger. It uses those funds to focus on innovative efforts to help students not only go to college but to graduate. And just as important, these savings will allow us to make the largest investment ever in the most underappreciated asset in our education system, and that is community colleges like Hudson Valley, which are so essential for the future of our young people. (Applause.) So we hope to improve on this bill in the Senate and go even further on behalf of students.
Ending this unwarranted subsidy for the big banks is a no-brainer for folks everywhere -- except some folks in Washington. In fact, they're already seeing -- we're already seeing special interests rallying to save this giveaway. And the large banks -- many who have benefited from taxpayer bailouts during the financial crisis -- are lobbying to keep this easy money flowing. That's exactly the kind of special-interest effort that has succeeded before, and we can't allow it to succeed this time. This is exactly the kind of waste that leaves people wary of government, leaves our country straddled with trillions of dollars of deficits and debt with little to show for it."