Joe Courtney: “H.R. 5, introduced by Mr. Miller in the opening hours of this Congress, begins the critical work we must do as a Nation…”

“H.R. 5, introduced by Mr. Miller in the opening hours of this Congress, begins the critical work we must do as a Nation to build an economy that is based on an educated workforce. Make no mistake about it. The economic health of our country will turn on whether or not our children have the educational tools to compete and succeed. And make no mistake about it, all the present trends in access to higher education point to danger. The bipartisan National Conference on State Legislatures issued a report last month which described higher education in America as a system in crisis, largely due to the Federal Government's declining commitment to keeping higher education affordable. Coming from a congressional district that is home to the University of Connecticut, this finding comes as no shock. Students and their families all testify to the same grim condition: tuition has gone up 41 percent since 2001, college costs have gone up faster than health care over the last 25 years, and in Connecticut, college is increasingly becoming the sole province of the well-to-do. According to the Hartford Current, 58 percent of Connecticut's young people from the top income tier are in school, and only 16 percent in the lowest are enrolled. Students are leaving college burdened with record levels of debt, and many are forced to leave early because of economic hardship.”