On the recordMay 8, 2012
On July 2, we will celebrate the 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Morrill Act, a Federal mandate for every State to establish a land grant college. What an inspiring example. In the darkest days of the Civil War, we have leaders who understood that making college a national priority was too important to be ignored. Sadly, the day before that anniversary, July 1--53 days from today--we risk breaking faith with that vision when Stafford student loan interest rates double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. For 3 months, I have put forth a bipartisan bill, with over 150 cosponsors, to permanently fix this problem. Yet all we have gotten from the Republican leadership is a Band-Aid bill that is a dead letter--cynically wiping out a fund to prevent cancer, heart disease, and diabetes to pay for only 1 year of student loan relief. Sorry, Mr. Speaker. The American people are smarter than that. They want a real bill, paid for fairly, that helps students, not fearful politicians. ____________________
