Political Quotes

“I would like to thank the gentleman from Minnesota for his amendment. It improves the bill, and I support its acceptance. Students may be eligible for many different forms of financial aid, and in our effort to improve financial counseling, we should make sure that appropriate disclosures and information are being shared with the borrowers based on the type of aid they are receiving. This amendment addresses Parent PLUS loans, loans that parents or guardians can take out to pay for the education of a dependent student. Parent PLUS loans have a higher interest rate than direct loans, and because they can cover unmet need up to the cost of attendance, the loan balance can grow rather quickly. As such, parents should be counseled that there may be other forms of aid that their student can take advantage of to help reduce the size of the Parent PLUS loan that is needed. A robust counseling program will also inform parents, as the gentleman stated, that there is no penalty to prepaying either the interest or the principal on these loans. Again, Mr. Chair, I support the gentleman's amendment because it improves the underlying legislation, I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.”