College to Become More Expensive - Take Action

This Saturday, July 1st, students and parents across the nation are going to be hit with rising interest rates on college loans. Congress has simply stood by and allowed student loan interest rates to rise dramatically, while making parent loans even more expensive. The conservative leadership has refused even to allow a vote on the Miller-Durbin bill, which would slash interest rates in half on new loans.

This is unacceptable. It's time to put Congress on notice. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper today and let your Representative know that it's time they act in the interest of their constituents, not the special interests.

While Congress continues to ignore the growing need for affordable education, students and parents everywhere are going further and further into debt, creating a burden that is often unsustainable. As Gregory, a student at UCLA states:

"In addition to working, I STILL have to take out loans and find other ways to fund my education. My first year alone, my parents and I took out $11,000 in loans and who knows what my financial situation will be the rest of my years here at UCLA."

Despite the thousands of stories just like Gregory's, conservative leadership continually refuses to take action – and sadly, it is not a one--time occurrence. The maximum Pell Grant has been frozen for four years and the conservative controlled Congress has failed to extend the college tuition tax deduction, instead opting for tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations.

We need to put a stop to these skewed priorities of Congress. With the student and parent interest rate jump happening this Saturday, it's more crucial now than ever before to make our voices heard. Please write a letter to the editor today asking the politicians in Washington to match their rhetoric with action by making college affordable.

The failure of the current administration to make college affordable for all qualified students not only impacts the hundreds of thousands of individuals priced out of a college education annually, it also weakens our economic competitiveness.

It's time to put an end to the lip-service of President Bush and his allies in Congress. It's time to take a stand and make college affordable for all.