Last night Chairman George Miller was on the ED show to talk about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.
Transcript:
Ed Schultz: Joining me now is Congressman George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. You know, Congressman, I appreciate your time tonight. This is a very important story. I know we have been hammering on health care. We got the budget and everything else. We have got kids in the street in this country that are saying, we're getting a raw deal. And it is getting a heck of a lot tougher to educate the next generation and get out with a bunch of debt on their back. Let me ask you a bunch with of questions about education, if I can, George. Did the stimulus package have anything to do with help in this area?
Chairman Miller: Sure it did. The stimulus package provided a huge amount of money to the states for all kinds of general assistance, much to have directed at education, much of it directed at general assistance to try to help states at time of deficits and so that allowed them to provide additional assistance to colleges and university it is they chose to do that some governors did and some governors haven't. And now, of course, the states and local governments expect even worse fiscal years this year than they had -- than they had last year, but the general trend, Ed, and you are right on this, the general trend is that the states have been walking away from their obligation to fund their public institutions in the various states and the federal government comes along we add additional money to fight cost of colleges and the states take it out the bottom and we put it in the top. That system's got to stop. And we have started taking steps to stop that. We did it in the last higher education bill. We said if you don't continue to fund your universities at the -- I think it is 2006 level, then don't come asking us for additional federal dollars. but the most important thing is when the students get done protesting the universities and the governor's office, they should go to the banks, 'cause the banks in Washington, D.C. today, tonight and tomorrow and every day until -- until the end of this year trying to kill the student aid bill that we passed in the house that would provide $40 billion in additional grants, not loans, to hard-working families to pay for the education of their children. And it would provide -- it would provide additional -- trying to keep interest rates alone. We took subsidies away from the banks to give to the students and their families to improve education. The fact of the matter is now, in the Senate, the banks have got a full-court press on to stop this bill from passing. It is the President's highest education priority.
Ed Schultz: well, back in April last year, when I first came to MSNBC, Dick Durbin told me that the banks own the senate. I think we are seeing this right now and we are also seeing –
Chairman Miller: These students do change that dynamic. This student do change that dynamic.
Ed Schultz: Right now, you have got a younger generation that voted for change that is in the streets right now across the country. This is the face and the effect of trickle-down economics in this country. When you allow tax cuts to go to the top 2%, when you have unfunded mandates, when you have a Medicare prescription drug bill that is not accounted for. When you go to war and it's off the budget, this is what you get. This is our infrastructure that is crumbling before our eyes because back in the '60s, kids weren't in the streets. Back in the '70s, '80s and '90s, they weren't in the streets doing this. Where is the breaking point on this, Congressman?
Chairman Miller: I think -- I think you have arrived at families are stressed. Individual students are stressed. Students that had jobs to help them pay for their education in many instances have lost hours or lost those jobs and so education is a much more difficult thing for families and for students. But the point is that there's help on the way if you can get the banks out of the way.
Ed Schultz: well –
Chairman Miller: That's the point.
Ed Schultz: are you going to get any Republican help on that?
Chairman Miller: Ed, ED, ED, think about $87 billion that this President said he wants to provide for working-class families to send kids to school.
Ed Schultz: He is trying to do it.
Chairman Miller: $87 billion, it is the largest –
Ed Schultz: not getting help from the Republicans on it, are you?
Chairman Miller: Didn't get any help in the house, I don't see much help in the Senate. They objected on 60 votes. So now we are going to try to do it with the health care by majority vote but it's still tough. There’s people in their shilling for the banks, trying to kill this bill so the banks -- imagine, we are going to continue to pay them a subsidy to loan government money.
Ed Schultz: Amazing.
Chairman Miller: Think about that.
Ed Schultz: Congressman, great to have you.
Chairman Miller: You can make money just going to bed at night if that is the racket you are in.
Ed Schultz: That is the racket they are in
Ed Schultz: Joining me now is Congressman George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. You know, Congressman, I appreciate your time tonight. This is a very important story. I know we have been hammering on health care. We got the budget and everything else. We have got kids in the street in this country that are saying, we're getting a raw deal. And it is getting a heck of a lot tougher to educate the next generation and get out with a bunch of debt on their back. Let me ask you a bunch with of questions about education, if I can, George. Did the stimulus package have anything to do with help in this area?
Chairman Miller: Sure it did. The stimulus package provided a huge amount of money to the states for all kinds of general assistance, much to have directed at education, much of it directed at general assistance to try to help states at time of deficits and so that allowed them to provide additional assistance to colleges and university it is they chose to do that some governors did and some governors haven't. And now, of course, the states and local governments expect even worse fiscal years this year than they had -- than they had last year, but the general trend, Ed, and you are right on this, the general trend is that the states have been walking away from their obligation to fund their public institutions in the various states and the federal government comes along we add additional money to fight cost of colleges and the states take it out the bottom and we put it in the top. That system's got to stop. And we have started taking steps to stop that. We did it in the last higher education bill. We said if you don't continue to fund your universities at the -- I think it is 2006 level, then don't come asking us for additional federal dollars. but the most important thing is when the students get done protesting the universities and the governor's office, they should go to the banks, 'cause the banks in Washington, D.C. today, tonight and tomorrow and every day until -- until the end of this year trying to kill the student aid bill that we passed in the house that would provide $40 billion in additional grants, not loans, to hard-working families to pay for the education of their children. And it would provide -- it would provide additional -- trying to keep interest rates alone. We took subsidies away from the banks to give to the students and their families to improve education. The fact of the matter is now, in the Senate, the banks have got a full-court press on to stop this bill from passing. It is the President's highest education priority.
Ed Schultz: well, back in April last year, when I first came to MSNBC, Dick Durbin told me that the banks own the senate. I think we are seeing this right now and we are also seeing –
Chairman Miller: These students do change that dynamic. This student do change that dynamic.
Ed Schultz: Right now, you have got a younger generation that voted for change that is in the streets right now across the country. This is the face and the effect of trickle-down economics in this country. When you allow tax cuts to go to the top 2%, when you have unfunded mandates, when you have a Medicare prescription drug bill that is not accounted for. When you go to war and it's off the budget, this is what you get. This is our infrastructure that is crumbling before our eyes because back in the '60s, kids weren't in the streets. Back in the '70s, '80s and '90s, they weren't in the streets doing this. Where is the breaking point on this, Congressman?
Chairman Miller: I think -- I think you have arrived at families are stressed. Individual students are stressed. Students that had jobs to help them pay for their education in many instances have lost hours or lost those jobs and so education is a much more difficult thing for families and for students. But the point is that there's help on the way if you can get the banks out of the way.
Ed Schultz: well –
Chairman Miller: That's the point.
Ed Schultz: are you going to get any Republican help on that?
Chairman Miller: Ed, ED, ED, think about $87 billion that this President said he wants to provide for working-class families to send kids to school.
Ed Schultz: He is trying to do it.
Chairman Miller: $87 billion, it is the largest –
Ed Schultz: not getting help from the Republicans on it, are you?
Chairman Miller: Didn't get any help in the house, I don't see much help in the Senate. They objected on 60 votes. So now we are going to try to do it with the health care by majority vote but it's still tough. There’s people in their shilling for the banks, trying to kill this bill so the banks -- imagine, we are going to continue to pay them a subsidy to loan government money.
Ed Schultz: Amazing.
Chairman Miller: Think about that.
Ed Schultz: Congressman, great to have you.
Chairman Miller: You can make money just going to bed at night if that is the racket you are in.
Ed Schultz: That is the racket they are in
