Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BERA. Mr. Chairman, I thank my good friend from Arizona (Mr. O'Halleran) for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of our amendment to H.R. 1635. Our amendment is simple. It would ensure that student borrowers are provided information about the full range of income-based repayment options. This will help students get a full picture of what college is going to look like and give an estimate of what they might owe on a monthly basis over their anticipated career. This additional transparency will make sure students are not caught off guard about their student debt after graduation.

As the co-chair of the California Public Higher Education Caucus, one of my priorities here in Congress has been working to improve the affordability, accessibility, and quality of higher education.

Think about it. I paid $393 a quarter to go to medical school. That meant I could go to 4 years of undergraduate school, 4 years of medical school, get some help from my folks, work part time, a few scholarships, and graduate with less than $10,000 of debt. That is amazing.

Now, I am not that old. We might not be able to get to that place, but the truth is that education has allowed me to do what I have done throughout my life, and that is an investment that pays off.

Let's make sure we make higher education affordable and accessible to our students in that next generation. Let's make sure we keep making those investments, and, again, let's make sure that those students have that transparency and the information that they need to make reasonable decisions.

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