Future Forum
Floor Speech
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First of all, I want to thank the gentleman from California for putting this together and, really, your leadership. You have been at this for years now, talking to other Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, reminding them about what a critical issue this is.
Whether I am talking to constituents in my district throughout the State of Florida or people here in the House, we have to do more to help more people get access to quality and affordable education at all levels, but certainly higher education.
When you look at what I would argue is one of the biggest problems in our country right now--and that is the disappearing middle class and this growing divide we have in our country--unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, as economies continue to evolve and progress, education becomes more and more of a critical component of that.
Yet, you look at the policies and you look at really what is holding so many people back, just listening to the gentleman from New York here talking about that lack of opportunity and the debt that is holding so many people back from taking that risk to go ahead and become that entrepreneur, to be that innovative spirit that made America so great because they might have $100,000 of debt, they might have a family, they might have some kids, and they are so concerned about this debt, they don't want to take that risk.
That is not what America is about. America is about taking that risk with having education to do it and then turning it into something great. And understanding that not every risk is going to always pay off, but you have to have that background, that education, to get you there.
And if you are saddled with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt and overly complex methods to repay them, not being able to refinance, et cetera, then you have a problem.
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Mr. Speaker, adding on to what the gentleman from New York said, not only should we be looking at those sorts of proposals, but we should be looking at some of the existing programs we have, like Pell grants. The numbers that we have been talking about, this skyrocketing cost of education has increased 200-some percent over the last decade. That is unsustainable.
Yet look at what Pell grants have done. The maximum Pell grant has not gone up ratably in the same amount of time. So let's talk about expanding these programs.
I think we need to really change the dynamic of the conversation to your point where it is really about return on investment. You know, we need to look at this from a business perspective: What is the best ROI of taxpayer money?
I look at some of the bills that we have all worked on together here. One bill that comes to mind is called the SAVE Act. It is a bill where we identified $479 billion of wasteful, duplicative, fraudulent government spending. Let's start implementing and start finding those savings and putting that into education, ensuring that that return on investment for taxpayer money is truly there. We all know a dollar spent on education is going to come back in droves for future generations in this economy.
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Mr. Speaker, I have, and I think it is a great topic to talk about, and one that we should be able to find bipartisan support on.
Because of some of the conversations I have had with some veterans and folks in my district, we introduced some legislation that would help veterans with their application costs. It's not just the cost of education. Sometimes it is just getting there. And these application costs getting into college can be $200, $500, and it could be even more than that.
So when you are coming back and you are thinking about a decision, you might only have a couple of hundred bucks and you might have to make a decision, I am only going to apply to one school. That is not, I don't think, the intent. You should be able to have some options and see what options come back to you where you get accepted, et cetera.
So, in this legislation, the intent is to waive some of these fees for application costs for these veterans to help them get onto that higher education.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to remind those watching and our friends on the other side of the aisle that this is, I think, a great opportunity for bipartisanship.
When I talk to voters, whether it is around the district or around the State, they are tired of seeing the nonsense. You know, they look at their jobs and they haven't seen a raise in 10 years. They look at their children who either maybe haven't gotten into college or do get into college and graduate and they have got hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. When they turn on C-SPAN, they see us bickering and arguing about nonsense.
This is a serious problem. This is something that has to be addressed soon. It should have been addressed years ago. Let's stop the rhetoric and let's start talking to each other and solving these problems and making sure that, not only are we bringing down the cost of higher education, but we are making sure that those who do have the student loans are on an orderly repayment structure, one that makes sense, one that is reasonable per their income. Let's make sure that the dream of America is still alive for future generations.
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