Biden Fights to Make College More Affordable for All Americans
May 1, 2002
WASHINGTON, DC -- At a time when many Delaware high school students are making important decisions about where to attend college, U.S. Senator Joe Biden applauded the Bush Administration's decision to back away from a proposal that would have made it more expensive for millions of American working families to send their kids to college.
On April 30, Senator Biden joined with 45 of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to President Bush urging him not to eliminate the federal fixed-rate student loan consolidation program. "We believe strongly that our government should make it easier for low- and middle-income students to attend college, not harder and more costly. Therefore, if this proposal is put forward, we would oppose it, and we urge your Administration to withdraw this unwise plan," the Senators wrote.
Currently, college students can consolidate their education loans at a federally subsidized, fixed interest rate. According to a recent study, a typical young worker with $17,000 in student loans can expect to save $2,800 over the life of the consolidated loan with the 4% fixed rate that is expected to be available this summer. Under the Bush Administration's proposal, the rates for incoming students could increase by 15 percent in the near term and up to 29 percent in the long term.
"As a matter of public policy, I think we should be making it easier for qualified students to attend college, not harder. All across Delaware and the nation, many hard working middle-class families are strapped to send their kids to the best college they can attend, and that's why I've been working for years to help with this burden. In the mid-1990's I led the fight in the Senate for a $10,000 tax deduction for tuition expenses, and we had some success - with most families eligible to get cash back from the government of $1,000 to $2,000 for higher education costs.
"But we can and must do more. We need to pass the Biden $12,000 tuition tax deduction that will help cut taxes for some families and individuals by more than $3,000 each year. And we need to increase the maximum Pell Grant award from $4,000 to $4,500.
"The education of our children is a critical investment in the future of our country - to make sure that we have a workforce that is better educated and better trained than ever before in our history," said Biden.
