Boehner Column: As you head back to school, remember these things

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) today released the following column:

With school starting back up for most students in our area, there are a few things I’d like you to keep in mind this year.

If you’re a high school junior or senior in Ohio’s Eighth Congressional District who is interested in attending a Military Service Academy, you have until Friday, October 31, 2014, to apply for a nomination from my office. Call 513-779-5400 for more information.

And college students – remember that internship applications for spring of 2015 are currently being accepted in my Ohio district offices and Washington, DC Office. Spring applications are due by November 1, 2014.

Of course, to help all students pursue their education, the Republican-led House of Representatives has passed a number of bills this year to make tuition more affordable and college more accessible. This is, without a doubt, one of the most important things we can do to support hardworking families and fuel economic growth, and we’re going to keep working on it.

“The University of Cincinnati and its over 42,000 students applaud the House of Representatives for taking bipartisan action to begin the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act,” says Santa J. Ono, President of the University of Cincinnati. “We are pleased that Congress is working to expand transparency for our students through the ‘Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act’ … we support efforts to bring greater transparency to higher education and provide more information to students making important decisions about postsecondary education options.”

Our bills will: make it easier for students to apply real-world skills and experience toward a college education; enhance student loan counseling; simplify the tax code to make paying for college easier – and more.

On the consumer-tested College Dashboard that one of our House-passed bills creates, Michael Kabbaz, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success at Miami University, says: “The more information students and families can access in making college decisions, the more likely they are to make better choices that will lead to the success of those students.”

And President of The Ohio State University, Dr. Michael V. Drake, says, “We are extremely pleased that [these] bills received bipartisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives. These actions will collectively work to strengthen transparency in the higher education system and empower college students at Ohio State and across the country.”

But I’ve long said that the best way to help pay for college and deal with student loan debt is a job, which is why we’ve passed dozens of pro-growth jobs bills in the Republican-led House of Representatives to get Big Government out of the way and help more Americans secure the American Dream. Those bills, however, sit stuck in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and I continue to press Senate Democrats for more action on our 40+ House-passed jobs bills that would grow our economy. Visit speaker.gov/JOBS to learn more.

So, again, as you head back to school, I hope you’ll remember all of these things. For information on all of this and more, I encourage you to visit the “Information for Students” page on my website, Boehner.House.Gov.