Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman for this colloquy and for the moment at which we have now arrived. Mr. President, I rise to speak about the Perkins Loan Program--a vital investment in students that has been successful in helping Americans access affordable higher education and pursue their dreams. Due to Senate inaction, the Perkins Loan Program lapsed at the end of September. I have twice come to the floor to urge my colleagues to take action and extend this critical student loan program which has helped literally millions of America's low-income students for more than half a century. I am proud to have earned the support of a strong bipartisan majority in the Senate to continue this investment. Since the program's expiration, a growing chorus of advocates, students, and colleges and universities have joined our bipartisan coalition in calling on the Senate to act. As has been well documented, my friend Chairman Alexander and I have had our differences on this issue. As he just shared, he has objected to my previous efforts to revive the Perkins Loan Program due to his concerns with the program that he wanted to address as a part of the discussion about reauthorizing the Higher Education Act--a discussion, by the way, I very much look forward to.…”