[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2222-2223]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               REDUCTION IN STUDENT LOANS FOR STEM MAJORS

  (Mr. SOTO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, here in America, we are changing the world 
with our ingenuity and technological advances.
  It is our creative and innovative spirit that allows us to continue 
to be a leader in the world economy and raise the quality of life of 
the human race. We know that jobs of the present and the future will 
require many new students and retrained workers to pursue STEM 
degrees--those in science, technology, engineering, and math.
  While many politicians have talked a good game about encouraging 
students to pursue these degrees, it is time to put our money where our 
mouth is. Today I introduced the ASPIRE Act, H.R. 926, the American 
Science Principal and Interest Reduction and Employment Act. This act 
would grant a 25 percent reduction in student loans for any student who 
graduates with a STEM major.
  According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, one million new 
STEM jobs are projected to come online between 2012 to 2022, for a 
total of

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9 million, 13 percent growth over the decade. This means we must act 
now to meet these needs, and I encourage all of you to cosponsor this 
important legislation.
  It is time to create real incentives to encourage our students to 
aspire to new heights and create the jobs of tomorrow today.

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