{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-kaine-introduce-bill-to-end-legacy-admissions/", "Young, Kaine Introduce Bill to End Legacy Admissions", "2023-11-07", "2023", "2023-11", "Republican", "Senate", "IN", "Todd Young", "Y000064", "www.young.senate.gov", "toddyoung", "https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced the Merit-Based Educational Reforms and Institutional Transparency Act (MERIT Act), legislation to end the practice of colleges and universities giving \u201cpreferential treatment\u201d in the admissions process based on an applicant\u2019s relationship to alumni or donors of the deciding institution.\n\nThe MERIT Act would amend the Higher Education Act to add a new standard for accreditation in order to prevent accredited colleges and universities \u2013 institutions that are recognized for maintaining a certain level of educational quality \u2013 from giving \u201cpreferential treatment\u201d during the admissions process.\n\n\u201cAmerica is a land of opportunity, not a land of aristocracy,\u201d said Senator Young. \u201cLegacy admissions restrict opportunities for many bright and talented young Americans and provide unmerited advantage to the most connected individuals in our society. Our bill will end legacy preferences in the admissions process and promote upward mobility for Americans of all backgrounds.\u201d\n\n\u201cA student\u2019s acceptance into a college should not hinge on whether their parents attended that school or donated a large sum of money,\u201d said Senator Kaine. \u201cThis legislation would help bring more fairness to the higher education admissions process, and ensure that first-generation and low-income students are not put at a disadvantage because of their parents\u2019 educational histories or incomes. I will continue to do all that I can through my work on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to expand access to high-quality, affordable education.\u201d\n\nText of the legislation can be found here.\n\nBackground:", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:49:58Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-kaine-introduce-bill-to-end-legacy-admissions/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2871520593762398, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}