[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5875]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HIGHER EDUCATION REFORM

  (Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Madam Speaker, I believe everyone 
in this Chamber will agree with me that when we invest in our students 
and in our schools, we invest in the future success of this Nation.
  Yet, as I hear from so many of my students back home, the rising 
costs make affording college harder and harder for them and their 
families. On average, the class of 2016 will graduate with about 
$37,000 in student debt, up about 6 percent from last year. The number 
of students graduating from college with debt is about 70 percent of 
them.
  For this reason, comprehensive higher education reform should be at 
the forefront of our legislative agenda here in Congress. Programs such 
as the Pell grant and the Perkins Loan Program should be increased so 
that we can increase the availability of the American Dream.
  Next week I plan to reintroduce the Middle Class CHANCE Act, which 
will aid our students in affording college by increasing the strength 
of the Pell Grant.
  It is time for this Congress to address the increasing costs of 
college and make college more affordable for future generations and 
working families.

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