Snap Fact #130

On March 30, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act. This ambitious omnibus bill was designed to 1) increase tax credits to the middle class 2) invest in community health centers 3) fight waste and fraud in the federal system, and 4) strengthen the American education system. 

The new law was projected to save the country $68 billion while making education more affordable for students because it allows them to get college loans without the intervention of private banks with high interest rates. 

The act also upgrades community and technical colleges so that students can learn skills to enter the workforce. The President made the following statement. “For a long time, our student loan system has worked for banks and financial institutions. Today, we’re finally making our student loan system work for students and our families. But we’re also doing something more. From the moment I was sworn into office, I’ve spoken about the urgent need for us to lay a new foundation for our economy and for our future. And two pillars of that foundation are health care and education, and each has long suffered from problems that we chose to kick down the road. 

With the bill I signed last week, we finally undertook meaningful reform of our health care system. With this bill, and other steps we’ve pursued over the last year, we are finally undertaking meaningful reform in our higher education system. So this week, we can rightly say the foundation on which America’s future will be built is stronger than it was one year ago,"

Recently a Republican candidate mis-characterized the President as "a snob who wanted all young people to attend college". Apparently Mr. Santorum had not heard or listened to the President's actual words spoken to the entire country in his State of the Union Address, in many other speeches, as well as his actions illustrated clearly in the Health Care and Education Affordability Act of 2010. On many occasions President Obama clearly called for youngsters to continue some kind of higher education or career training at least one year after high school, whether in college, trade, schools, or technical schools. President Obama has consistently encouraged students to study hard and take responsibility for their education, urging students to set goals, to believe in themselves, and to be the authors of their own destinies.