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Representative Virginia Foxx (R, NC) is drawing criticism for comments made on a radio broadcast condemning college students who graduate with a large amount of debt.
“I have very little tolerance for people who tell me that they graduate with $200,000 of debt or even $80,000 of debt because there's no reason for that,” the chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training said on the Gordon Libby Radio Show.
The Center for Responsive Politics’ Open Secrets blog,however, points out that Fox is largely funded by for-profit colleges, receiving at least $48,668 during her first year serving on the subcommittee, including $6,000 from San Diego based Bridgepoint Education, tying the outfit with AT&T as her largest donor.
Open Secrets reports that a Senate investigation last year found that nearly 25% of students at for-profit colleges end up defaulting on their student loans, making up half of all such defaults despite relatively small enrollment at such institutions – only about 1 in 10 college students attend such schools.
The remarks from Foxx come off as particularly insensitive as Republicans push to eliminate $200 million in funding from the federal Pell Grant program, which awards students up to $5,645 in tuition assistance. Part-time students, those who usually work in addition to attending class, would be hardest hit by the grant reductions. The Republican budget, introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan, also contains a provision to begin charging interest on student loans while borrowers are still in school – interest at present usually begins accruing once a student graduates, though repayment may be deferred for a period of time to allow grads to find work.
Representative Virginia Foxx (R, NC) is drawing criticism for comments made on a radio broadcast condemning college students who graduate with a large amount of debt.
“I have very little tolerance for people who tell me that they graduate with $200,000 of debt or even $80,000 of debt because there's no reason for that,” the chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training said on the Gordon Libby Radio Show.
The Center for Responsive Politics’ Open Secrets blog,however, points out that Fox is largely funded by for-profit colleges, receiving at least $48,668 during her first year serving on the subcommittee, including $6,000 from San Diego based Bridgepoint Education, tying the outfit with AT&T as her largest donor.
Open Secrets reports that a Senate investigation last year found that nearly 25% of students at for-profit colleges end up defaulting on their student loans, making up half of all such defaults despite relatively small enrollment at such institutions – only about 1 in 10 college students attend such schools.
The remarks from Foxx come off as particularly insensitive as Republicans push to eliminate $200 million in funding from the federal Pell Grant program, which awards students up to $5,645 in tuition assistance. Part-time students, those who usually work in addition to attending class, would be hardest hit by the grant reductions. The Republican budget, introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan, also contains a provision to begin charging interest on student loans while borrowers are still in school – interest at present usually begins accruing once a student graduates, though repayment may be deferred for a period of time to allow grads to find work.