E-Newsletter 4/21/06

E-Newsletter 4/21/06

Dear Friends:

April 22nd is Earth Day, and gas prices rising to $3 per gallon is putting the need for a new American energy policy in full focus. A clean energy future that addresses climate change and our costly oil dependence is achievable. Unfortunately, the current U.S. energy policy lacks urgency on this vital issue.

President Bush admitted in his January State of the Union address that "America is addicted to oil." Yet the president's 2007 federal budget proposes feeding the addiction by handing out a package of tax breaks and royalty-free drilling rights to the oil industry that, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, would cost taxpayers at least $20 billion. Read more about Investing in a Clean Energy Future.

Earlier this week, I joined my House Democratic colleagues in introducing the Reverse the Raid on Student Aid Act, legislation that would cut interest rates in half on college loans for student borrowers with the most financial need. In addition, to give college students and parents the opportunity to communicate directly with Congress on the effects of rising costs of college tuition and mounting student loan debt, I am participating in a national online forum. Read my full statement on the
Reverse the Raid on Student Aid Act. Learn how you can submit a testimony to the E-Forum about the challenges of financing higher education.

Sincerely,

Congresswoman Betty McCollum
Serving Minnesota's Fourth Congressional District

http://www.mccollum.house.gov/vertical/Sites/%7B6CD95013-7C42-4AD8-A464-EB8D8679E9C9%7D/uploads/%7BC1916295-CAC4-4A9B-9012-79E11F740B5F%7D.PDF