Rep. Fattah Says "Ignorance Costs More" Than the Cost of College Education

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As President Obama met with university presidents at the White House today to promote major new education-affordability programs, Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) told a college access and financing conference in Philadelphia that no matter what the cost of higher education, "ignorance costs more."

Fattah, the leading Congressional champion on college access for historically underserved students, said education is the surest route out of poverty, and making college more affordable will open that path to millions of young people in low-income households.

"Philadelphia's future is inextricably entwined with the educational attainment of its citizens," Fattah said. "A city like ours cannot possibly prosper if one in four Philadelphians live in poverty."

Fattah noted that Philadelphia is a city of great universities with a large enrollment of students "who have every expectation to be successful, to change the world." The city also has a large population of young people in poverty with a different worldview.

"We must create the same expectations about what these young people will achieve over their lifetime" if they continue their education beyond high school, Fattah said. Young people in poverty have been "written off, and we need to write them back in." College graduates on average earn more than $1 million more over their lifetime than those who stop at high school graduation.

The Congressman praised the Obama initiatives as "the most worthwhile investment our nation can make." He echoed the President's goal to make the United States number one in the world in college graduates by 2020 - a key to the nation's ability to compete in tomorrow's global economy.

The Obama Administration has made historic investments in Pell Grants and in the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC), which Congressman Fattah introduced and guided to passage in 2009. Obama also unveiled a program to cap certain student loan payments at 10 percent of discretionary income as well as a "Pay as You Earn" provision and encouragement for those who enter public service careers.

Fattah is the nationally recognized initiator of college access and affordability programs both through legislation in Congress and in Philadelphia. His AOTC has already provided $14 billion in tax credits to help low and middle income families pay for college.

Fattah is also the architect of GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs), the nation's most successful early college awareness and readiness program for low-income students from sixth to 12th grades, with 12 million students impacted. And he created the CORE Scholarship program that has provided almost $30 million in grants so that every Philadelphia high school graduate is assured of financial assistance to begin a college education.

Fattah addressed more than 100 education professionals in college access, financing and affordability at the start of a four-day conference at Drexel University. The conference previews the citywide financing college/financial aid/college access campaign, which launches in January.

For details on President Obama's student loan initiatives: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/25/fact-sheet-help-americans-manage-student-loan-debt

SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah