College Student Relief Act of 2007

COLLEGE STUDENT RELIEF ACT OF 2007

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Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my friend, Chairman Miller, for bringing this bill to the floor. We campaigned on the fact that we would do certain things; one of those was to try to bring down college costs as they escalate throughout this country. All of us heard, throughout this country, parents who came up to us, students who came up to us and said, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Miller, Mr. McKeon, we need that done. Mr. Wicker, we need that done.

This bill is not perfect. It doesn't go as far as some would like. Frankly, I would like to have very substantial impact on the Pell Grants, but we have adopted pay-as-you-go because we think you need to pay for what you buy. So we are constrained. But I hear people saying this isn't going to do anything for anybody. I disagree with that.

Madam Speaker, our Nation's economic security and future prosperity are inextricably bound to our ability to compete in the global marketplace. And in the 21st century, a century in which knowledge, skills and creativity are key, our competitiveness necessitates a highly educated citizenry.

As the journalist and author Tom Friedman has observed, and I quote, ``The main challenge to America today comes from the fact that all the walls are being taken down and many other people can now compete and collaborate with us much more directly.' In fact, he has observed that the world is flat. That means we are more competitive. That means that we need to be better able to compete. That means that our young people need to be better educated. That means that we need to give them access to affordable, quality higher education.

Former President Clinton also has remarked that, and I quote, ``We are living in a world where what you can earn is the function of what you can learn.' I think all of us agree with that. That is not a debating item. It is, how do we get there?

Today, Madam Speaker, I am pleased to support this legislation, the College Student Relief Act of 2007, which is the first step by House Democrats to make college more affordable and accessible.

In short, this bill will cut interest rates on need based Federal student loans for undergraduate students from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over 5 years. Why over 5 years? Because we have got to pay for it. It would be very nice to do it like that if we could pay for it. But we are in a position where we are in deep debt. We can't do that.

This legislation will cut the cost of college for an estimated 5.5 million undergraduate students and their families. That is a significant number of people. And when fully phased in, it will save the typical borrower, with $13,800 in need-based student loans, $4,400 in savings over the life of the loan.

Now, frankly, that is not a big sum when you think of the life of the loan. I understand that. But, frankly, we view large sums differently than some others, but we make $165,000 a year. Very few Americans are so privileged.

The irony of course is that at a time when an education is more important than ever to one's success, the costs of attending college have continued to skyrocket. For example, just since 2001 the tuition and fees at public universities have increased 44 percent when adjusted for inflation, and tuition and fees at private universities have risen 17 percent.

Madam Speaker, we simply need to make a college education more affordable and accessible, and this legislation helps us to do that.

Let no one be mistaken, H.R. 5 is not a panacea to the high costs of college education. But it is a good first step, and I know that Mr. Miller and Mr. McKeon are going to be looking at ways and means to do better for our students.

In the weeks ahead, House Democrats will continue to work on efforts to make college more affordable and to help our Nation maintain and strengthen its leadership role in education and the world economy.

Finally, I should note, Madam Speaker, that this bill contains no new costs for taxpayers. It meets all pay-as-you-go budget requirements, containing offsets that pay for the cost of cutting interest rates. This legislation is supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans. Eighty-eight percent is the figure, but whether or not they specifically know about this legislation, the overwhelming majority of Americans know that we have to bring the cost of college education down if we are going to remain competitive.

I congratulate Mr. Miller on his leadership, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation as a step, a good step that we can take to make ourselves more competitive and to give our students greater access to college.

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