State Assemblyman Rory Lancman, D-Fresh Meadows, has already made plain his intention to run for Congress, taking on U.S. Rep. Bob Turner, R-Forest Hills.
Now, he’s trying to make his case to the public, and he’s starting with tuition reform.
“Students are graduating with the equivalent of a mortgage’s worth of debt, with no house to show for it,” Lancman said. “Our students deserve better, and Congress needs to stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution.”
Speaking this week at Queens College — his alma mater — Lancman begged Congress to put into place several stipulations from President Barack Obama’s Fiscal Year 2013 budget designed to ease the financial burden on college students.
Lancman pointed out several facets of the budget, including an increase in Pell grants and posting employment rates of colleges to help students make informed decisions about where to attend school.
Lancman said he thought the President’s budget did a good job of helping students keep costs low while still allowing millions to earn a degree that has become “more and more necessary to achieve the American dream.”
The Assemblyman accused Republicans in Congress of playing politics with the future of American students.
“At every turn, from the government shutdown threat to the debt ceiling debacle to the theatrics over the payroll tax, Republicans in Congress have focused on dragging the President down instead of standing up for the needs of the country,” Lancman said. “We need a Congress whose priorities align with the priorities of working Americans.”
