[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 18, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E485-E486]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF THE COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY AND LIFETIME SAVINGS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 18, 2003

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to submit, 
with sixty-three of my colleagues in the House, the College 
Affordability and Lifetime Savings Act.
  According to the Department of Education, more than 7 million 
students will take out a Federal student loan this year to help finance 
their college education. As tuition costs swell and grant-aid fails to 
keep pace, students and their families are increasingly turning to 
loans as the primary mechanism to finance a higher education. While 
student loans make the college dream a reality for millions, they all 
too often turn into a nightmare of debt.
  Over the past eight years the typical student loan debt has almost 
doubled to $16,928. In addition, 39 percent of all student borrowers 
now graduate with unmanageable debt levels. Too many student borrowers 
struggle to make their monthly loan payments, and many must forgo 
savings, public service careers, and major purchases.
  Borrowing for higher education should be a sound investment for the 
future, both for the student, and society. Yet, today we are asking far 
too many students to mortgage their future at too high a cost.
  Unfortunately, President Bush and the Republican leadership in 
Congress have ignored the pleas from millions of Americans to make 
student aid funding a priority. Instead, just at the time when students 
and their families need help the most to make ends meet, President

[[Page E486]]

Bush and the Republican leadership have responded by cutting key 
student aid programs. Just last week, House Republicans demanded that 
we finance President Bush's tax cut on the backs of students by cutting 
$4.7 billion in aid to student borrowers. This could force the typical 
borrower to pay an additional $170 in student loan taxes over the life 
of their loans.
  This is unacceptable, and we must do better by delivering sound 
legislation that helps Americans to make the college dream a viable 
reality.
  The College Affordability and Lifetime Savings Act will help ease the 
burden of student loan debt for millions of Americans. The Act will 
change the current student loan tax deduction benefit to a tax credit--
which will deliver a larger rebate on the interest paid on student 
loans to borrowers, particularly those who are struggling the most to 
make ends meet. The savings for the typical borrower who is earning 
$20,000 a year will more than triple, to $347, in their first year of 
repayment. The Act will also help expand this benefit to more middle 
class families, allowing them to claim rebates, too.
  I urge you to support the College Affordability and Lifetime Savings 
Act as a means to ensure that a college investment remains the 
investment of a lifetime for all Americans.

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