[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 180 (Monday, November 6, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H8501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 EDUCATION IS THE NUMBER ONE EQUALIZER

  (Ms. BARRAGAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because I think education is 
the number one equalizer. It is the door to opportunity, yet the GOP 
tax plan will make it harder to afford to be able to go to college.
  When I was a kid, my parents--both immigrants from Mexico, where mom 
only had a third grade education--told me that I had to become a doctor 
or a lawyer. That was the only way to get out of the poverty that we 
lived in.
  As a result, I went to college. I was saddled in student loan debt 
when I came out. As a matter of fact, I still have over $50,000 of 
student loan debt. It shouldn't be this way.
  Congress should be working to make it easier to go to college so that 
there is debt-free college, or at least make it more affordable. 
Unfortunately, that is not the case.
  Instead, Congress is considering a terrible GOP tax plan that 
proposes to eliminate the student loan interest deduction and lifetime 
learning credits. Under current rules, borrowers paying off education 
loans can deduct up to $2,500 of interest paid on student loans.
  Deductions lower your taxable income. About 12.4 million people 
claimed it for the year 2015. You can claim the student loan break for 
several years after college while paying off the loans.
  The GOP tax plan would destroy this key deduction for young graduates 
and workers getting the job training they need to succeed in the 21st 
century economy.
  Millenials and young workers, if you disagree, rise and have your 
voice heard today. Just say no to the GOP tax plan that only makes it 
harder to afford college.

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