Making College More Affordable

From the E-Newsletter of Congressman Rush Holt:


This is a challenging moment for students and young workers in New Jersey. College has never been more crucial to our economy and to job creation than it is today – but college also is more expensive now than ever before.

As a longtime teacher, I have seen firsthand the power of higher education to transform lives, and I want to share with you the steps I am taking in Congress to make college more affordable:

Congressman Rush Holt

• Keeping College Loan Rates Low. A few years ago, I helped write a law that cut student loan interest rates from 6.8 to 3.4 percent, saving the average student borrower more than $2,000. Recently, the new tea party members in Congress sought to undo this rate cut, creating an unnecessary crisis as students sought to plan for the year ahead.  The good news is that I helped reach a compromise to ensure that rates will remain low for at least another year, helping 144,000 New Jersey students. Please know that I am supporting legislation to make the rate cut permanent.
   
• Helping Math and Science Teachers Afford College. The TEACH Grant program, created by a law that I helped write, provides up to $4,000 a year in grants – up to $16,000 over four years – for students who commit to teaching math, science, or foreign language for at least five years.
   
• Supporting Graduates Who Enter Public Service. Students who want to serve their communities as teachers, police officers, firefighters, and soldiers should not be prevented from doing so by college debt. A law that I helped write forgives student loan debt after 10 years for graduates who enter public service.

Education is key to the American Dream for individuals – and importantly, it is key to our nation’s economic future. Each of us has a stake in ensuring that the next generation of workers, business leaders, and innovators has access to the opportunities they need to learn, succeed, and create new jobs.

Resources to Make College More Affordable

Recently, I joined officials from Rutgers and the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority to talk with local students and parents about college aid opportunities.  Among the resources we shared:

• StudentAid.Ed.Gov is the Education Department’s official source for free information on preparing for and funding education beyond high school.
   
• www.HESAA.Org, the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority’s website, offers information on grants, scholarship, loans, and programs for veterans.

I am always happy to help you learn more about college affordability options or to help resolve problems with your student loans. Send a message atholt.house.gov/contact or call 1-87-RUSH-HOLT (1-877-874-4658).

Sincerely,

Rush Holt
Member of Congress

Rush Holt: 57 Days...

The following is from the E-Newsletter of Congressman Rush Holt:


Think of the great moments of American public policy: the creation of land grant colleges, the G.I. Bill, providing student loans – all directed toward increasing access to higher education.

In Congress, one of my top priorities has been to continue the work of making college more affordable and accessible. In 2007, I helped write the law that lowered interest rates on federal subsidized Stafford loans to 3.4 percent, saving today’s typical student borrower a couple thousand dollars.

Yet if Congress fails to act now, interest rates will double to 6.8 percent on July 1, 2012. This would apply to any student taking out a new loan after July 1, whether to start college or to stay in school.

We have 57 days left to prevent this – 57 days to prevent students from facing higher costs when they start classes next year, 57 days to prevent 143,892 New Jersey students from paying an additional $115 million in borrowing costs over the next year alone.

Next week, the U.S. Senate will be voting on the Stop the Rate Hike Act of 2012, of which I am a cosponsor in the House. The bill would keep loan rates at 3.4 percent, and it would pay for the cost by reining in just a fraction of the taxpayer subsidies to Big Oil.

Among recent college graduates who have taken out student loans, the average borrower owes $25,000 in education debt. Meanwhile, the five biggest oil companies reported $33.5 billion in profits in the last three months alone. Who needs our support more: the student, or Big Oil?

2012 Teacher Appreciation Week

May 7th to 11th is Teacher Appreciation Week, a chance to recognize the contributions of educators who teach at levels from kindergarten through college and beyond.

Twelve years ago, I served on the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century, known as the John Glenn Commission. In a report titled "Before It's Too Late," we made clear that our nation must increase the number of teachers in those fields significantly and provide more opportunities for teachers to enhance their math and science teaching skills. Training better teachers was, we found, the single most powerful way to improve math and science education – more powerful even than improving the curriculum. Although the Commission’s purview was limited to math and science, I am convinced that high-quality teachers play an equally vital role in other subject areas.

It is long past time to implement the Glenn Commission recommendations and make professional development of teachers one of our top concerns.

2012 Congressional Art Competition

Each year, I host a Congressional Art Competition to celebrate and recognize works of art created by high school students. This year, more than 100 high school artists shared works in categories including painting, drawing, print, and mixed media. Their work demonstrated great creativity, talent, and originality, and I was honored to showcase their efforts.

The overall winner of this year’s competition was Loretta Liu from West Windsor Plainsboro High School South, and for the next year, her work “Rush Hour” will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. I look forward to seeing her future work in the years to come.

Sincerely,


Rush Holt
Member of Congress