[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20066]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             COLLEGE LOANS

  (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, middle-class Americans are feeling more and 
more squeezed by the economy that values productivity, but not enough 
to reward it with an increase in pay. Wages are simply not keeping up 
with inflation, making it more difficult for families to afford monthly 
bills.
  One of the most daunting bills families face today is the bill for 
their children's college education. The average cost for a 4-year 
college at a State university is $40,000 and the cost for private 
colleges top $107,000.
  Democrats want to help families better afford these ever-increasing 
costs. Republicans, on the other hand, refuse to join us in making 
college more affordable. Earlier this year, they actually made college 
more expensive for our Nation's students when they cut $12 billion from 
the higher education budget, forcing college kids to pay more interest 
on loans.
  Valuable dollars for college assistance are being siphoned off by the 
war in Iraq, which this administration chose to wage rather than to 
devote dollars not only to domestic priorities but to finding Osama bin 
Laden.
  Thank you, President Clinton, for telling it like it is and making 
the administration more accountable for their lack of vision and failed 
policies.

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