[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 58 (Wednesday, March 29, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H3967-H3968]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   STUDENT LOAN PROGRAMS IN JEOPARDY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Becerra] is recognized for 60 minutes.
  Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, I would like to discuss something of 
grave concern to me, because although I do not have a child who is of 
college age yet, in about 6 years I will, and in about 18 years, God 
willing, I will also have another child that will be preparing to go to 
college.
  Today I would like to address the whole issue of what is happening in 
this Congress, and to me what is happening and what will happen perhaps 
next week is the devastation of the opportunity of young people to 
become professionals and become productive members of our society.
  The Republican Contract With America calls for cuts. It calls for tax 
cuts that will go to those privileged few in our society that are very 
wealthy. And it calls for cuts, cuts to programs that help seniors, 
cuts to programs that help children, and cuts to people who are 
preparing to go on to college.
  Whether you are 5 years of age or whether you are 22 years of age, it 
does not matter; the Contract With America is bad news for you. Last 
week we passed in this House welfare proposals that were contained 
within the Contract With America. Unfortunately, what this proposal did 
was cut school lunch programs, it cut child care, it cut aid to 
disabled students, all for the purpose of trying not just as we were 
told to try to reform welfare, but also to provide billions of dollars 
to pay for these tax cuts that we will see next week on the floor of 
this House for discussion, which will ultimately go mostly as I said 
before to the privileged few.
  Within the next weeks we will also see something that will be of 
interest not to just to those that are 5 years of age, not just to 
those who have children 5 years of age, but to those who wish to go on 
to college, and that is, of course, what we see written, for example, 
in U.S. News and World Report where they say that ``Every major Federal 
college aid program is considered a target in one form or another by 
the new Republican majority in Congress.''
  What does that mean? Financial aid for middle-class students today is 
in jeopardy. In fact, it is not only in jeopardy, it may become a thing 
of the past. Why? The Contract With America calls for the
  Congress to pay for these tax cuts. And one of the ways they plan to 
do that, as we understand so far from the majority, is they plan to 
eliminate four major student aid programs. The first is subsidized 
Stafford student loans; the second is work study programs; the third is 
supplemental education opportunity grants for very low income and 
disadvantaged students; and fourth is a Perkins loan program, which 
also provides loans to low- and middle-income students. These four 
programs constitute about 75 percent of all the student aid that we see 
given out in this Nation.

  Why are the Republicans in this Contract on America doing this? As I 
said before, they have to pay for their tax cuts, which amount to about 
$200 billion over 5 years, and I believe over $800 billion over 10 
years. Somewhere they need to find the money, and they are doing it 
going after not just the kids and school lunch, but we now see college 
students will have to pay the price.
  What we find is that on November 8 people said they wanted to vote 
for change, but what we are finding is people are beginning to realize 
this is not the kind of change that they wish to have. When you talk to 
people, they say that along with things like Social Security, we wish 
to preserve programs that help people become professionals, to become 
productive citizens. We do not wish to deny them the opportunity to 
become full-fledged members of our society.
  These cuts to student aid programs will be devastating. Millions of 
individuals may very well see their economic futures go down the drain. 
This in turn, 
 [[Page H3968]] of course, will threaten the economic future of our own 
country. Getting rid of these four student aid programs will cost about 
$20 billion over the next 5 years for middle-income families.
  Now, let us look at it this way. It is not just the cost, it is a 
tax. Because these are middle-income families that otherwise would have 
been able to help their children go on to college. But because they are 
being taxed in higher fees, less money for student loans, they will now 
be paying the cost of these tax cuts that will be going mostly to the 
privileged few in their Contract With America.
  This is the worst time, by the way, to be cutting back on student 
aid. Tuition is rising rapidly throughout the country. Without any 
assistance, the cost of attending college will go up even more. Some
 will be forced to forgo school altogether.

  In California, tuition rates have skyrocketed. The goal of 
California's master plan of giving every young person the chance to go 
to college, whether it is community college, State university or the 
University of California campuses, is evaporating rapidly. Those 
students who represent the first generation of college students in 
their family just might come home without a degree, a devastating blow 
for parents, students and siblings alike.
  I can give an example: I myself am the first in my family to get an 
education. My parents were immigrants. I would not have been able to 
go, but I took advantage of work study and student aid and student 
loans.
  I hope we will understand this is not the way to go, and we will not 
support the Contract With America's attempt to go after our college 
students.

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