Christopher Dodd Quotes

When Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell first proposed the grants that now bear his name, he envisioned a way to help students attend our country's wonderful colleges and universities, so they could share in the American Dream.

Michelle and I—we’re where we are today only because scholarships and student loans gave us a shot at a great education.

The College Access and Opportunity Act addresses the important need to make higher education more affordable and easier to access for low and middle-income students.

Pell Grants aren't 'welfare,' they are a gateway to opportunity for some of our nation's best and brightest students.

For millions of Americans, federally subsidized student loans and Pell Grants are an important resource for us to get ahead so we can achieve the American dream.

I just believe strongly that anybody who wants to pursue additional education after high school ought to be given that chance.

I believe the American people are entitled to some straight talk when it comes to higher education funding.

By making college unaffordable and student loans unbearable, we risk deterring our best and brightest from pursuing higher education and securing a good-paying job.

The higher amount you put into higher education, at the federal level particularly, the more the price of higher education rises. It's the dog that never catches its tail. You increase student loans, you increase grants, you increase Pell grants, Stafford loans, and what happens? They raise the price.

One of the greatest obstacles to escaping poverty is the staggering cost of higher education.

I am here to give the American people some straight talk about higher education. Some have said we might have cut financial aid for college students. The truth is we have expanded access to college for our neediest students through the record growth of the Pell grant program.

It’s absolutely the case that the low cost college tuition that I was able to enjoy and the financial aid that I was able to receive made my education possible.

It's one thing to make financial aid available to students so they can attend college. It's another thing to design forms that students can actually fill out.

I've always cared about education, and I worked with Senator Schumer on making several thousand dollars of college tuition tax deductible. That will help a lot of your middle class families make college more affordable.

People of my age who went to college, go into college, you know what it cost back then? Nothing or next to nothing. At the most, you had to work at Dairy Queen during the summer and that would pay for your college education.

Is there any more important problem than our lack of need-based scholarships? I think not.

Pell Grants open a lot of doors, but they rely on a solvent government.

The Republicans have chosen to neglect young Americans who need assistance with the costs of higher education.

Middle class families are struggling to send their sons and daughters to school. For many Americans, a college education is essential to future success.

We have an obligation and a responsibility to be investing in our students and our schools. We must make sure that people who have the grades, the desire and the will, but not the money, can still get the best education possible.

No one should be denied the opportunity to get an education and increase their earning potential based solely on their inability to pay for a college education.

I've met students across Rhode Island who rely on Pell Grants. They work hard, play by rules, and are doing everything they can to get the education they need for the jobs of tomorrow.

For the college years we will provide scholarships to high school students of the greatest promise and greatest need and guarantee low-interest loans to students continuing their college studies.

I was the only kid out of six of us to go to college, primarily because my parents could not afford it.

We all have a role to play - the President, Congress, parents, students and schools - in making college affordable and keeping the middle class dream alive.