[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 60 (Wednesday, April 25, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H2075-H2076]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE STUDENT LOAN AFFORDABILITY ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Richardson) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, the higher education system in the 
United States has for many years been the envy of the world. The 
universities here are a part of America's backbone, providing young 
people with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in today's 
changing global economy.
  However, Mr. Speaker, right now, the cost of tuition at universities 
has risen so dramatically all across this country that attendance is 
tough to achieve. Nowhere is this truer than in public universities in 
the State of California that I represent, where budget cuts, furlough 
days, and tuition increases have become a new normal--at the expense of 
higher learning. Average in-

[[Page H2076]]

State tuition and fees at public 4-year institutions have risen 8.3 
percent in 2010 and now in the classes in 2011.
  As a result of these increases, tuition at public and private 
universities now has caused student loan debt to exceed credit card 
debt, totaling $870 billion, and it's expected to reach $1 trillion 
this year. Students graduating from college between 2006 and 2010 had a 
median student loan debt of over $20,000. Not only are young adults in 
debt, but recent graduates are also facing one of the toughest job 
markets in recent memory.
  In 2007, when I started here in Congress, we worked to pass the 
College Cost Reduction and Access Act which, among many other things, 
lowered the interest rate of subsidized Stafford loans from 6.8 percent 
to 3.4 percent. As a result of these lower interest rates on federally 
subsidized student loans, more students were able to afford to go to 
college. In order to keep college affordable, Democrats in Congress and 
President Obama are urging the House GOP leadership to bring forward 
the legislation that would prevent these interest rates on student 
loans from doubling this July.
  I'm a proud cosponsor of H.R. 3826, the Student Loan Affordability 
Act, which will prevent the interest rate on subsidized Stafford loans 
from doubling in July. By extending the current interest rate, we are 
making an investment in our country's future. Our economy depends upon 
the educated workforce to out-compete and to out-innovate the rest of 
the world, which is something we've been known to do for quite some 
time.
  Statistics tell us that it also makes a difference if you're able to 
go to college. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 
unemployment rate for those 25 years and older who've got their 
bachelor's degree is only 4.2 percent, but for those, unfortunately, 
who were not able to attend and graduate, the unemployment rate exceeds 
over 10 percent.
  Unlike Pell grants, which provide a vital benefit to low-income 
families and students, Stafford student loans also benefit middle-
income families who need financial assistance as well. Congress should 
not wait and allow this increase to take place. It would, for all 
intents and purposes, be a tax increase on middle- and low-income 
families and students during this very fragile economic recovery.
  I urge the Republican majority and Speaker Boehner to take action now 
to prevent this increase. We are seeing right now the impact on the 
American economy when Congress waits too long to act on issues of 
national importance such as our Nation's debt. Students and families 
cannot wait any longer to know how much they will have to pay and owe 
coming out of college. Why? Because that might impact whether they can 
even go at all.

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