Bloomington stop of the Congressman Young “Harmful for Hoosiers” Tour highlights Todd Young’s dangerous record for students
INDIANAPOLIS – Today, Indiana Democratic Party Chair John Zody and Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton joined students from Indiana University to call out Congressman Todd Young for his policies that would make college less affordable.
Speakers criticized Congressman Young for voting repeatedly to double student loan interest rates and cut Pell grant funding completely for 32,000 low-income Hoosier students. If Congressman Young had his way, student loan interest rates would have skyrocketed from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent—equivalent to a nearly $6,000 increase for the average Hoosier student with college debt, more than the cost of a semester at IU.
“Congressman Todd Young represents this congressional district and is running for U.S. Senate, yet he has ignored his responsibility to protect his constituents—many of them students—from harmful policies that make college more expensive,” said Mayor John Hamilton of Bloomington. “Congressman Young has been anything but an advocate for students. As leaders, we should be making the dream of a college education an easier reality to achieve, but Congressman Young’s plan would make it even harder to afford a college education. That’s not leadership and it’s not what we want in the U.S. Senate.”
Young has also opposed efforts to allow students to refinance their student loans at more affordable rates, similar to refinancing a car or an auto loan—something that would help alleviate the burden of student debt.
“Congressman Young has shown Hoosiers that he doesn’t care about the worries many of us have to face, like college affordability,” said John Zody, IDP Chairman. “All he’s ever cared about is his own career and the special interests propping up his campaigns. He has proven he doesn’t stand with students, Indiana workers, or families; but that he does stand with special interests and will time and again put his agenda ahead of Hoosiers. All of us deserve better from our next U.S. Senator—which is why Evan Bayh is the choice for Indiana.”
“My classmates and I are willing to work hard to pay off student loans, but too often the burden can be too much, which is why I can’t understand why Congressman Young would make it even more difficult,” said Kegan Ferguson, a student at IU and president of the Indiana College Democrats. “As a college student, I want a leader representing me in Washington, D.C. that stands up for me and my best interests. As someone who is at IU because of the Twenty First Century Scholars program he signed into law, I know that leader is Evan Bayh.”
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