Pete Sessions: “I intended to come to the floor today, along with Senators Bob Graham, Mitch McConnell and Paul Coverdell, to offer an…”

“I intended to come to the floor today, along with Senators Bob Graham, Mitch McConnell and Paul Coverdell, to offer an amendment to the Higher Education Act that would have helped more than 2.5 million students afford a college education. I would like to particularly recognize the outstanding efforts of my good friend from Kentucky, Senator McConnell. He has been a true champion of this issue for quite a number of years. Senator Bob Graham of Florida has done an outstanding job of guiding and helping us work on this amendment and handle it in the proper way. His advice and leadership have been crucial in gaining the support for this amendment that we think is necessary for its passage. Let me take a few minutes to discuss the concept of prepaid tuition plans and why they are critically important to help America's families. As a parent myself, who has put two children through college--I just had my second one graduate in May, and another one is currently in college--I know firsthand that America's families are struggling to meet the rising cost of higher education. In fact, American families have already accrued more college debt in the 1990s than during the previous three decades combined.”