Joshua's Petitions and Actions

We need to make college more affordable, not less. But some in Congress seem to have it backwards. First, under the Ryan Budget, Republicans have proposed eliminating Pell Grants for two million students.

And now, unless Congress acts soon, an important loan program that serves almost 8 million college students will double its interest rates! A vote in the Senate may be just a couple weeks away, so please contact your Senators now.

We all know that making college affordable for all Americans isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s right for the economy. Right for an America that wants to compete in the world. The U.S. once ranked first in college graduation rates; now we rank 12th.

That’s just not right.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) have just introduced the Student Loan Affordability Act, a bill that will prevent the interest rates on nearly 8 million Stafford loans from doubling — an increase that would cost the average student $5,000.

Will you tell Congress to not let student loan rates double before it's too late?

Americans now owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt, with total outstanding student loan debt in America expected to exceed $1 trillion this year.2 Millions of hardworking, taxpaying, educated Americans are being crushed under the weight of their educational debts and it's doing further damage to our economy — students with outstanding debt can't buy homes and can't contribute to the economy as full consumers.

We need a real economic stimulus and jobs plan. Investing in our students is the way to do it.

Tell Congress to not let student loan rates double before it's too late!

Hi,

Jasmine Thar, a 16 yr old African American was shot and killed December 23, 2011 while in her Godmother's yard in Chadbourn, NC preparing for a routine shopping trip to Myrtle Beach.  Jasmine was doing what most teens do, texting, when the shot rang out.  Two others were injured by the same bullet. A 23 yr old Caucasian male who was in the house across the street where the shot came from claims it was an accident. He was taken in for questioning but was not charged.The families of this tragedy lives will forever be changed.

That's why I signed a petition to Jon David, Columbus County District Attorney, Roy Cooper, NC Attorney General, and Chris Gentry, Columbus County ADA, which says:

"We demand justice for Jasmine Thar who was shot and killed. Three months after the shooting we still have no answers.  We urge you to sign this petition to demand a lawful, thorough, and unprejudiced investigation from the SBI and sound judicial decisions from Columbus County District  Attorney Jon David and ADA Chris Gentry."

Will you sign this petition? Click here:

http://signon.org/sign/justice-for-jasmine-3?source=s.em.cp&r_by=748726

Hi,

I signed a petition to Rep. John Kline (MN-2), The United States House of Representatives, and 2 others which says:

"Total outstanding student loan debt in America is expected to exceed $1 TRILLION this year. Millions of hardworking, taxpaying, educated Americans are being crushed under the weight of their educational debts, while the economy continues to sputter. Support a REAL economic stimulus and jobs plan. Support the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 (H.R. 4170)."

Will you sign this petition? Click here:

http://signon.org/sign/support-the-student-loan?source=s.em.cp&r_by=

I don't think I could be any more outraged right now: Congresswoman Virginia Foxx told a radio interviewer last week that she has "very little tolerance for people who tell me that they graduate with $200,000 of debt or even $80,000 of debt, because there's no reason for that."1

Oh really? So it's my fault if I have student debt?

But Foxx isn't just any member of Congress. She's the CHAIR of the Higher Education & Workforce Training Subcommittee in the House. That's right, she controls policy on the issue of student debt, and she thinks you're a loser and a whiner if you have student loans.

Someone with Foxx's extreme views has no business setting education policy. Speaker Boehner and the rest of Congress need to publicly denounce her remarks.

Click here to tell Speaker Boehner and members of Congress to denounce Rep. Foxx for her absurd remarks.

Foxx went on to say: "I went through school, I worked my way through, it took me seven years, I never borrowed a dime of money." This was in 1968 at UNC Chapel Hill, when seven years of college cost about $46,100 TOTAL (adjusted for inflation). How much would her education cost now? $141,820. An in-state student at UNC Chapel Hill now pays triple what it cost when Foxx went to school. And, by the way, the minimum wage was 38% higher in 1968 than it is now, in inflation-adjusted dollars.2

What's even worse is that Foxx sponsored the "Protecting Academic Freedom in Higher Education Act," a bill to strip away federal regulation of for-profit colleges -- colleges that notoriously prey on lower-income students, have disturbingly low graduation rates, and leave their students with higher-than-average levels of debt.3 And no wonder: Foxx's top campaign contributors are the for-profit colleges themselves.4 Foxx needs to be put in check.

If you think that Rep. Foxx shouldn't get away with her absurd remarks, add your name here.