[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4323]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, at 3:30 p.m., I am hosting a 
public discussion at the Community College of Rhode Island Lincoln 
campus to highlight financial aid opportunities for students and the 
work we need to do in Congress to address the crisis of student debt.
  Our young people are drowning in student debt. It is projected that 
65 percent of the job openings by 2020 will require postsecondary 
education or training beyond high school, so this will become even more 
urgent.
  The cost of education in a 4-year university has increased 250 
percent since 1979, while real wages have stayed about the same.
  Compared to 1979, students pay $26,000 more per year for a private 
university and $11,000 more each year at a public university. The 
average Rhode Island college student has over $31,000 in student loan 
debt, the fourth highest in the country.
  We need to guarantee young people that they can graduate from college 
debt free. We need to allow students to refinance existing debt at 
lower rates, and we need to increase Pell grants and other investments 
in higher education. This needs to be a national priority. We need to 
do it now. Our future depends on it.

                          ____________________