Wednesday, March 1, 2006
Dear
Friend,
What sort of future exists for young people in their 20’s and 30’s? Today, young people are not only leaving college with much more personal debt – nearly two-thirds of all students graduate with an average of $20,000 of student loan debt – but also are burdened by rapidly increasing health care, energy and housing costs. To make matters worse, according to recent studies, young people are working longer hours and still earning less money. We must do more for young people in America today. We must restore the American dream so that young people can achieve financial prosperity through hard work and determination.
One way to address this problem is to help students avoid staggering student loan debt due to the rising cost of college education. I support legislation to increase the value of student aid grants (Pell Grants), which are today worth $900 less than their 1975-1976 value. In addition, we must – and I have been working to – ensure low interest rates on student loans. Work-study programs, which enable campus and community part-time work for students, should be enhanced, not reduced as the President proposes. Still, just as families, schools and the federal government are expected to contribute to a solution, states must reverse the recent trend away from investment in public higher education.
To that end, I authored the College Affordability and Accountability Act, which would provide incentives to keep tuition low so that college would be more affordable for young people. One of the major reasons why college tuition costs have risen dramatically is that state support for higher education, which kept costs lower for students and families, has been declining for decades and then dropped sharply over the past several years. In fact, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ financial commitment to higher education is one of the worst in the country – 47th out of all 50 states.
Substantially increasing our commitment to federal education investments and providing the resources for students to receive an affordable high quality education is the key to restoring the American dream. I am dedicated to making college affordable so we can provide young people with more opportunities and I will continue my hard work in this area.
As always, I welcome your views on these issues.
Sincerely,
John F. Tierney
Member
of Congress
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