senator tom harkin of iowa chairs the two-hour hearing. get started here. oh. >> the committee on health education labor and pension comes to order. >> we have convened this hearing to consider the nomination of sylvia mathews burwell to be the next secretary of the department of health and human services. ms. burwell, thank you for joining us today. ms. burwell is currently serving as director of the office of management and budget, a position to which she was confirmed by a vote of 96-0 in april 2013. ms. burwell has proven herself as an effective and dynamic manager, with experience and skill in leading a wide range of organizations. recently, i had a very productive meeting with ms. burwell and concluded that she is a deeply impressive nominee and is eminently qualified to serve as the next secretary of health and human services. the united states faces serious public health challenges, many of which require urgent answers. very often, the entire world looks to hhs for leadership. just last friday, this country confronted the first ever incident of mers

i think senator harkin and senator specter doubling nih. senator kit bond and i worked on doubling bnsf but i think rather than picking in a teensy like noah's arc to buy do we go to champion it we have to use the overall innovation. senator alexander. >> thanks manager and thanks for your long support for this and this hearing. i would like to make a preamble and then ask one question. here is the preamble. in 2005 that was sitting at the end of a long day of the senate budget hearing and i was watching and listening to the rise of mandatory spending in two-thirds of the budget and wearing about the other third of the budget which included all the things we are talking about today. i remember it reminded me of my time as governor 30 years ago when i was trying to hold down medicaid spending so i could put more money into higher education. i walked down to the national academies and said i believe if you would tell us 10 things to do that would make our country more competitive we would do them. they gave us 20 in something called rising ab

another issue that is dear to my heart and i know to senator harkin's heart, we've worked together ont and to many people, the crisis in primary health care and the need to go forward with community health centers. one of the reasons i voted for the affordable care act is that the majority leader and others worked very hard to substantially expand community health centers. in fact in the last four or five years i think we've added 4 million more people to gain access through community health centers, in my state about one quarter of the people will get their primary health care through community health centers. we are in a difficult problem right now because we're facing a cliff, as you know. and that is as a result of the aca funding we were able to expand community health centers. if that cliff goes into effect it will be an absolute disaster. you and i have chatted on this on a number of occasions. you working with the president have provided a strong budget for community health centers and for the national health service core. will you fight to make sure that we continue to strong

this dramatic photo shows 72- year-old james harkin defending his home with a garden hose. >> when that wind came up, and it shifted, and went in my house's direction. it was like it had an invitation to a cocktail party. >> reporter: an eight-foot high wall of flame surrounded his house, today, it is still standing, he credits firefighters. >> i didn't do anything. they did the whole shmere, and they saved us. >> reporter: the fire still is burning near marine corps camp pendleton where dozens of military helicopter continue to douse the flames. many of these marines just got back from afghanistan. lieutenant colonel jay mott is the squadron commander. >> we came back from deployment fighting one enemy, now we are coming here to fight another enemy which is now threatening where we live so every time we fly we fly over our neighbors. >> reporter: the majority of the nine wild fires burning in and around san diego county are now nearly out and the weather has improved dramatically. it will continue to do so. jim, the temperatures are expected to fall into the seventies next week. >> axe

. >> thank you very much, senator harkin. and i hope that senator manchin appreciates that more than he does today. i thank you, mr. chairman, for allowing me to be here. many of us in this room as senator alexander just pointed out disagree about the merits of obamacare and what the path forward should be to reform our health care system. i long along with others fought for 25 days on the floor of the senate against obamacare or the affordable care act. first amendment was one that i raised to stop the nearly $500 billion in cuts in medicare that was in the bill. and i continue to believe that the affordable care act should be replaced and modified. but notwithstanding that disagreement i'm pleased to introduce sylvia burwell, who's been nominated obviously as secretary of the department of health and human services. her previous experience as deputy director of the office of management and budget during the clinton administration as well as her work with the bill and ma linda gates foundation, the walmart foundation, her cu

tom harkin in arkansas, not running a great campaign in arkansas. >> look, this applies to democrats, too. just because they had a good week doesn't mean they're automatically going to coast to victory. >> you're dead right. candidates do matter on both ends. maggie, the republicans look at it this way. we have 14 democratic health seats we're targeting. they haven't given any away this early. now democrats have to fight everywhere as opposed to saying got that one, got that one. take it off. >> democrats are very concerned about what they're facing. even though there are certain elements about the national mood that seem to be shifting, obama care might be a little less of a hurdle. we're not going to know on this one. i feel like it gets very under looked when there's the premium shift in the fall. that's the next thing coming on this. that's going to determine a lot of it. in the meantime, there is a bit of good news for them, but it is going to be a serious, serious battle. to peter's point, the candidate quality issue cuts both ways, for the incumbents and the challen challengers

