Press Release - New Report Shows High Gas, College, and Health Care Costs Placing Added Burden on Middle Class Familie

Press Release - New Report Shows High Gas, College, and Health Care Costs Placing Added Burden on Middle Class Families

Cantwell legislation would promote college savings, invest in alternative fuels, and deliver affordable health coverage to small business employees

WASHINGTON, DC - Thursday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) emphasized the importance of proposals she's pushing to help families save for college, promote energy independence, and rein in health care costs following a new report showing that Americans are facing sharp increases in tuition, health insurance, and education expenses.

"Too many families are struggling under out-of-control college price hikes and skyrocketing health care costs," said Cantwell. "And with gas prices at record levels, consumers are facing the added burden of gas bills double what they paid just a few years ago. I'm backing legislation to tackle each of these problems with the real solutions needed to deliver relief to working families in Washington state and across the country. We should pass this legislation today, without any more delays, and I'll continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get these vital proposals signed into law."

According to a new study released Thursday by the Democratic Policy Committee (DPC), between 1999 and 2005—under the watch of the current administration and Republican leaders in Congress—median inflation-adjusted household incomes in Washington state dropped 4.9 percent. Between 2000 and 2005, gas prices in the state rose 93 percent, while the number of uninsured Washingtonians rose 11 percent. In addition, tuition and expenses at state colleges and universities rose 33.5 percent between the 2000-2001 and 2004-2005 school years.

To confront skyrocketing tuition and help families save for college, Cantwell is working to reverse planned cuts to student aid, increase the Pell grant rate, and make the $4,000 college tuition tax credit permanent. Cantwell has introduced legislation to increase by an average of $3,000 the tax benefits for families saving money for their children's education through Coverdell Education Savings Accounts. She is also the sponsor of legislation to increase the maximum annual contribution to Coverdell Education Savings Accounts to $5,000—up from its current level of $2,000. With the help of federal Pell grants, Cantwell was the first member of her family to graduate from college and has worked continuously to make sure today's students have the support and resources they need.

Cantwell has also fought continuously to get to the bottom of years of rising fuel costs that have hit families and businesses hard. Last year, Cantwell introduced legislation now co-sponsored by nearly a third of the Senate that would make gas price-gouging a federal crime. Cantwell has also worked to increase our nation's energy independence and promote greater use of domestically produced biofuels to give Americans a reliable, stable alternative to foreign oil. She has worked to develop a biofuels industry in Washington state, increase the availability of flex-fuel vehicles and biofuel pumps, and improve national fuel economy standards. She has also sponsored comprehensive energy legislation (S.2829) that provides specific legislative measures to reach a national goal of reducing domestic oil consumption equivalent to 40 percent of America's projected imports in the next 20 years.

To help deliver health insurance to America's many small business employees, Cantwell joined a coalition of her Senate colleagues to sponsor the Small Employers Health Benefits Program Act, introduced earlier this year. The proposal would let small businesses join together to pool risk, leverage purchasing power, and give employees a choice between several competing plans. Cantwell has also introduced legislation to cover up to 70,000 uninsured children from low-income Washington state families through the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

According to the report released Thursday, nationwide gas prices have more that doubled since 2000, going from an average of $1.45 per gallon in January 2001 to $2.95 per gallon in August 2006. Since 2000, the number of uninsured Americans has increased by an average of one million per year, with 6.8 million more Americans without health insurance today than in 2000. At present, 46.6 million Americans are without health coverage—an all-time high—caused in part by a 71 percent rise in the average family's health insurance premiums since 2000. Nationwide, the total cost of tuition, fees, room, and board at public four-year colleges and universities has jumped from $8,439 during the 2000-2001 school year to $12,127 during the 2005-2006 school year—a 44 percent increase.

http://cantwell.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=263524&&days=30&