Political Quotes

“I am very disappointed that my offer to extend the Federal Perkins Loan Program was just blocked by my Republican colleague from Tennessee. While I understand and, frankly, I share his desire to have a broader conversation about Federal student aid as part of the Higher Education Act's reauthorization effort, I do not think it is right or fair to end this program today with nothing to replace it to the detriment of thousands of students in need. I want to mention briefly the issue of the cost of its reauthorization because when the decision was made to sunset the program, a clawback provision was included that basically collects the loan funds back from the institutions that loan it out. It is actually a revolving fund--which I will return to later--which makes it such a fiscally responsible loan program. When I travel around my home State of Wisconsin, one of the things I hear the most about these days from my constituents is their frustration that Congress isn't doing enough to make higher education more affordable and more accessible. Yet, today, the fact that we just saw a single Senator stand up and reject a bipartisan and commonsense measure to do just that is, frankly, a perfect example of why my constituents and the American people are so upset with Washington.…”