For immediate release: April 25, 2012
Congressman Bass Votes to Put College Out of Reach
CONCORD, NH — Republicans in Congress are continuing their war on the middle class by voting for the “Ryan Budget.” This budget plan not only ends Medicare as we know it but it further hurts the middle class by putting higher education out of reach for millions of Americans. Bass and fellow Congressional Republicans voted in favor of the “Ryan Budget” earlier this month, a vote that would drastically reduce funding for Pell Grants, increasing financial pressure on college students across the nation. Over a million students would see their funding eliminated and even more would see their grants cut. In addition, the interest rates on federally subsidized Stafford loans are scheduled to double unless Congress takes action by July.
For the first time ever student debt is topping $1 trillion. Americans now owe more on student loans than they do on credit cards, yet Congressman Bass and his colleagues in Congress are more focused on tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and on increasing oil and gas subsidies than they are on maintaining access to higher education.
“As the country continues to work its way out of the economic downturn we cannot expect to train tomorrow’s work force by making it harder for them to go to school today,” said Garrick Delzell, Campaign Manager for Annie Kuster (NH-02). “We know that education is a vital part of a successful economy, of a successful nation. That is why Annie will continue to fight for education and access.”
Ann McLane Kuster is a Democratic candidate running for New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District.
BACKGROUND
Ryan’s Plan Cuts Critical Education Programs. “The Department of Education would be cut by more than $115 billion over a decade. 9.6 million students would see their Pell Grants fall by more than $1000 in 2014, and, over the next decade, over one million students would lose support altogether. This would derail bipartisan education reforms and deeply undermine K-12 education and college opportunity […] Roughly two million slots in Head Start would be eliminated over the next decade — cutting 200,000 children from the program in 2014 alone.” [OMB, 3/21/12]
Student Loan Interest Rates Will Double If Republicans Refuse to Act. In 2007, Congress passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which lowered interest rates on federally subsidized Stafford loans from 6.8 percent to the current rate of 3.4 percent. The rate reduction is scheduled to end in 2012 and, according to the New York Times, “If Congress fails to act, the interest rate on the loans, which are taken out by nearly eight million students each year, will double on July 1, to 6.8 percent.” Pending legislation to extend the lower rate currently has 127 House co-sponsors, none of whom are Republicans. [New York Times, 4/20/12]
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