Political Quotes

“In 17 days, unless Congress acts, the Stafford student loan program--which is the workhorse loan program for millions of college students all across America--is going to see the interest rate double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. Stepping back for a moment, 6 years ago, the Democrats passed the College Cost Reduction Act, which cut that rate from 6.8 to 3.4 percent. It was a 5-year bill concurrent with the Higher Education Authorization Act. Last year, with minutes to spare, we extended that lower rate of 3.4 percent for an additional year. And now, once again, we are hours away from students who are about to embark on life decisions, in terms of which college to attend, which course to follow; and they need to know with some certainty the borrowing cost, which for many is now a stark reality in terms of paying the cost of higher education. This morning in The New York Times, there was a very encouraging story about the fact that the number of college degrees in the U.S. has hit an all-time high. Students are now completing college, and it's just in time in terms of the workforce needs of our country. The same study which was released yesterday shows that in fact we have workforce needs for high-degree skills for which the education system is still scrambling to catch up. So there is no question for young people in America.…”