Keep Student Loans Affordable! -- June 8, 2012
Dear Friend:
Thank you for reading another edition of my e-newsletter, the Carson Courier. For additional information on these and other topics, please visit my website at https://www.carson.house.gov.
In this week's Carson Courier:
- Congress Needs to Work Together to Keep Student Loans Affordable
- Raising Public Awareness About the Danger Posed by Bath Salts
Congress Needs to Work Together to Keep Student Loans Affordable
Next month, more than 7 million students will see the interest rates on their Stafford loans double. Consequently, hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers will pay out an additional $219 million in fees each year.
Today, our nation's unpaid student loan debt exceeds both credit card and auto loan debt. As a member of the House Committee on Financial Services, I am deeply concerned that this overwhelming amount of debt will prevent graduates from saving for their future and will discourage millions of young people from pursuing higher education. The unwillingness of some of my colleagues in Congress to deal with this rate increase only exacerbates these challenges.
Higher education is an essential part of the American Dream. Our colleges and universities help students develop the skills needed to compete in a global workplace. The financial and civic benefits of higher education are innumerable, but its cost has skyrocketed. Many of my constituents could not attend college without access to affordable student loans.
In this challenging, ever-shifting global economy, higher education helps to prepare young adults for the jobs of the future and opens their eyes to concepts and technologies they might otherwise miss. This is why I support Pell Grants to provide more low- and middle-income Americans with access to college. But we need to go farther. Institutions of higher learning must find ways to keep costs down, and we in Congress must continue to expand access to financial aid and restructure federal programs to be more efficient.
I call on Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle not to succumb to political posturing. We must act now to alleviate the burdens on students and recent graduates, not compound their challenges. House Democrats have proposed a plan that keeps student loans at current rates and pays for the measure by ending tax subsidies to oil companies. This plan protects our students and pays for it responsibly.
My colleagues in Congress need to get their priorities straight. I am committed to stopping the doubling of student loan interest rates, and I urge my colleagues to put politics aside and join me in this effort.
For more information, read my Op-Ed in the Indianapolis Star.
Raising Public Awareness About the Danger Posed by Bath Salts
Over the past couple of weeks, we have witnessed a rash of gruesome and unsettling crimes. As more information comes forward, there is mounting evidence that the perpetrators of these horrific crimes may have been under the influence of "bath salts" – a strong stimulant that is chemically similar to methamphetamine and currently available in many states and over the Internet. Currently, there are no federal laws prohibiting the manufacture and sale of bath salts.
Emergency rooms are reporting a significant increase in the number of young people who have ingested bath salts and other synthetic drugs, pointing to a growing problem throughout the country. All too often, children and young adults do not understand the immense risks associated with using these dangerous substances.
For that reason, I introduced H.R. 4205, the Synthetics Are Dangerous (SAD) Act, to address the growing public health and safety concerns associated with bath salts and other drugs like it. My bill calls upon the Office of National Drug Control Policy to raise public awareness of synthetic drugs and the dangers they pose.
You can learn more about the SAD Act by clicking here.
Thank you for reading theCarson Courier. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts and concerns. For more information, visit my website at https://www.carson.house.gov, my Congressional Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanAndreCarsonand follow me on Twitter @RepAndreCarson. I value your views and your input, which help me better represent the people of Indiana's 7th District.
Sincerely,
André Carson
Member of Congress