the senate, senator harkin, senator lamar alexander, and finally my close partner and cohort who is here with me today, senator johnny isakson from georgia. madam president, none of us got everything we wanted in the bill we introduced this morning, but all of us got legislation that we believe in. it is a bill that will help our workers. it will help our businesses. and the economy for years to covmencome. madam president, i am as strong of a supporter of our federal workforce development programs as anyone. i have seen firsthand in my home state of washington workers who were laid off, who were able to get new training and new skills and new jobs. and i've seen so many of our washington state businesses from aerospace companies to design firms who were able to access workers with new skills. but the fact is we have been relying on federal workforce development programs that were written in the 1990's. and with millions of new jobs that will require pos postsecony education and advance skills in the coming years, we will fall behind in the world if we do not modernize our workforce deve

in that time 41%, now the harkin bill that we are going to raising the minimum wage 40%.and so for all practical purposes this is what the sterling wrote. and we are concerned that senator teddy kennedy kennedy's proposal back in 98 could prove damaging. damaging to the employment of low skilled workers. and again, that is what the cbo has said about this bill. and he goes on to say as well as to the general macroeconomic performance of the economy. so what are our friends across the out proposing that we do when the economy grew at 1.1% and we have this anemic and economic growth. and that is, again, not just my opinion. this is a job you all over again and i guess if you are around washington long enough you will see this movie replayed over and over again. and the economy is growing too slowly in the number of people is the lowest it's been for the last years area the so-called labor participation rate. so what did president clinton do when his economic advisers said don't do it, mr. president? perhaps it is good politics, it will hurt the economy and it will put peopl

the vice president made headlines in september when he attended senator tom harkin's annual steak fry-raiser in the hawk eye state, which of course brings us to 2016, which is something now with more of my exclusive interview with senate majority leader harry reid. reid, by the way, a ruthless campaigner in public and behind the scenes, we know of his early urging for barack obama to run in 2008. is he eager to get back into the trenches in 2016. i asked him about his political future for himself and who he thinks is on the short list for the white house? >> you going to run again in 2016? >> sure. >> what would make you not run? >> that's very -- >> more personal? >> yeah. >> 2016, who do you want to share the ballot with? who do you want on the top of the ticket in nevada representing the democrats? >> i think it's pretty clear we have democrats that are viable and i think the republicans, unless they change, they change, they can't elect a president. they've done everything to dump on women, they've done everything to dump on hispanics, african-americans, asians, gay and lesbians.

i want to commend senator harkin senator reed, senator gillibrand, who have been so active in calling ateption to this issue. we cannot afford for the cost of obtaining a higher education to incur decades of crushing debt. it's unacceptable. the legislation that we're talking about today seeks to lighten the burden on student borrowers and to put money back in their pocket, to help fuel our economy. but, more importantly to help everyone understand that in this nation, we are still doing everything possible to lead the globe in education. look there's a lot of work to do. my team is trying to focus on some issues i saw as mayor. for example when i was mayor we worked with schools and financial aid counselors to help families simply fill out these forms necessary to obtain aid. the college board estimates that 2.3 million -- 2.3 million students do not fill out the free application for financial aid form, better known as the fafsa form, and they don't fill it out because of its complexities. they don't fill it out because of issue knackss that make it difficult to report what's necessa

you have to look at this ad from iowa, a seat long held by this launch liberal, tom harkin.is record. you've got to look at this republican ad. it's joni earnst her ad against bruce bailey. just watch. >> she's not your typical candidate, conservative joni ernst, carries more than just lipstick in her purse. she will take aim at wasteful spending and once she sets her sights on obamacare, joni is going to unload. one more thing, joni doesn't miss much. >> give me a shot. i'm joni ernst and i approve this message. >> ruth, this is a very different kind of ad for a woman. we've seen the rifle toting joe manchin back in his cycle. >> girls can shoot too. >> this is iowa and sarah palin -- >> and castrate cattle, it's a whole new world of equal opportunity. >> but is this an effective ad do you think? >> we're talking about primaries and you know, in a state like iowa, it could be effective in the general election also. >> i think it's a good -- i would say i think -- it looks different, which is always your first hurdle in any political -- because at least people will look at i

