During last month’s congressional recess, I was able to visit nearly every county in the Sixth District. Talking with my fellow Central Kentuckians face to face is one of the pleasures of this job, and I always make it a priority to find out which issues concern you most. Once again, many of you put improving education high on your list. I completely understand because I am a parent, too. My three children attend public schools, one each in elementary, middle and high school.
Education reform is a broad subject, but simply put, it has two major goals: first, prepare students to be able to compete and succeed in the global marketplace; and second, make higher education affordable for all who choose to go to college. The historic College Cost Reduction and Access Act—which Congress sent to the President on September 18 and was signed into law on September 27—will provide a much-needed boost toward reaching these goals.
Just how important to Kentucky’s education is this act? Critically important, it turns out, because the problems it seeks to fix are severe. According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, Kentucky ranks 27th in the nation in affordability of higher education (earning us an F). For this reason, all of us should be interested in and informed about the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.
The College Cost Reduction and Access Act provides the single largest investment in college financial aid since the GI Bill was enacted in 1944. The relief is much needed. College tuition has reached record highs, with tuition at four-year public colleges increasing 35 percent in the last five years. College students are taking on increasing amounts of debt before they ever enter the workforce. In Kentucky, a typical need-based student loan borrower goes into debt by $13,026 in order to pay for his or her education at a 4-year public school.
This new law lowers college costs for low and middle income individuals by cutting interest rates on student loans in half from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent, making loan payments more manageable, and increasing federal student aid. The bill also includes loan forgiveness programs for those serving in the public sector. Furthermore, by cutting excess subsidies paid to lenders in the student loan industry, the College Cost Reduction Act benefits millions of students and families at no new cost to taxpayers.
For Kentucky, this bill provides $433 million more in student loan and Pell Grant aid to students and families over the next five years, benefiting 129,400 Kentucky students. In addition, this bill will save the average Kentucky student over $4,000 in interest over the life of a loan.
With the enactment of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, we are making a national commitment to education that will have far-reaching benefits for Kentucky. Generations of Kentucky students will enter the workforce unburdened with heavy debt and well prepared to compete in the global marketplace.
