PHOTOS & VIDEO: Hirono Holds Spotlight Forum on Trump, Republican Chaos in Higher Ed in U.S.

~ Video of the full forum can be found here and photos can be found here ~

~ Video of Senator Hirono's opening remarks can be found here ~

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) held a spotlight forum titled, "Killing the American Dream: How Republicans are Closing the Door on Working and Middle-Class Students," highlighting the ways in which the chaos created by the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans is taking away college and career opportunities for students across the country. During the forum, a panel of witnesses comprised of higher education stakeholders spoke about how the chaos being created by the Trump Administration is making college more expensive and closing the door on students.

"Trump is engaged in an all-out coordinated assault on education, and his attacks on our students do not just stop when they finish high school-he is actively working with Republicans to block access to post-secondary education and future career opportunities for working- and middle-class students," said Senator Hirono. "As students and their families navigate the rising cost of living and unprecedented economic uncertainty, these attacks make it even more expensive and difficult for these families to afford to send their children to college. Trump's lawless attacks on higher education are making it harder for people to access the knowledge and training they need to fill critical jobs-teachers, doctors, nurses, the list goes on. I'm grateful to our panelists and my colleagues for using their voices to speak out against this injustice, and I look forward to continuing our work to support students and their futures."

Specifically, the forum focused on how the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress are making it more difficult for students from working and middle-class families to pursue college and career opportunities, particularly due to the Republican-passed tax giveaway, attacks on the U.S. Department of Education, and cuts to programs that support students.

The forum featured testimony from:

• Aissa Canchola Banez, Policy Director, Protect Borrowers
• Roxanne Garza, Director of Higher Education Policy, The Education Trust
• Dr. Bradley Custer, Former Employee, U.S. Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid
• Mary Modica, Student Borrower and Educator

"Firings and staff departures make what is already a difficult situation for students to navigate even more challenging," said Senator Amy Klobuchar. "Any parent who's had a kid in college and is trying to figure it all out knows exactly what this is like-and it's going to have a long-term effect on their kids, especially those who need help the most."

"We know that America thrives when it invests in its people, and nowhere is this more true than fulfilling the promise of affordable higher education. Yet for too long, that promise has been systemically broken-shattered by soaring college costs exacerbated by unstable state budgets, the diminishing purchasing power of the Pell Grant, and the proliferation of high-debt, low-quality programs, particularly in the for-profit college industry. Today, millions of Americans are crushed under the weight of a $1.7 trillion student debt crisis," said Aissa Canchola Bañez, policy director of Protect Borrowers. "Make no mistake: this crisis is a policy choice. Policymakers over the past half century have allowed our public higher education system to become increasingly privatized, forcing students and families to bear the growing financial burden of what should be a public good. The One Big Beautiful Bill will only make matters worse and as a result push higher education further out of reach and millions further into debt."

"EdTrust opposes this administration's policies that block opportunity for millions of students, especially those too often left behind," said Roxanne Garza, Director of Higher Education Policy at The Education Trust. "We call on leaders to expand Pell Grants, build a path to affordable and accessible college through a federal-state partnership, and invest in proven student support programs. Every student deserves a higher education that prepares them for the workforce, strengthens families, and makes the American Dream real. EdTrust is ready to stand with Sen. Hirono and Congress to make that vision a reality."

"As former employees within FSA, my teammates and I made substantial progress on making things better for student loan borrowers, but that progress is at risk following the mass firing," said Dr. Bradley Custer, former employee at the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid. "Forcing out the experts who prided themselves on helping hundreds of people every year is not efficient; it's self-inflicted chaos."

"I was unable to buy a house without the luck of circumstance, and I certainly can't afford to have a child," said Mary Modica, an educator and student borrower. "In this country, we work to live and we work for healthcare-but even that is out of reach for too many of us."

Video of the full forum can be found here and photos can be found here.

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