Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I am honored to follow my distinguished colleague from New York and his very powerful and eloquent words on a subject that concerns all of us, not only in New England but across the country. I have heard from countless students in Connecticut where we have some of the best educational institutions in the country. I know my colleague, Senator Shaheen from New Hampshire, has been very much in touch with the people of her State, and particularly young people there, striving--as they are in Connecticut-- for more affordable education. We are talking about the future of our country. There should be nothing contentious, certainly nothing partisan about this issue of financing the future of education and particularly student loans. This ought to be a common cause, and it ought to be bipartisan. I believe eventually it will be because we need to come together on this issue for the sake of young people whose lives are very directly and immediately impacted by this issue in Connecticut and across the country. The impact is not only on their lives but our competitive economy, increasingly a global economy in Connecticut that depends more and more on exports and more and more on talented and gifted and trained, educated skilled people. We need them in Connecticut, and we cannot permit the interest rate on Stafford loans to rise to 6.8 percent from its present rate of 3.4 percent.…”