A generation ago a high school diploma was the ticket to a good paying job you could work at your entire life, health care for you and your family, and a pension for when you retired. Today that middle class life is harder and harder to come by with just a high school diploma. Over the next 10 years, 80 percent of the new jobs will require more then a college diploma.

For those aspiring to live the American dream of owning a house, buying a car, sending their children to college, and retiring with dignity, a college degree is necessary. Today we are facing new challenges, globalization is transforming our economy, technology is forcing workers to adapt to new jobs and learn new skills, and there are too many good jobs are still going overseas.  Gone are the days when a family could count on their job to provide good health insurance or a pension. 

Hoosiers have always believed that if you work hard and played by the rules, you could make a good life for yourself and your family. For generations, parents and children have made the tough decisions and sacrifices to ensure that they received a college degree and could build a better life for themselves. This is becoming harder to do.

We must begin by making college more affordable.  In a global economy that values ingenuity and technical know-how, a college degree is vital. We must now make it affordable.

Over the last five years, tuition at a private college has increased 28 percent, 55 percent at a public college, and 41 percent at a two-year college. This trend is not slowing down.  Tuition at a public college went up $344 from last year. This is putting the dream of college out of reach for many Hoosiers.

I was in South Bend yesterday talking with college students about the rising cost and the importance of a college degree. They told me how skyrocketing tuition is hurting them. Some of them, like Pam Mathews, a single mom who is balancing school and work while still raising two beautiful young daughters, told me how tough it is but how she knows it is worth it.

That is why I am co-sponsoring legislation to make it easier for middle class families to afford college. Right now over 200,000 Hoosiers take advantage of college education tax credits; my bill would give middle class families $2,500 in tax relief to help them pay for college and build a better life for themselves and their family.

Hoosiers families are not looking for a hand-out, just a hand-up to help them achieve the American dream. It is time we stood up for them and helped them reach the promise of the American life. This bill will help put that dream within their reach.