Rogers Votes Against College Students

Today the House passed H.R. 2669, the College Cost Reduction Act.

The bill passed 273-149.

The legislation, along with a separate proposal approved Wednesday by the House Appropriations Committee, would raise the maximum Pell grant from $4,310 per year to $5,200 per year by 2011. Pell grants go to poor students and don't have to be repaid.

The interest rate on federally subsidized loans for low-income and middle-class students also would be halved under the newly passed legislation. The rate would go from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over five years. The House previously voted to approve that cut, but the Senate never followed.

How did our very own Republican Congressman Mike Rogers vote? No, of course.

This is a particularly egregious vote given that Michigan State University is encompassed by Michigan’s 8th Congressional District. It is a university that serves 44,000 students.

According to the Center for American Progress, in Michigan this bill will:

• benefit over 200,000 students with increased Pell Grants
• provide over $500 million in increased student aid
• give students an average of over $4000 worth of savings due to the interest rate cut

President Bush has said he will veto this bill. So it really should come as no surprise that Rogers voted "no." He has no problem supporting the Bush Administration in funding the continued presence of U.S. troops in the middle of the Iraqi Civil War, a war that has cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars. But giving students more money to earn a college education is out of the question according to Rogers.

Is this really what's best for Michigan's 8th Congressional District?