WASHINGTON - Eager to energize young voters, President Obama is depicting Republicans as obstacles to an affordable college education as he previews an argument he will make on university campuses next week in states crucial to his reelection.
“This is a question of values,’’ Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address. “We cannot let America become a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of people struggle to get by.’’
Obama wants Congress to extend a law that cut interest rates on a federal loan program for low- and middle-income undergraduates. If the law expires, the rates will double July 1, from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent.
Obama blames Republicans for voting against new ways to make college more affordable for middle-class families. But it was House Democrats who cut interest rates on the school loans in 2007 and included an expiration provision that placed the looming increase in the middle of an election year.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Friday that at least 7 million students would be financially squeezed if rates were to rise, paying an additional $1,000 on average.
Obama is visiting the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Colorado at Boulder on Tuesday and the University of Iowa on Wednesday. The three schools are in states Obama won in 2008 but are in play this year in his race against the likely Republican nominee, Mitt Romney.
“In America, higher education cannot be a luxury,’’ Obama said. “It’s an economic imperative that every family must be able to afford.’’
He argued that at a time of high joblessness, the rate of unemployment for Americans with a college degree is about half the national average. “It’s never been more important,’’ he said.
The courting of young voters includes an appearance on NBC’s “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon’’ show, which will be taped while Obama is in North Carolina.
While Obama addressed education as his newest election-year theme, Republicans stuck to their criticism of Obama’s energy policies. Citing still high gasoline prices, Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri said the president is focusing on the wrong issues.
Blunt chided Obama and Senate Democrats in the Republican’s weekend address for pushing unsuccessfully for a tax increase on millionaires rather than focusing on consumer pain at the pump. He pressed Obama to drop his opposition to the Keystone XL Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline, which the president blocked earlier this year. The administration says it is waiting for the pipeline developer, TransCanada, to submit a new route that avoids environmentally sensitive lands. It unveiled a preferred route Thursday. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Obama urges an end to fighting in Sudan
WASHINGTON - President Obama urged Sudan and South Sudan to end their fighting and begin negotiations to settle the intensifying conflict between the newly separated countries.
In a video message recorded in the White House and released late Friday, Obama put part of the onus on the government of Sudan, which he said “must stop its military actions, including aerial bombardments.’’ He said the heated words between the countries had raised the risk of war at a time when neither side can afford continued conflict.
Obama also issued a warning to South Sudan officials. “Likewise, the government of South Sudan must end its support for armed groups inside Sudan, and it must cease its military actions across the border,’’ the president said. — ASSOCIATED PRESS