DAVIS VOTES TO LOWER COLLEGE COSTSJuly 16, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis voted on July 11, 2007, to approve legislation that would make the single largest investment in college financial aid since the GI Bill in 1944. This legislation, the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007, increases student aid by nearly $18 billion, at no additional cost to U.S. taxpayers.

Specifically, the bill provides for an increase in Pell grants that benefits roughly 5.5 million students, cuts the interest rate of need-based student loans, caps mandatory loan repayment at 15% of discretionary income and provides incentives for talented graduates to enter public service.

Additionally, the bill comes at no cost to taxpayers, but pays for itself by reducing federal subsidies to private lenders.

Congressman Davis made the following statement on the bill:

"We all are blessed to live in a country where the dream of a college education belongs to the average American as well as the privileged, and no student with the talent and the desire to achieve this dream should miss the chance because they can't afford to pay."

"An investment in education is an investment in American competitiveness. Tomorrow's workers must have the chance to gain the skills they need to compete in the workplace, and this legislation makes that opportunity more attainable for the children of hard-working families in America."