Political Quotes

“this is incredibly frustrating. I am going to spend a few minutes talking about how this objection, this obstruction is impacting the students of America and the higher education institutions of America. There are real impacts that are being felt right now. Students who have previously received Perkins loans will lose their future eligibility if they change institutions or academic programs. Students seeking Perkins loans for the upcoming winter and spring semesters will not be eligible at all if we don't act soon to reauthorize this program. Finally, all future students will be ineligible for this program. This afternoon right before I came down to the Senate floor, I received a letter from the president of the University of Wisconsin's system, Ray Cross--a letter that was co-signed by all 14 of the UW system university chancellors. In their message, they shared compelling insight into how the sudden end to the Federal Perkins Loan Program is already affecting Wisconsin students. They then closed their letter with this: [W]e need to keep this program in place. After all, our job is to help students who would not otherwise be able to attend higher education and to help them overcome barriers, particularly financial barriers, all of which helps to ensure access, retention, completion, and a skilled workforce. These are goals upon which all of us can agree.…”