[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 61 (Monday, April 3, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H4077-H4078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         STUDENT LOAN PROGRAMS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina [Mrs. Clayton] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, we are confronted with yet another 
proposal for change. Too much change in too short a time--a ``dizzying 
disorientation,'' said the writer Toffler.
  The majority has outlined plans to abolish or restructure four 
programs that provide aid to college students.
  The drastic changes proposed will add almost $13 billion, over the 
next 5 years, to the cost of going to college.
  Needy students from across the country who now make the choice to go 
to college will no longer have a chance to do so.
  Four programs are targeted--College Work Study; Perkins Student 
Loans; Stafford Interest-Deferred Student Loans; and Supplemental 
Education Opportunity Grants.
  This elimination and restructuring of college student aid programs 
come hot on the heels of $1.7 billion in cuts in other education 
programs serving low- and middle-income families.
  Under College Work Study, Federal dollars are provided to colleges to 
provide jobs for low- and middle-income students.
  Three quarters of a million students who worked their way through 
college last year, will not have that opportunity next year.
  Under the Perkins Loan Program, the Federal Government provides money 
to colleges to establish low-interest loan funds for their students.
  Another three quarters of a million students who borrowed Perkins 
money for their education last year, will not have that opportunity 
next year.
  Stafford loans allow low- or middle-income students to borrow money 
for their education and defer repayment of the loan, including 
interest, until 6 months after graduation.
  Under the Stafford Loan Program, needy students can attend and 
complete college, without having to worry about loan repayments until 
they have jobs.
  Four and a half million students who received Stafford loans last 
year, without the burden of interest repayment while studying, will 
carry that burden next year.
  And, the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program is a 
direct grant program that goes primarily to low-income, truly needy 
students.
  Nearly a million truly needy students who received grants under this 
program last year will not receive those grants next year. That program 
will be eliminated, if the majority prevails.
  The pace of proposed change at which the proponents of change have 
been operating is unprecedented in the history of Congress.
  But, they want change for the sake of change.
  They want to restructure or eliminate programs and change public 
policy affecting millions of college students, who have been working 
for the future.
  In a mad rush to do something different, they can not be sure that 
they are doing something better.
  They fail to hear Karr, who commented, ``The more things change, the 
more they remain the same.''
  They miss the point of Patton, a great Army general, who stated, 
``Weapons change, but man who uses them changes not at all.''
  [[Page H4078]] They have the votes. They will try to change these 
programs, but they can not crush the spirit that created them.
  These programs were prudent when they were created, and they are 
prudent now.
  Those who blindly push for change have not considered the wise words 
of Shelley, whose poetry is as penetrating in 1995 as it was in 1821,

     I am the daughter of earth and water,
     And the nursling of the sky,
     I pass through the pores
     of the oceans and shores,
     I change, but I can not die.

  If they want real change, they should change the minimum wage.
  If they want meaningful change, they should change the tax cut they 
have proposed for the wealthiest Americans to focus on working families 
and the middle class.
  If they want change that makes a difference, they should change their 
Personal Responsibility Act and restore school lunch programs for 
children.
  If they want significant change, they should change their minds about 
cutting college student aid programs.
  We will fight these changes to the long-standing effective college 
student aid programs.
  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 
1964, said, ``The tortious road millions are traveling to find a new 
sense of dignity, will, I am convinced be widened into a superhighway 
of justice.''
  Today's college student deserves to learn about Toffler, Karr, 
Patton, Shelley, and King.
  Change for the sake of change is obviously useless. Secretary Riley 
had it right when he said, ``Education is a national priority.'' 
Education of our youth is an investment in our Nation's future.


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