tom harkin has done a wonderful job working that. but numbers all over the board. president put out in his "state of the union" that 9 or 9.25 so republicans that basically are saying maybe 10.10's too much. well, i don't think anybody believes that 7.25 is enough. >> which is where it is now. >> which is where it is now. that is unacceptable, should be to every republican and every democrat w that being said, how do we move forward in the little state of west virginia, my beautiful little state of west virginia, has just passed legislation that will go to 8.75 by 2016 from 7.25. now, other states have done it, too, but some states with no minimum wage statewide that means they relien at federal guidelines. we have got to do something and we are sitting down and -- >> can you get enough republicans? >> we are hopeful of that. i'm meeting with my dear friends and susan come as soon as a beautiful person to work. she is very pragmatic, sit down and talk with susan and try to find out if there is a middle and those of us in the middle from the democrats and republican

. >> reporter: that line of questioning drew a strong rebuke from iowa democrat tom harkin, the chair my opinion, based on the years of work with kathleen sebelius, secretary sebelius, that she performed her job admirably, and that she was a responsible and attentive secretary of health and human services and carried out the law as we wrote it. >> reporter: democrats also touted benefits of the law, and connecticut's chris murphy zeroed in on republican governors who've balked at embracing key provisions, such as expanding medicaid. >> what are the ways in which we can work in a flexible manner with these states as they maybe wake up to the reality of how well the implementation is going after the initial botched rollout. what are the ways in which we can work with some of the states that haven't done things like connecticut to try to make this work in all 50 states rather than just in the handful that have set up their own exchanges? >> i think there are two things and it does come back to the point about flexibility, is one of the points. and i think what's important is to send a si

harkin. this bill authorizes the minting and award of a single gold medal in honor of their outstanding and largely unrecognized work. the medal would be given to the smithsonian institution where it would be available for display or loan as appropriate. the unpaid volunteer members of the civil air patrol during world war ii provided extraordinary humanitarian and combat services during a critical time of need for the nation. the cap, as it was known, was established initially as part of the office of civil defense by american citizens on december 1 of 1941. one week short of the surprise attack on pearl harbor. out of the desire of civil airmen of the country to be mobilized with their personal equipment in the defense of the country. during the war, c.a.p. members used their own aircraft to perform a myriad of special tasks for the military and the country as a whole including attacks on enemy submarines. from the beginning, c.a.p. leaders urged the military to use its services to patrol c

president, i want to thank senators harkin, warren and durbin for their leadership on the important issue of student debt. in the united states, we all appreciate the value of education. we know it leads to higher-paying jobs. we know it leads to better health and even longer lives. education gives everyone in this country a fair shot. my grandpa, he never graduated from high school. he worked 1,500 feet underground in the means of ely, minnesota. he saved money in the coffee can in the basement so he could send my dad to college. my dad went to a community two-year college. he then went on to the university of minnesota, got his journalism degree and went from the coal mines in minnesota and went to get his journalism where he interviewed everyone from mike reagan to ginger rogers. my mom taught school until she was 70 years old. here i stand before you as a united states senator, the granddaughter of an iron ore miner, daughter of a teacher and newspaper man and first woman elected to this job from my state, and one thing i know for sure. it would not have been possible without educatio

his neighbors fled, but marine james harkins refused to leave his home, and there he is. a photo of him in the "l.a. times" went viral. he says he was shocked when a photographer actually showed up. >> and i see that the flames are coming up this way and the fire department's there doing their job, and the fire department leaves to go do something else. so i grab the hose and i just keep everything wet down and so forth. so i'm down there about 6:30, i want to say. this gentleman comes up, starts taking pictures. i said, i hope you're not going to get me in trouble taking off these pictures. i thought he was from the sheriff's department, the fire department saying you can't be here, whatever, so forth. he says, no, no, no. just taking pictures, i'm from the "l.a. times." i said, fine. i'm just going to do my job. >> his job, save his home. firefighters battling those california wildfires in fact as you heard eandra say, could geta break today. >> yes shgyes, put into perspec strong santa ana winds and the recipe for these incredible wildfires we've seen. one of the dries

