Spotlight on the House: An Agenda for Success

A few weeks ago, I moved my youngest daughter into her new dorm room in Vermont. After driving several hours north and lugging her belongings three flights up, I officially had two daughters in college. It's always been a goal in my family to send both of the kids to college. Finally getting there was a moment of great pride.

And then came a moment of great distress. Two students in school equals twice the tuition bills. With college costs hitting astronomical highs, it won't be easy on us.

When I travel around my congressional district on Long Island, people tell me the same story. They say they are too rich to qualify for federal assistance, but feel too poor to pay for college without serious financial strain.

Recently, I took a camera and visited the King Kullen grocery store in Commack, NY, to ask people where their costs are going up and what concerns them most. I expected everyone to say gas prices, and many people did. But, I also met several mothers and one young man who said financing college topped their list of concerns. The young man was trying to pay off his education costs, and the mothers were troubled by how high prices might be once their children get to school.

Middle class families are getting hit from all sides. They are taking care of their aging parents, they are taking care of their children, they are trying to make sure they have health insurance if they change jobs, they are saving for retirement, and they are and they are dealing with increasing prices of basic goods such as gas and groceries.

In Congress, we can and need to do more to make it easier for families to succeed. Today, I announced the formation of the Democratic Middle Class Working Group. My colleagues and I have been working together to craft legislation that will ease the squeeze on middle class families. Our legislative agenda starts with 13 bills that will address college affordability, elder care, health insurance, retirement savings, small business, and energy costs.

One of the bills I'm sponsoring will help families pay for college by creating a single, super-sized tax credit to off-set rising tuition costs. It provides a $5,000 tax credit per student, per year, for up to half of college costs. Current tax credits max out at $2,000 and only reach families who make up to $114,000 a year. We want to raise that cap to families earning up to $200,000 a year and make it easier for students and parents to take advantage of this off-set.

In a recent survey conducted by the Pew Center, 79 percent of the middle class said it's harder to maintain their lifestyle now than it was five years ago. Republican policies have been holding the middle class back, but my colleagues and I are committed to changing that.

The middle class is America's economic engine. In order for our country to succeed, we need that engine running on all cylinders. This legislative agenda is putting us on a road toward middle class success, and we hope that it will inspire the rest of Congress to come along for the ride.

Comments

[GrainOSand]

What is wrong with wanting every American to be educated, to have a job that provides for their life beyond mere survival, and a job that provides them a sense of dignity and pride that they are able to take care of themselves?

Many defenders of the GOP position immediately cling to talk of the welfare state anytime a suggestion is made that the country needs to do a better job in helping people to succeed. The argument is lost upon anyone who has had to work for everything they have in this society, and who was able to overcome impossible odds and still achieve societies" measure of success.

If the whole is only as good as the parts that comprise it, how can any system that leaves so many of the fractional parts struggling or even destitute be considered a good system? How can it be considered fair?

A college education should be free with a built-in mechanism for those who receive the education to give back to the country. Health care should be free with a built-in mechanism to insure profit but not staggering profits on the backs of those who are ill and can ill-afford to pay.

The GOP position seems to be, if you were not rich when Reagan was president, forget about it. Theirs seems to be a platform hoping for and expecting mass die-off of certain aspects of the society so there will be more for them. That is untenable.

[Hiphopcrates]

Why is Obama failing to tie McCain to Bush's attempt to privatize Social Security? McCain backed this proposal. Where would American's SS be if it was invested in the stack market?

[jhNY]

Although for various reasons, most Americans count themselves among the middle class, I disagree that the middle class is "America's economic engine." That would be the working class, so long as we're using the economic definition of the class. You know, the guys with the shovels in their hands when the job calls for digging a big hole. The middle class in this instance would be the supervisor of hole diggers, and the upper class would be the guy who owns the hole digging company. When times get tough, who will the upper class fire first? The middle class guy, because the upper class guy can always yell orders directly to the shovel-wielders without having to go through a middle man, even though it makes him a little hoarse by the time he orders his first post-work martini, reminding him of the sacrifices we all must make in a challenging economy.

[sbgypsy]

What we should have is a community university system that is FREE as long as the student maintains a "B" average. Combine that with what Obama is saying about Youth Service, include the Peace Corps in the service list, and you have what I would call a real program that will work to build our country.

[RTIII]

Agreed.
.

[USA1776]

That's great ... however with McCain pandering to workers for the last 24 hours and Republican women carrying Rosie the Rivetor signs in PA, when is American Labor going to loudly step up for the Democratic ticket and more to the point, protest the Republicans. Just a question on the subject.

