Patty Murray

I think every parent in the room just went, 'Oh, my God. That could be me,' and your courage in coming and telling this is incredible.

If we are going to beat this public health crisis, we need to make sure we are providing resources to everyone who is touched by it.

I think this issue is one that we really need to address so all students can feel that they have access to higher education.

I think it is clear that we need to redefine how we talk about the total cost of college.

I want to thank all of you. I have some questions I will submit for the record.

The data is clear that a college degree or credential, including an Associate's Degree, is necessary to compete in today's economy.

We have a Pell Grant program that effectively acts as an entitlement, but we do not fund it that way.

We really must have, in the next reauthorization, something to make sure that debt is truly affordable.

We have millions and millions of workers who scramble every month just to pay back their loans.

We have to increase investments and expand access for all students.

The question we have to ask ourselves all the time is: will this reauthorization of the Higher Education Act leave students better off?

A new study suggests up to 40 percent of students may eventually default on their loans and it is even worse for students of color.

Every second, student debt in this country grows by about $3,000.

Since 2007, 1 year before the last reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, student debt has tripled and the number of students with debt has grown from 28 million to 44 million.

We need to hold college accountable for student outcomes and success, and we need to make sure that every student is able to learn in a safe environment.

Whether there will be additional Federal dollars will be decided by the Appropriations Committee, where Senator Murray is the Ranking Member.

Accountability is obviously important, but it seems to me a one-size-fits-all for 7,000 different colleges is not one that's going to work.

I still believe that maintaining a focus on outcomes for student subgroups was one of the biggest successes of our bipartisan reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Our students' success should be our number-one priority.

We can't loosen guardrails and give colleges free range just because they ask for it.

We must ensure higher education is paying attention to groups of students who have previously struggled.

Colleges that load students with debt that they can't repay, or fail to prepare students to be successful in paying down their debt, should not be able to benefit from taxpayer dollars.

We can't allow schools and colleges to close the door on the students who have the most to gain from higher education.

I hope to hear from you how we can better hold all of our colleges accountable for students' success in higher education.

I appreciate that you listened to my concerns about the Department's implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act so far.