To the editor:

With classes scheduled to start soon, college students and parents should take a quick break from vacation to tell Congress to stop cuts to college financial aid. Recently, lawmakers proposed the largest cut ever, an estimated $11 billion, to the federal student aid programs when they passed H.R. 609 out of the House Education Committee.

H.R. 609, cleverly named the College Access and Opportunity Act, is anything but an opportunity for students receiving federal loans. Tuition prices at all Kansas institutions of higher education increase annually. Unfortunately, this legislation puts affordable higher education even further out of reach for Kansas families. This bill freezes funding for grant programs, increases student loan interest rates and charges students bigger upfront fees to borrow.

This is the wrong direction for our country’s future. When our representatives in Congress return to Washington, D.C., this fall they should do the right thing for Kansans and vote against the irresponsible policies that H.R. 609 proposes.

Josh Bender,

Lawrence