[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 80 (Thursday, May 31, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H3280]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
                          ACCESS TO EDUCATION

  (Ms. EDWARDS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. EDWARDS. Mr. Speaker, from an early age, my parents instilled the 
importance of obtaining a quality education. They cultivated a love of 
learning and made it clear how important an education is to success in 
life. They could not have been more right. Higher education is the 
single biggest determining factor for lifetime earning potential, with 
those holding a bachelor's degree earning double the yearly salary of 
someone with a high school diploma.
  And yet, while the benefits of education are clear for America's 
families, my Republican colleagues seem deaf to the message. Even as 
college tuition has increased 28 percent in the last decade, 
Republicans continue to play partisan and ideological politics that 
will only ensure that 7 million students across the country will see 
their interest rates double in July. They're more concerned with 
gutting health care reform and protecting the wealthiest 2 percent and 
Big Oil and corporations than making college more affordable for 
America's students. And the one time House Republicans put the student 
loan issue to a vote, they insisted on slashing critical funding for 
women and children's preventative health care in exchange.
  If you're thinking, ``Oh, no, not again,'' you're right. It's time 
for my Republican colleagues to recognize that students deserve better, 
and it's time to take action to ensure that student loan rates don't 
increase, don't double by July. Actually, time is running out.

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