DeLauro Hosts Discussion on Costs of Higher Education to CT Families

Student Loan Interest Rates Will Double In One Weekwithout Action

WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) hosted adiscussion with local parents, students and college administrators today on thecrushing cost of higher education to Connecticut families. WithoutCongressional action, the student loan interest rate will double one week fromtoday, to 6.8 percent. This will come on top of federal cuts to highereducation programs due to the deeply harmful budget cuts known assequestration.

"Congress should be working to make college more availableand affordable to students, not cutting programs that help them obtain aneducation. Every American should have the opportunity to get an education andmake a better life. Without access to college there is no middle class and thecompact between generations is broken. If you work hard, it pays off and you dobetter than your parents; that is the deal in America. Congress needs to actthis week to ensure millions of Americans still have a chance at that realityby keeping student interest rates low."

Participants at the roundtable included: Vinnie Avallone, aparent concerned about the increased costs he and his family are facing to sendhis daughter to college; Adrienne Maslin, Dean of Student Affairs at MiddlesexCommunity College; Sean Martin, Associate Director of Financial Aid at WesleyanUniversity; Russhane Bowerise, a freshman at Central Connecticut StateUniversity; Alicia Waldner, recent Middletown High School graduate attendingSouthern Connecticut State University in the fall; and Kyle Barreuther, motherof two, one currently in college, the other a freshman in the fall.

Over the last 30 years, the average tuition at four-yearstate universities has almost quadrupled. Last year, for the first time ever,student loan debt passed the $1 trillion mark. If the student loan interestrate doubles July 1, 73,000 Connecticut students will pay $1,000 more ininterest on their loans next school year.

After accounting for population growth and inflation,critical federal programs like Work Study, TRIO, GEAR UP, and FederalSupplemental Education Opportunity Grants, have been cut by almost a third overthe last decade. And the sequester cuts have cost around 500 Connecticutstudents Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, and 500 others have been cutfrom work-study programs.