Political Quotes

“Madam President, I thank the Senator from Connecticut for his partnership on this legislation. He has been a real friend and a true partner. We are happy to have the support of Senator Murray from Washington as well as Senator Sanders. They have been working on this issue for a long time. This is the middle class issue of our time. It doesn't just belong to college-aged students; it belongs to all of us. Senator Murphy spoke about how important it is for those of us who have young children and are beginning the process of trying to save for our children's college education, but it also belongs to the grandparents' generation. So many people are thinking about whether they can help their kids to ameliorate their existing student loans or their grandkids to be able to afford college. As Senator Murphy mentioned, we spend almost $150 billion in some form or fashion on Federal financial aid for institutions of higher learning, and that is good. That is a matter of national strategy. That is about the American dream. That is about the premise that the President talked about in his State of the Union Address, which is that if people work hard and play by the rules, they can move up the economic ladder. Higher education is one of the best ways to do that. It always has been in the United States of America. But here is the problem. The Senator from Connecticut talked about an individual example, but let me give the aggregate data.…”