Student Loan Debt Crisis

Floor Speech

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Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to
be here and speak on the House floor for the first time. I want to
thank my constituents, the 13th Congressional District of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia and Montgomery County, for giving me this unique
opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, I am here to speak about an issue that affects millions
of Americans in the middle class, myself included--the student loan
debt crisis. While I applaud President Obama's announcement of the
America's College Promise proposal, which would provide 2 years of
community college to responsible students, we do need to make expansion
of higher education more enduring through the weight of legislative
action.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, student loan debt
has become the largest form of consumer debt in the United States other
than mortgages. The financial load on America's students has more than
tripled over the past decade to well over $1 trillion. The formidable
costs that aspiring students face as they consider college or trade
school poses an enormous obstacle to their personal and professional
development.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to many other occasions to speak about
this issue, as we clearly have to deal with it as a nation and come
together.

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