Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 3594, the Higher Education Extension Act, and I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. Bishop, as well as my colleagues, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. Messer, and Ranking Member Scott, for their leadership on this issue. This bill would extend the Perkins Loan Program for 1 year. Perkins loans are need-based loans which foster access to higher education for low-income students by providing low-interest loans to students in need. Colleges and universities tailor the program to best fit borrowers' and educational institutions' situations. Perkins is a risk-sharing program, with institutions contributing one-third of their students' awards. This ``ownership interest'' also contributes to the successful management of this vital program. We have only 2 days before the Perkins Loan Program is set to expire, so we must act immediately. Since its inception in 1958, over $28 billion in loans have been made to students through almost 26 million aid awards. Perkins Loan borrowers are predominantly from lower income families and are often the first in their family to attend college. Perkins loans have a set interest rate of 5 percent, which begins to accrue 9 months after the borrower ceases to be a student. However, this program has not been reauthorized since the 2009 fiscal year.…”