Senator Hassan Hosts Student Debt Roundtable at Keene State College, Highlights Importance of Making College More Affordable

Senator Hassan Hosts Student Debt Roundtable at Keene State College, Highlights Importance of Making College More Affordable

Senator Hassan Also Visits River Valley Community College, Underscores Positive Impact of Workforce Training Programs

Senator Hassan leads roundtable discussion at Keene State College with students, faculty, and administrators

KEENE - Today, Senator Maggie Hassan hosted a student debt roundtable at Keene State College, where she heard from students, faculty, and administrators about the negative impact student debt has on young people in New Hampshire and on the state's economy. The Senator particularly underscored how student debt could hamper entrepreneurship.

"Increasing access to higher education is critical to expanding opportunity for all of our people and it is essential to building a stronger workforce to support our growing businesses," Senator Hassan said. "Today's roundtable shed light on the common challenges many students and their families face given the rising costs of higher education and student debt. The burden of student loan debt negatively impacts our people and our economy, and I will continue working across the aisle to help make college more affordable and to relieve the burden of student debt, especially for entrepreneurs working to start small businesses, which are the backbone of our economy in New Hampshire."

Senator Hassan also visited River Valley Community College in Claremont this afternoon, where she toured several labs on campus and underscored the positive impact of the school's workforce training programs in helping students in the area reach their education goals and in building a stronger workforce in New Hampshire.

As Governor of New Hampshire, Senator Hassan worked to increase access to higher education by freezing tuition at the university system for the first time in 25 years and lowering tuition at community colleges, as well as increasing job training efforts by aligning higher education with the business community. As a member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Senator Hassan is committed to easing the burden of student loan debt by focusing on expanding Pell Grants, lowering interest rates for student loans, and increasing apprenticeship and job training opportunities.

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