[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 17, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H580]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H580]]
    SUPPORT COLLEGE LOAN INTEREST RATE CUTS AND MAKING COLLEGE MORE 
                               AFFORDABLE

  (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, as a former teacher and as a member of the 
Education and Labor Committee, I am concerned by the fact that as the 
need for post-high school education increases in our country, so has 
the high price of attending college. Tuition fees at public 
universities have increased 41 percent after inflation since the year 
2000.
  A recent report highlighted my home State of New Jersey as having the 
highest college costs in the Nation for 4-year public institutions. 
Including tuition and room and board, it costs an average of $17,515 to 
attend a public 4-year university or college in New Jersey, about 
$5,600 over the national average. Because of these skyrocketing costs, 
many students and their families must take out student loans.
  Unfortunately, thanks to the policies of the Bush administration in 
the past and of a Republican-controlled Congress, interest rates have 
increased as funding to college programs have been cut. Now this 
Congress has a chance to pursue a positive course by broadening college 
opportunities for all American students.
  A Democratic bill coming before the House today, as part of the 100-
hour agenda, will cut interest rates for the student loans, and, so, 
therefore, I ask, Mr. Speaker, that as our economy becomes more 
important day by day, it is important that we have a workforce that 
will be able to appreciate lower costs. This legislation will give more 
college-bound teens the ability to afford college, and that is why it 
should receive strong bipartisan support.

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