In a photo from earlier this semester, Rep. Jared Polis discusses healthcare reform at a town hall meeting Friday Sept. 4. Polis held a press conference call on Wednesday on the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility act. He believes the bill will play a vital role in reducing education costs. (CU Independent file/Lauren Walter)
Congressman Jared Polis is planning to put all his efforts toward a student aid bill that is part of Barack Obama’s plan to stimulate the economy.
Polis held a press conference call Wednesday on the progress of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.
The single largest investment in education is part of Obama’s plan to improve the economy, according to the press conference call.
Polis explained the importance of the bill in the current recession.
“We need a new education process in getting out of the recession. We need to increase the resources to young people, and avoid the reality of graduates with debts they can’t handle,” Polis said.
The House of Representatives passed the bill Sept. 17 and the Senate is set to decide the bill’s fate by the end of this month, according to Polis.
Although a Senate vote has not yet been scheduled, Polis said he is confident in support from Obama’s team.
“I expect Obama will sign a bill that looks similar to this one,” Polis said.
George Miller, chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, said the measure could help everyone.
“The bill will allow every American the education they need to achieve the American dream,” Miller said.
The bill is intended to reduce the amount of debt that college students have by changing the loan landscape. Instead of banks and other private lenders, the bill would shift money to a direct loan program. This shift would save $87 billion to help low-income students afford post-secondary school, according to Polis.
As a result of implementing this system, interest rates would lower and therefore decrease the amount of indebted graduates. If students find work in the public system, they never have to pay more than 50 percent of their loan back, Polis said.
The average CU student graduates with a debt of $17,000 in student loans, according to CU’s Office of Planning, Budget and Analysis Web site.
Courtney Enix, a 19-year-old sophomore integrative physiology major, said tuition costs can prevent equal opportunities.
“I’m an out-of-state student and well aware of the high cost of education,” Enix said. “Changing the loan process would give so many opportunities to low-income students that have the same abilities as higher-income students.”
Polis asserted the necessity for affordable education that the bill would help to accomplish.
“Education is the key to progress and prosperity,” Polis said. “Our nation can’t afford to waste talent.”
The previously mentioned Office of Planning, Budget and Analysis Web site can be accessed at:
http://www.colorado.edu/pba/records/debt/loandebt.htm
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Kendall Schoemann at Kendall.Schoemann@colorado.edu.
1 comment
Polis is working well in the national field, but someone needs to take a stand here in Colorado. CU gets only about 10% of its budjet from the state! We aren’t even “state funded,” we’re “state assisted.” This policy of getting all our funds from out of state students needs to change. The best way to attract successful students is to make it possible for them to come!