A federal program that has helped more than 3,000 low-income students enter the University of South Florida is getting new life, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said Monday.

Continuing the Upward Bound program at three key Florida colleges is tied to a bill that Castor is helping direct. The College Cost Reduction Act is slated to be heard by the full House on Thursday and then by the Senate. She says it is likely to pass both houses.

"I anticipate the bill will receive strong bipartisan support," said Castor, a Democrat representing Florida's 11th Congressional District, including parts of Hillsborough, Pinellas and Manatee counties.

The U.S. Department of Education cut federal funding for the 41-year-old Upward Bound program at 100 colleges, including the University of South Florida, Florida A&M University and the University of Florida.

USF, with the state's biggest program, has been getting about $670,000 a year for 140 students, program director Robert Davis said.

That money is used to help 10th-, 11th- and 12th-grade students from low-income families learn about college options, prepare for entrance exams and experience college life in special summer sessions. At USF, students attend 25 Saturday sessions, learning everything from interviewing to etiquette.

"My generation -- they don't get that," said Jasmyn Hendricks, 17, who will be a senior at Plant City's Durant High in the Upward Bound program at USF. For her, the professional etiquette she has learned has made the biggest difference.

"It's being the one who makes the most positive impact," Hendricks said. "It's about actually answering the question, not talking around it."

Clifton Tyson, a 17-year-old senior at Tampa's Middleton High School, said he has learned about networking through Upward Bound and hopes he has become a role model for his younger brother.

"I messed up my first two years in high school," he said. "Now I've got my head on straight."

Increasing minority enrollment in colleges, a priority for schools and communities, depends on such programs.

Hope for continuing Florida's long-running programs lives in an amendment to the College Cost Reduction Act, introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va. It restores $120 million to a number of Upward Bound programs through 2011, including those at USF, FAMU and UF.

The College Cost Reduction Act was approved June 13 by the Education and Labor Committee. It includes cutting interest rates on subsidized student loans, increasing Pell grant scholarships and providing tuition assistance for undergraduates who commit to teaching in public schools in high-poverty communities or high-need subject areas.