Remarks to the community in Carbondale

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Sept 18, 1995

I also favor retaining the policy that does not charge students for interest on their loans while they're in school and gives a 6-month grace period after school before you begin making those repayments. You have to have a job before you can repay the loans.

But make no mistake: With the opportunity of the loan comes the responsibility to repay it. I was appalled when I became President and I realized the size of the college loans default. I was absolutely appalled that there were that many people that would take money from their Government for a college education and not repay it. And I am proud to say we have cut the loan default rate in half in our administration, and we're going to cut it some more.

I just want to mention a,couple of other things. One of my proudest moments as President was having the opportunity to sign the bill that created AmeriCorps, our national service initiative. AmeriCorps is giving thousands and thousands of young people the chance to earn and save up money for college while serving their communities.

In Carbondale, we have AmeriCorps members working in the local elementary schools, 20,000 this year, up to 50,000 next year could be serving their country if the Congress will continue to fund the AmeriCorps program. It is a great investment, and it's making America stronger.

There are two other proposals that I have made that I hope this coming Congress will adopt. Since there will be a tax cut, the question is: What are we going to cut taxes for, and who will get it? I favor as my number one priority giving a tax deduction to hardworking American families for the cost of education after high school, for their children or for themselves.

The second proposal that I have asked the Congress to adopt is one which would basically reflect the new reality of unemployment in our country. Thirty years ago when a person went on unemployment, the chances were 8 in 10 that person would be called back to the same job, that unemployment was a matter of the business cycle, and the unemployment check, therefore, just tided people over until they were called back to the same job.

Today, just 30 years later, the chances are when you're laid off, 8 in 10, that you won't be called back to the old job, and you've got to find a new one. Therefore, I have recommended that the Congress consolidate about 70 separate training programs in the Government and just create a fund that will give a voucher to an unemployed American for $2,600 a year for up to 2 years to take to the nearest community college or other community education institution to get the training that he or she needs to get back in the work force and on the road to progress.

Under all these reforms I've just mentioned, if we stick with them by the year 2002, as many as 20 million more Americans will be able to get less expensive and more flexible college loans. We will be able to award over 3 million more Pell grant scholarships. And if we maintain our commitment, we're on target to increase the number of Americans who are going to college by over one million by the end of this decade, and we need it; all of us need it for the strength of the United States. That means better jobs, higher incomes, a stronger America.