[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5376]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           DEBT-FREE COLLEGE

  (Mr. GALLEGO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, a college education should be accessible to 
all Americans.
  Currently, 40 million Americans have student loans, with an average 
balance of $29,000. This impacts our entire economy, as it prevents 
young people from buying homes, starting a family, and even buying a 
car.
  Mr. Speaker, we provide a high school education for all students 
because we recognize the advantages for our children and our society of 
having a good education.
  But a high school education is no longer enough if you want to get a 
good-paying job. A college education is necessary and essential in 
today's society in order to move ahead. It is an essential step to 
getting a good-paying job and joining the middle class.
  Mr. Speaker, we are stacking the deck against our young people. The 
cost of higher education is through the roof, and student loans are 
weighing on our youth at one of the most vulnerable points in their 
lives.
  Mr. Speaker, our parents and grandparents didn't have to take on this 
level of debt just to get an education. It is our responsibility to 
ensure that future generations have the same opportunities that our 
parents and grandparents had to access higher education without the 
burdensome student loan debt that we now carry.

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