Obama calls for student loans boost, research support
TROY, N.Y. - President Barack Obama called Monday for more student loans and greater investments in basic research, particularly at two-year colleges, to bolster the economy.
Speaking here at Hudson Valley Community College, Obama said he hoped to increase the number of graduates from two-year schools by 5 million in 10 years. He also said the United States must reclaim its position as having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.
Obama wants to provide larger Pell Grants, using $80 billion in federal subsidies now going to the banks that underwrite student loans. He described as a "national loss" the high numbers that don't finish college because of financial constraints.
"Jobs requiring at least an associate's degree are projected to grow twice as fast as jobs requiring no college experience," he told the crowd of 350 people. "We will not fill those jobs or keep those jobs on our shores without graduating more students."
Obama pledged to spend millions on basic scientific research, saying it had led to the creation of global positioning systems and other innovations. It also can help revive the moribund upstate economy, he said.
"There are those who suggest that nothing government can do will make a difference; that what we've seen in places like Troy is inevitable; that somehow, the parts of our country that helped us lead in the last century don't have what it takes to help us lead in this one," Obama said. "I am here today to tell you that this is just flat-out wrong."
Troy, population 49,000, was once a center for the manufacture of detachable shirt collars and cuffs. When they ceased to be fashionable in the mid-20th century, hundreds of people were thrown out of work.
On Long Island, community college officials were buoyed by Obama's 25-minute speech. George Gatta Jr., interim president of Suffolk County Community College, said, "I thought it was a very positive message . . . about the need to foster a more educated workforce to rebuild the economy. It is one that's been long overdue."
