[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5642]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          STUDENT LOAN REFORM

  (Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, in a global economy, 
putting a college education within reach for every American has never 
been more important, but it has also never been more expensive.
  Our Nation's young people have been hit particularly hard over the 
economic downturn in the last several years. In Texas and all across 
the country, students and recent college graduates are now facing the 
highest unemployment rate of any other group. Two-thirds of the class 
of 2010 graduated with an average of $25,000 of student loan debt. 
Young Americans are rightly concerned about their future, and so am I.
  Mr. Speaker, on July 1 of this year, Stafford loan interest rates are 
set to double unless Congress takes action. As we sit here as a 
Congress, we need to work together to prevent this increase. I, along 
with my Democratic colleagues in Congress and President Obama, have 
been working on a number of efforts to make college more affordable.

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