I support policies that will return authority back to the states and empower parents, not bureaucrats in Washington. As a member of the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee, I’m working with colleagues to tackle the true cost of higher education and student loans.
I’m proud to have co-led the Earn to Learn Act—legislation which aims to reduce student loan debt and make college more affordable for students by establishing a college matched-saving program that helps qualifying low-income students pay for tuition, books, fees, and other education-related expenses.
When it comes to student loans and college costs, many of my Democratic colleagues continue to advocate for blanket forgiveness of loans. I will continue to vigorously oppose such efforts, which would be entirely unfair to those who worked their way through college or have already paid back their loans.
Instead of reckless policies like blanket loan forgiveness, we should be focusing on working on bipartisan solutions to address the real needs of our economy. This means making sure our young people have the skills or training necessary for the jobs of the future—especially in the advanced manufacturing, tech, and engineering sectors.
I’m a sponsor of the Teacher Education for Computer Science Act, legislation that supports efforts to train more computer science teachers. This is just one example of the many actions Congress could take to make it easier for Americans to learn specific skills, get good paying jobs, and accrue little-to-no debt.
Lastly, I remain especially concerned about Democrats’ continued efforts to make Americans more dependent on the federal government, especially plans for universal, government-run pre-kindergarten and free community college—an expensive, unprecedented, and unnecessary expansion of Washington bureaucracy.