Political Quotes

“Madam President, I come to the floor to share some letters I have received about the importance of freezing the 3.4 percent Stafford subsidized college loan program. It is important because there are some 380,000 students in my home State of Ohio alone who are in the Stafford subsidized loan program. Many of them will see as they continue their college education--whether it is at Sinclair Community College in Dayton or Youngstown State or Hiram College--where their costs are continuing to go up. We know the average Ohio 4-year college graduate has about $27,000 in student loan debt. That is much higher than people had a decade ago or 20 years ago or 30 years ago or so when my generation was in college. Federally subsidized student loans have been a reliable answer for so many in my State. I wish to encourage people to tell their stories. Some of my colleagues in the Senate are doing this also, but I urge people in Ohio to go to brown.senate.gov/collegeloanstories, and tell your story about how important this is. The disappointment is that 5 years ago this was bipartisan. President Bush signed a bill that many of us here sponsored, in both parties, in a Democratic House, Democratic Senate, a good bipartisan support, signed by a Republican President to lock in for 5 years this 3.4 interest rate.…”