Education First

Floor Speech

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about education. A quality, affordable education is vital to ensuring that American students are prepared for the jobs of the 21st century. For West Virginians, for Americans to compete for jobs, they need to have the skills, knowledge, and training to make them attractive to employers.

Education opens doors. A diploma or degree brings with it the promise of a better future, better wages, a better quality of life, a better future for one's family. Without a quality education, the possibilities of life are truly limited, not limitless.

In the House of Representatives, we are taking action today to ensure that every American has access to quality education and an education that is affordable and understandable.

Later today, we will pass two bills to help students pay for college and better manage the debt that they accrue. The Empowering Students through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act will better educate students about the financial implications of student loans and help them borrow the money they need, not all of the money that they are offered.

We hear time and time again of the crushing debt that our students are coming out of college and higher education with. We want to help them better manage that and understand that.

So with counseling on the front end, they will know what they are actually getting into, instead of waiting until the back end and hitting them with the hammer of this is where you are now, so you have got to deal with it.

We will also pass the Student and Family Tax Simplification Act which, very simply, makes permanent the American Opportunity Tax Credit.

West Virginians want to work. Americans want to work. West Virginia's employers want to hire at home. They want to have access to an educated workforce, and by investing in education, we invest in our Nation's future. We invest in growing our Nation's economy, and we invest in the future of generations yet to come.

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