The doors to college should be open for every student who wants to attend, but instead skyrocketing tuition costs will price millions of qualified young people out of an education in the next ten years. And students who don’t forgo college are taking on unprecedented levels of debt to pay for it. This college affordability crisis is about to get worse – on July 1, interest rates on college loans will go up. And Republican leaders have responded to all of this by cutting $12 billion out of the federal student aid programs. Democrats believe that making college affordable should be one of our nation’s highest priorities. We need a highly educated workforce to stay ahead of the global pack in competitiveness and innovation. Senator Durbin and I have introduced new legislation that would cut interest rates in half on new college loans for students and parents. If passed, our legislation would save the typical undergraduate student borrower – with $17,500 in debt – $5,600 over the life of his or her loan.

Over the past few months, House Democrats have heard from hundreds of students and families who are all struggling with crippling college costs. From California to Wisconsin to Vermont to Alabama, students ask why their Congress is not giving them a much-needed hand as they pursue a college education and their dreams. Their voices cannot be ignored. It is time for Congress to listen. Cutting interest rates on college loans will be a critical first step to making college more affordable for all Americans.

5 million Americans already could be running their cars on E85, if only they could find a service station that sells it. Biodiesel also is poised to become a useful alternative to traditional gasoline, but again the infrastructure is not there to fuel our cars. H.R. 5534 provides targeted grants to independently owned gas stations and others so that Americans can finally have a choice in how they fuel their vehicles.

Higher education is the single best investment our young people can make in themselves. Higher education is the single best investment families can make in the success of their children. Higher education is the single best investment our nation can make in its future. Yet financial barriers will prevent 4.4 million high school graduates from attending a four-year public college over the next decade, while 2 million high school graduates will attend no college at all. Yesterday, I was pleased to join several of my House Democratic colleagues and young Americans from across the country who shared their stories and called for Congress to reverse the raid on student aid.

While it was inspiring to see so many young people with so much potential, it was also heart-wrenching to know many of them will be saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. One young man, a student at American University and the son of a public school teacher and a painter, shared that he would be shouldering some $40,000 in debt when he graduates. Nationwide, the typical college student graduates with $17,500 in college debt, a chilling discouragement to the young Americans who would be the future leaders, thinkers and innovators of our nation.

At a time when we should be investing in America's college students and high school seniors, we are going in the wrong direction. On July 1, the interest rates on outstanding federal student loans are going to rise to 7.14 percent-the highest rate in six years-and the rate on outstanding federal parent loans will rise to 7.94 percent. College students and their parents should seriously consider consolidating their loans before June 30th. House Democrats have a New Direction for America that includes a plan to cut student loan interest rates in half. But until we can pass legislation that will reduce the burden on our young people, America's working families remain at the mercy of the student loan industry and their Republican allies here in Congress.

To see how much you would save under the Democratic plan, click here http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/calculator.html

If our nation is going to compete successfully in the global economy, we need everyone contributing their creativity, skill, and hard work. That's only going to happen though if we allow our young people the opportunity to get a quality education.So why, when the average college student now graduates with $19,000 worth of debt, is Congress bending over backwards to give tax breaks to oil companies and millionaires instead of helping those students? That's not just immoral, it's bad public policy. Democrats are ready to lead America in a new direction by making college tuition deductible from taxes, expanding Pell grants, and cutting the costs of student loans. 

 

This week, when the House is focused on fiscal restraint and responsibility, the time is ripe to consider legislation to rein in government spending. Year by year, the amount of pork-barrel spending by the federal government is increasing. According to Citizens against Government Waste, the federal government spent $29 billion on 9,963 pork-barrel projects in Fiscal Year 2006, an increase of 6.3% from 2005, and an increase of over 900% since 1991.One way to reduce reckless spending provisions is with a presidential line item veto. I have co-sponsored the Legislative Line Item Veto Act of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) because I firmly believe that it will hold lawmakers accountable for the spending proposals they introduce. Accountability and transparency of pork projects are crucial to successful spending reform, and the American people have a right to know where their hard-earned dollars are being spent.When Congress begins to expose pork projects for what they truly are, the problem of pork will take care if itself.

 

 

Over the years, the Health Center program, which assists low-income uninsured patients, has gained tremendous support from members of both sides of the aisle in Congress and the President - a claim that can be made about very few federal programs. As a nation, we have a long way to go before we locate a health center in every low-income county in this country. To ensure that these goals are met, it was crucial that we pass this bill to reauthorize the health center program, whose current authorization expires this year. Mr. Deal, Mr. Bilirakis and I have put together a compromise bill that would reauthorize the program through 2011, keeping intact the core elements of the program that have been critical to its success.

No you're not experiencing 'de ja vu', just another misguided energy proposal from House Republicans unable to craft sound energy policies.Today the House Resources Committee passed the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act, a risky proposal from Chairman Richard Pombo that would allow for new drilling off our coast. I am disappointed that the committee endorsed a failed energy policy that the Congress and the American people have repeatedly rejected over the last 25 years. Chairman Pombo's proposal is the latest in a series of fatally flawed proposals from House Republicans that rely on drilling off our coasts to solve our nation's energy needs. There is a clear consensus that offshore drilling is the slowest, dirtiest, and most expensive way to address our energy demands. Read more...

Wednesday the House Resources Committee, of which I am a member, will begin mark-up on the Deep Ocean Energy Resources (DOER) Act. While I'm pleased this bill will make us less dependent on foreign oil, I'm really excited the federal government is finally recognizing that Louisiana and other states that support offshore drilling deserve a fair share of the royalties.

Offshore drilling has created good-paying jobs for many Louisianans, but the state has also had to shoulder the burdens that result from supporting this industry, including an eroding coastline and the cost of infrastructure like ports and highways. Despite the fact that Louisiana has been a willing partner in facilitating our domestic energy production, we receive next to nothing of the $6-8 BILLION that flows into the federal treasury every year from royalties paid by companies drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Read more...

Even a small effort to improve the availability of E-85 fuel across the Nation is a step in the right direction. There are millions of vehicles on the road today capable of operating on alternative fuels, however, we need to make the fuel more readily available for consumers. This is an issue of great importance, and I hope it will be addressed in an aggressive and comprehensive manner in the near future.