College Cost Reduction Act Of 2007

Floor Speech

COLLEGE COST REDUCTION ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - July 11, 2007)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this measure.

I come from the district in Connecticut that's the home of the University of Connecticut, Eastern Connecticut State University, three community colleges, Conn. College, Mitchell College. We are the higher ed district of the State of Connecticut. New loan assistance and aid through grants in the amount of $130 million will be coming to Connecticut as a result of this measure being passed, which, again, is great news for my district.

Frankly, this bill is about something more than just parochial priorities, which are very important to my district. It's also about the change of direction that this new Congress is keeping faith with with passage of this legislation.

When I campaigned last year as a challenger in the closest race in America, the decision of the last Congress to take $12 billion out of the higher education account and use it to raise interest rates on student loans for the purpose of making sure that the Paris Hilton stratum of American society was going to get their tax cuts was a perfect symbol for how out of touch the prior Congress was with the needs of America.

Passing this legislation will keep faith with the voters who had the courage to vote for change.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source