John Tierney: “I thank the gentleman for acknowledging this. Americans need to know that their family member is going to be able to…”

“I thank the gentleman for acknowledging this. Americans need to know that their family member is going to be able to afford a college degree, whether it is a 2-year degree or a 4-year degree. Too many people are afraid that their child is not going to be able to get through college. Too many students don't think they can meet the cost of it. And that's what we need to deal with. Public dollars for schools, Pell Grants, lower interest rates, work- study, those are things that we've done together to allow people to have the opportunity of college so that everybody can try to achieve their goal, to have an equal opportunity to achieve those goals with things we have done together in the past. We have been helping businesses find very educated and skilled people to drive our economy. It doesn't matter if you earn $20,000, $30,000, $60,000 or if you are suddenly unemployed because you lost a job. It feels the same if your kids are pushed out of school if they can't afford to pay for it. Getting a degree really makes a difference for many people, whether or not they're going to be able to get a good job. And helping them do that is something we've all decided to invest in. Carrying a huge loan debt, it may mean that you have to delay starting a family, delay buying a house, taking a job that you otherwise wouldn't take.…”