[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1159]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        STUDENT LOAN DEBT CRISIS

  (Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission 
to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to 
be here and speak on the House floor for the first time. I want to 
thank my constituents, the 13th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, 
Philadelphia and Montgomery County, for giving me this unique 
opportunity.
  Mr. Speaker, I am here to speak about an issue that affects millions 
of Americans in the middle class, myself included--the student loan 
debt crisis. While I applaud President Obama's announcement of the 
America's College Promise proposal, which would provide 2 years of 
community college to responsible students, we do need to make expansion 
of higher education more enduring through the weight of legislative 
action.
  According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, student loan debt 
has become the largest form of consumer debt in the United States other 
than mortgages. The financial load on America's students has more than 
tripled over the past decade to well over $1 trillion. The formidable 
costs that aspiring students face as they consider college or trade 
school poses an enormous obstacle to their personal and professional 
development.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to many other occasions to speak about 
this issue, as we clearly have to deal with it as a nation and come 
together.

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