Every month, in addition to writing a check for my mortgage and utilities, I write out a payment on my student loans.
Although I graduated with a master’s degree more than ten years ago, I still owe over $40,000 in student loans. And, I am not alone.
{mosads}National student loan debt has surpassed $1.4 trillion, with the average 2016 graduate owing over $37,000 in student loan debt. While graduating from college is a better investment than ever, student loan debt can prevent graduates from buying a house, saving for their children’s own education, or preparing for retirement. It can pose a serious burden that makes some prospective students question if higher education is worthwhile.
Like many Americans, I believe that making higher education more affordable and accessible should be among our top priorities, which is why I recently re-launched the Congressional Higher Education Caucus. My goal is for the Higher Education Caucus to serve as an informal, bipartisan forum for interested Members of Congress to better address the challenges facing our higher education system. America’s system of higher education is the best in the world, but faces unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Far more needs to be done to ensure that it is affordable and accessible to all students, adequately prepares them for the modern workforce, and enables them to fully contribute to our economic prosperity.
Instead of addressing these problems, last week the House passed a tax plan that would fail American students and take our colleges and universities backwards. If our goal is to make a college degree more affordable and accessible, then increasing the cost of attending college by billions of dollars is simply not the answer.
In 2015, over 12 million Americans took the student loan interest deduction. But the tax plan not only eliminated this valuable benefit, but also scaled back or eliminated a host of other provisions that are used to pay for or reduce tuition, provide support to undergraduates, graduate students, and lifetime learners, and allow us to invest in our system of higher education as a whole.
Our tax code is a demonstration of what we value as a country. I voted against H.R. 1 not only because it penalizes students, but also because it would fail to help working families or to grow our economy, paying for corporate tax cuts through brutal cuts in federal spending. It limits deductions for State and Local Taxes (SALT) which can negatively impact infrastructure and services in our communities. It threatens the stability of critical programs like Social Security and Medicare. And it inflicts a tax hike on the middle-class while giving billions to the wealthiest Americans.
Every American has countless reasons to oppose this damaging bill and should continue to voice them as our debate continues. But as we consider the intricacies of our tax system, we cannot lose site of the basic fact that education remains one of the most important investments our nation can make in its future. Students with an associate degree earn over $6,000 a year more than students with a high school diploma. Students with a bachelor’s degree earn even more. These students bring their talents to a wide array of employers and help to create a stronger economy and more vibrant nation. When higher education is less accessible, we all pay the price.
There is a bipartisan recognition of the challenges facing our higher education system, and the solutions are not simple. Congress is due to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, and as we consider changes to the system, I urge my counterparts in the Senate to start by rejecting this plan that harms students and families who simply want to make an investment in their futures. It is more important than ever that we have a robust forum to discuss higher education, like the Higher Education Caucus, and I hope you will join me in working together to ensure that higher education remains a pathway to prosperity for millions of Americans.
Carson represents Indiana’s 7th District.