. >> well, thank you very much chair harkin for that we can. one of the things i did prior to coming to cdc was to work very hard as a primary care doctor within an integrated healthcare system to basically tra troy to figure out how we could mobilize the engine of healthcare to help our patients quit smoking. this is proven to be something that is both -- has lots of very strong potential but lots of very strong challenges. a potential is basically 75% of smokers see a doctor in a year and doctor have a lot of respect and they also embedded in a system that increasingly knows how to adopt changes and influence behaviors. on the flip side, there has been predigitious onlies moving forward. there has been lack of medical training. particularly the lack of coverage and capacity to be able to provide services without seeming like something they're doing just as on top of everything else. the short story i learned from my decade trying to do this, yes it is possible. it takes a lot of work. you have to make services accessible so that clinicians wi

now the harkin bill that we're going to vet on shortly proposes to raise the minimum wage 40%. this was back in 1978 gene sperling writing to president clington on a proposed increase of the minimum wage by 41%. the same sort of proposal. so this is what mr. sperling wrote: "your entire economic team believes that this approach is too aggressive and are concerned that senator kennedy's proposal" -- it was senator teddy kennedy's proposal back in 1978 -- "could approve damaging to the employment prospects of low-skilled workers." again, that's whatd c.b.o., the congressional budget office said about this bill. he goes on to say "as well as to the general macroeconomic performance of the economy." so what are our friends across the aisle proposing we do when the economy grew at .1% this last quarter? well, to administer a body blow to this anemic economic growth. and that's again, not just my opinion. this is deja vu all over again, as they say. this is a -- and i guess if you're around washington long enough you're going to see this movie get replayed over and over again. the fa

instead of them talking about what's going on in the economy now, you hear them harkin back to the goods of a way of enticing voters and getting them riled up as opposed to focusing on near-term policy issues. >> there's been a lot of talk from this administration and others around the globe, we have to do more to support smaller companies. they're the job creators and the drivers of growth. are the small businessmen, the smaller companies, now hiring or not? >> it appears that they are. when we looked at the reports from adt yesterday, what we did see is that the smaller companies are hiring the indicators again, the surveys of small businesses indicate they're hiring but doing so cautiously. they don't want to get too far ahead of where the economy is, but they are confident that in the near term, they can justify a higher payroll count. >> thanks for that, patrick. good to see you as always. leanne, thank you as well. financial reporter at "the washington post" as well as a cnbc contributor. i know it's early for both of you. we appreciate it. >>> we're also asking you today, the vie

we know that we will be joined by senator harkin, durbin who himself as a new bill, senator crones who really has been a leader in innovation and applied innovations. so we look forward to hearing about this today. earlier this morning a stop to johns hopkins. it was for my annual eye checkup at a warmer eye clinic. i wish all members of been there. did people come from all over the world. all over the world. use in the waiting room, some people who might be there. some people might be there for medicare. some people a just flew in from the airport. you see wardrobes of the global and though it's a global waiting room, literally they come here for american medicine, american know how that depends on american research. whether it's the gifted scientist, commissions, or even the technology used not to avow u.s. or to help us, it's indeed stunning. think about what we really would focus on innovation what it would really mean. discovery is part of our country. when president thomas jefferson commissioned louis in part to find the water route to the pacific what did he call the mission? he

will you work with some of us, with myself, senator harkin and others, to make sure that we adequately fund the national health service core to do debt forgiveness or scholarships for medical school students who want to practice in underserved areas >> this is an issue that throughout the budget you see support for. and whether that's in the issue that you just raised in terms of the national health core, it's also in how we think about not just positions but there are also provisions that are about nurses and other people that are part of the primary care system. >> that's exactly correct. >> i think that's another important piece that we need to work on. >> what i worry about -- thank you. i agree with you. we're looking at the expiration of a very important program ealled the teaceath >> it is the teaching health undergraduate education program educra allows people to get their graduate -- the doctors tr get their training and community health care centers and etc. are you familiar with that program? >> the graduate medical education program. yes. >> looking to expire. we work to ma