[politicofree4all]

Any true Democrat or Moderate will never say they have a problem with gas prices. Al Gore said we should raise gas prices to $10.00 gallon to inspire companies to decrease our dependency on fossil fuel. I'm not sure why we (Democrats) keep bringing up fuel costs.
Fuel costs are not the problem. The problem is that we voted Dems in to take over Congress and everything is a mess. Pelosi who has done absolutely nothing in the last four years finally speaks up only to say "Don't blame us!"
Well, we are blaming her. This train wreck started when Clinton wanted more people to own homes and so all the banks started handing out loans like candy yet we (Democrats) were calling foul play on the credit card companies as predatory lending--yet we were okay with predatory lending as long as it was a home. And then, because our gov't decided to create home loan programs to people who shouldn't even own a dog, house prices went up.
Now you want our gov't to help more with college? NO. Do you see a pattern here? Now college costs will go up because colleges say, "Why not, the gov't is going to pay for it anyway." It's just human nature.
That's why we wanted gas prices to go up because we knew that people would naturally look for another way to power a car.
I understand you trying to help Mr. Israel--but no thanks.

[sufi66]

The house Democrats should be pushing TODAY for extension of unemployment benefits, since unemployment is over 6% in the U.S.

They should be forcing the Republicans to vote against it.

It's simple politics to show which side the Republicans are really on.

Why are the Democrats failing to do this obvious thing?

[freebeer]

Maybe because they are too busy ending the 26 year moratorium on offshore oil drilling.
You see, George Bush thought it was a good idea to help big oil with this and Nancy Pelosi agreed. So the Democrats had no choice but to rally and pass a bill for big oil.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080917/pl_nm/usa_energy_congress_dc
http://www.truthout.org/article/oil-drilling-bill-passes-house

Mr. Israel. Thank you for making affordable education a priority. How did you vote on the oil bill?

[MajMike]

Well . . . $10 billion a month is going into a black hole in Iraq, that would cover it with change.

I wish you luck, Rep., and ask you to remember those folks who have fallen from the middle class in these last eight years. They need more help than ever, and if we fail to bring them up with us we will have failed the nation yet again.

[txkayrose]

Call me crazy... I respect the desire to make a college education possible for anyone who wants one and is willing to do the work. What I question is the logic behind the idea that EVERYONE needs a college education to be happy and successful.
Somebody has to drive the bus.
Somebody has to wait on tables.
Somebody has to work on the road crews.
Somebody has to work in the hospital.
When we marginalize those jobs (and those lives) everybody suffers. There are alot of jobs out there that don't require a 4-yr degree. Really important jobs. Jobs that SHOULD pay a living wage. And we look down our noses at the people who end up in them.
Find a way to make those people 'middle class' and you'll have PLENTY of support for your Democratic Middle Class Working Group.
We have already voted ourselve bread & circuses. How's it working for ya?

[hellenhat]

In order to protect, grow, help the middle class, you must first address JOBS........the loss of jobs in this sector is staggering and with no clear cut proposals for job creation. We need an old fashioned "New Deal" with incentives to create green, good paying jobs......rebuild our cities, roads, mass transit, energy efficient sources of renewable energy (not those that have false promise....ethanol comes to mind), our power grid is antiquated and failing, our bridges and dams are collapsing, so much to do.

The one single thing that would set the middle class and, indeed, all the country on the road to recovery is harnessing health care costs with a not for profit, single payer system that protects every single man, woman, child with access to quality health care.

We also need to secure our borders and recognize that is our best defense. The single best way to stop this continual influx of illegal immigrants who wish to stay......Tighten up citizenship laws...Just because you happen to be born here, should not make you a citizen. Confer citizenship only to those children who are born to legal US citizens (natural or naturalized). That would do more to stop illegal immigration that any fence.

[Kristen16]

Sounds great. But my question is....

What existing program are you going to cut so that you can take the money from there?

Please just spell it out.

As a voter, I have decided that I am no longer going to vote for anyone who does not tell me explicitly what existing programs will be cut or reduced to allow for new dollars somewhere else.

I have no more money to give to the "government." It's my money. I want to keep it.

[sbgypsy]

guess you won't be voting in Nov Kristen ; )

[hellenhat]

Well, let's see.....
The war in Iraq is costing 10 B a month
Tax credits to Big Oil are about 18 B
Royalties not paid by oil companies another few billion
Cutting out the middle man in health care, another few billion
Closing tax loopholes for off shore companies, who knows?
Securing our borders, saving expenses attributable to illegal immigrants, probably 30-40 B

Wow, a few billion here, a few biltion there, next thing you know.....a thriving middle class and a safer, more secure America that keeps our promise to young people, veterans and senior citizens

[Pupadup4oBama]

You said a mouthful and THEN some...;).

[elbzee]

That is, OF COURSE, assuming we do NOT stay in Iraq for the next century and do NOT continue the republican practice of bending us all over for the pleasure of the oil industry.

OBAMA/BIDEN 08!!!!!