On the recordApril 18, 2012
I hope that what you're speaking about, kind of the young people of our country, not just the students, but the families of students who are affected--I was at a Portuguese social club recently, and a woman constituent of mine, a single mom, said, I have three children, and this question of what's going to happen to student loans and whether or not their interest rate is going to go up is important. This is an issue not just for the students but for the whole family. I'm hoping that young people and families who are affected by this issue, which are obviously millions of Americans, will reach out to their Members of Congress and be sure their voices are being heard in this discussion because, I think, that's our only hope that there be sort of a national movement. I know U.S. PIRG is helping to really bring pressure on our Speaker and on our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to take the legislative action that will correct this. The point we have to really underscore is it's not just for the student; it's for the sake of our country. Our young people are competing not just with a person in Connecticut or New York; they are competing with people all over the world in an increasingly global and competitive economy. We owe it to them to ensure that they have access to the best quality education we can provide. The interest rate doubling on their loans is clearly an impediment to that. We owe it to them, but we owe it to ourselves as a country. So I thank you again.