congress passed the law to which senator harkin referred, the family smoking control and prevention act, almost 20 years ago, and it clearly attempts to discourage the use of tobacco products. what has happened since then -- around 80% of adults still smoke cigarettes, but that is down from 20% in 2010. smoking among youth continues to decline. electronic cigarettes has grown rapidly. the number of adult smokers who tried e-cigarettes doubled between 2010 and 2011. thell hope this mostly on regulation proposed by fda two weeks ago, but i want to first read some statistics about the center for tobacco products. fda spend nearly 80% of the one $.8 billion in user fees collected, more than half of the spending occurred during fiscal year 2013 -- fda spent nearly 80% of the $1.8 billion in user fees collected. there are over 4000 substantial equivalence applications pending for tobacco products. fda has decided on 34 of the the agency has received. i believe these statistics reflect the poor performance, and i think it is important to call that to your attention. i appreciated being informe

it's been held by tom harkin who is retiring this year. this is a wide open race. the first one like it in iowa for decades. it swung hard to the gop in the 2010 midterms when terry branstad. the magic number for republicans is six nationally, that's the number of democratic seeds they need to pick up. if they pick off this iowa race, their path is going to become a lot easier. but will nominating joni make it harder? we'll take a look at this. >> joni will take aim at was wasteful spending and once she sets her sights on obamacare she's going to unload. >> that follow-up ad to the hog castration ad is the kind the tea party base eats up. it's no wonder she's rocketed to the top. but democrats who are poised to nominate bruce brayly on tuesday will come across to general election as too extreme. sort of the way ken buck did when they lost senate races that the party should have won in 2012 and 2010. we got a preview of what the fall race will look like when republican candidates held their final debate and ernst had this to say. >> you wouldn't change the ad or the

tom harkin and george miller have a bill to fight they be lifting the minimum wage. so join the rest of the country. say yes. give america a raise. >> last year according to the national conference of state legislatures, four states, connecticut, california, new york and rhode island passed laws to increase the minimum wage. in november the new jersey voters enacted an amendment to increase this year. four more states, delaware, maryland, minnesota and west virginia and the district of columbia have also enacted minimum wage increases. other bills to increase the minimum in hawaii and vermont are awaiting signatures of the governors in those states. and while fast food workers are still demonstrates for 15, workers in seattle could soon collect tem in their paychecks. the city's mayor recently inkreelsed minimum wage to $15 an hour. that would give seattle the distipgs of having the highest level in the country. the fast food strikes not only proceeded the policy shifts, but also helped to push minimum wage onto the political agenda and this year's midterm election.

because of some of the statements he is made, i went to his district in iowa was senator harkin and hada town meeting. i will tell you, he does not represent the feelings of the people of iowa on the issue of immigration. some of the statements he has made have been part of a sad and time-honored tradition of nativism and prejudice against immigrants. he continues that to this day. a basic question for speaker boehner, does he speak for the house republican caucus? there have been times when the speaker has apologized for some of his outrageous comments and called him to task because of them. the question now is, will he set the agenda when it comes to immigration in the house of representatives for them remainder of this year? i hope not. i hope that the speaker will listen carefully to former speaker dennis hastert as well as the business and labor leaders and religious leaders across america who are calling once and for all for us to fix this row can immigration system before the end of this year, before we break for august, we need to get his job done, we need to have a bipartisan b

they brought the bill sponsored by congressman tom harkin and george miller, who was right here in front. [applause] have graduallyld raise the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10. by preventing even a vote on this bill, they have prevented a raise for 28 million hard-working americans. they said no to helping millions work their way out of poverty. mind, this bill would have done so without any new taxes or spending or bureaucracy. americans, like the ones who are here today, that you are on your own. without even looking them in the eye. depend on these americans. the workers who benefit from a minimum-wage increase often work full time, often in physically demanding jobs. they average 35 years of age. most low-paying jobs are held by women. but because republicans in even denying ao, vote on the floor of the senate, these folks are going to have to wait for the raise they deserve. the good news is, outside of washington, folks are waiting. have beenblicans deciding whether to even allow a minimum wage bill to come up for a vote, we have seen 10 states and the district of columbi

james harkins his hand and fighting to save his home. >> : but department they're doing their job firement i grab my hose and everything what everything now. the photo meat one viral and social media and to millions of homes to the l.a. times his neighbors did flames but they lost everything that the left behind. airline also this morning to see fires burned at campouts and new video on the kron4- dot-com of those places the marine corps has lifted to evacuation order for some 8400 military personnel and their families. fires burned more than 22,000 a. from the and only partially contained this morning. >> : arson investigators have meant to us this morning this say he is responsible for starting at least one of those fires the 57 year-old suspect all bare toes toronto been charged with arson in this fire and oceanside. now fully contained so facing seven years in prison if convicted. >> : the witnesses saw him adding dead brush to smoldering areas causing flames flared back up. >> : so far officials don't think star was connected with only one fire. >> : he been here was with a specia

