Chris Van Hollen: “It is interesting to hear people talk about the fact that this does not totally reduce the cost of going to college…”

“It is interesting to hear people talk about the fact that this does not totally reduce the cost of going to college when, for the past many years, this body has not delivered on that commitment to the American people. In the last campaign, we did make a commitment to reduce the cost of going to college, and this bill is a follow-through on that commitment, and we will reduce the cost. We know in this country that one of the greatest impediments we have to people getting ahead is the burden of the cost of college tuition, a burden that has risen dramatically over the years. Right now, many students who graduate from college are faced with a big debt burden that takes a long time to retire, and even worse than that is the number of students who are deterred from even going to college in the first place because of the cost of going to college and the debts they will incur. This bill takes a significant step toward reducing that burden and opening up the doors of opportunities.”