College Student Relief Act

COLLEGE STUDENT RELIEF ACT

Mr. WALZ of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5, the College Student Relief Act.

This legislation will benefit 5 1/2 million students. These students are predominantly from middle class, hardworking American families. Without this act they may not otherwise be able to attend our public institutions.

The generation that came before mine understood the investment in the future. At age 17, when I joined the military to be able to, one, support this country in its defense and, two, further my own career, I was given the GI bill, Pell Grants and the ability to use low interest student loans. Because of that I was able to achieve my dream of becoming a public school teacher.

However, unfortunately, this next generation does not have that same investment, a generation that has never seen the kind of investment that I saw.

The good people of the First District of Minnesota sent me here to change the priorities of this government. They sent me here to look out for the next generation of Americans.

Mr. Speaker, with this legislation the American Dream will be a little more in grasp of this next generation. This is not a theoretical discussion on interest rates. These are the students that were in my classroom, on my football team and in my Guard unit.

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