first of all, democrats -- first of all, i applaud tom harkin for all the work he's put into this.eing said, a lot of my friends on the republican side said when the president first came out and said 9.25, let's talk about that and see how many votes we can get. 100% of nothing is nothing. right now we've got nothing. we've got democrats, we all voted for 10.10 and we had bob corker vote for 10.10 to get the conversation started. so if that's the case and 9.25, they might say at least can't we go and start there? i'm willing to sit down and talk about anything that will raise it off of 7.5. >> all right. there you go. did you hear it? it's on the table. senator manchion, thank you so much. it's great to you have on the show, as always. >> it's great to be with you. thanks, joe. take care, buddy. >> up next, a deal that would change the tv landscape? >> i'm not sure if i want at&t taking over directv. are we going to get dropped tv shows? >> let's wait till we hear. we'll be right back. i tr ied depend last weekend. i tr ied it really made the difference between a morning around the

tom harkin saying that the report shows our economy is on the mend.ust continue to work to help all workers share in economic recovery. senator john saying that the april labor force participation rate dropped by 800-6000. by 806,000. 220,000 jobs added in april. if you are employed, give us a call at (202) 585-3880. .nemployed, (202) 585-3881 if you found a job in the last year, (202) 585-3882. roger is calling us from california. you are currently unemployed? caller: yes. three months ago. host: what kind of work were you doing? caller: fabrication. that shed by my lawyer had to cut her workforce to below 50 workers. because she could not afford to pay for health insurance for more workers and could not afford to do that. host: has your job hunting experience -- what has that been like? caller: jobs are hard to find. i had to move back to bayside. inre are not many jobs here the eureka area. host: are you getting any unemployed and assistance? caller: yes. host: when does that expire? caller: i still have three months of it left. host: for the types

james harkin stayed behind to hose down the area around his house. >> flames are coming up this way,t leaves to do something else, i grab the hose, keep everything wet down and so forth. i am down there about 6:30 i want to say. this gentleman comes up, starts taking pictures. i said i hope you're not going to get me in trouble taking these pictures. i thought he was from the sheriff's department or fire department, they were going to say you can't be here, whatever, so forth. he says no, no, i am taking pictures from los angeles times. i said fine. i am going to do my job. >> this man is doing his job, trying to save his house. he lived in the house more than 20 years. and it and he made it through the fires. >>> time for our science behind segment, our weekly look at the why behind the what. cnn meteorologist jennifer grey shows us the source of the santa ana winds, how they help fuel the california fires. >> we have been talking about the santa ana winds, the strong winds coming from east to west, coming in off the desert, very dry, very hot air. also down sloping off the mountain

harkin: madam president, how much time do we have left? the presiding officer: there is eight minutes remaining on the democratic side. mr. harkin: madam president, in a few moments we're going to vote here in the senate on whether we're going to bring the minimum wage bill to the floor for debate and a vote. in a few minutes it will be clear where each senator stands. who in this chamber is going to stand with millions of americans who work full time for a living but who are left in poverty, or the brink of poverty, struggling toking to make ends meet. who is going to vote to give these good people a fair shot at the american dream and who's going to vote against them. we're going to find out in just a few minutes. there's no question that working families need a raise. 14 million children in america, that's one in every five, is in a family that would get a raise under our minimum wage bill. businesses need a raise. over 600 economists, seven nobel prize winning economists said the lack of demand is what is hurting businesses in america.

senator harkin and i introduce add bill to bring better coordination and focus to federal oversight to for-profit colleges and universities called the proprietary education and oversight education improvement act, a long title for a bill that basically is trying to come to grips with the scandalous behavior of the for-profit colleges and universities. for too many americans today the promise of a fair shot, an affordable college education has become a long shot. that's not the american way of doing things. we want to have an educated generation prepared to lead this country. they cannot do that saddled with debt and going to worthless schools. it is time for this generation to step up. allow these students to refinance their debt to give their lives back in order and to start looking ahead with some promise and hope. get their parents out from under the debt burden that they assume with their kids. stop the rip-offs that are coming from these for-profit colleges and universities. put an end to some of the rip-offs even by semigovernment agencies. all of these things have to come to an