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Help for Middle Class: Gas Prices, Student Loans

Op-Ed

Date: April 18, 2008
Issues: Oil and Gas Higher Education


Dear Friends,

I have two important middle class updates to share with you this week.

GAS PRICES

On April 15, 2008 oil prices neared $113 a barrel. I know gas prices are squeezing working families. Gas prices in Ohio alone have risen at least 129% since the beginning of 2001. This trend is clearly unsustainable for families and small businesses.

There is no magic bullet. Bringing gas prices down will involve a series of steps. One such step is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act (HR 5473). This new legislation, which last week I signed on to co-sponsor, directs the Secretary of Energy to temporarily suspend petroleum acquisition for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) for the calendar year 2008. Currently, the SPR is 95 percent full with 695 million barrels in reserve. This bill has most recently been referred to the House Subcommittee on Health. In addition, earlier in March, I sent a letter to the president asking him to make a similar request of the Secretary of Energy.

STUDENT LOANS

Just yesterday, I joined a bipartisan majority in the U.S. House of Representatives to approve legislation to ensure that the turmoil in the U.S. financial markets does not keep students and families from accessing the federal student loans they need to pay for college. The Ensuring Continued Access to Federal Student Loans Act of 2008 (H.R. 5715), which carries no new cost for taxpayers, was passed by a vote of 383-27.

H.R. 5715 will:

- Reduce borrowers' reliance on costlier private college loans by increasing the annual loan limits on federal college loans by $2,000 for undergraduate students;

- Give parent borrowers more time to begin paying off their federal PLUS loans by providing them with the option to defer repayment until up to six months after their children leave school;

- Help struggling homeowners pay for college by making sure that short-term delinquencies in mortgage payments don't prohibit otherwise eligible parents from being able to borrow parent PLUS loans. This will make it possible for parents who are being strained by the current housing market to secure loans for their children.

I am hopeful the Senate passes HR 5715 and that the President signs it.

Sincerely,

Charlie Wilson
Member of Congress
Ohio's Sixth District


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