President Obama believes that keeping interest rates on student loans low is key to growing the economy, so that more Americans get a fair shot at an affordable college education and the skills they need to find a good job.

Keeping college affordable is a critical part of the President’s blueprint for an economy that’s built to last – one that prepares Americans for the jobs of the future, restores middle-class security, and rewards hard work and responsibility.

Interest rates for new subsidized student loans are set to double from 3.4 to 6.8 percent on July 1 unless Congress acts. The rates were set by Congress in 2007. Did you know that Americans owe more on student loans than credit cards?  If Congress fails to act, more than 7 million students would pay on average more than $1,000 in costs over the life of that loan. 

President Obama has a strong record of helping America’s students pay for college. He doubled our investments in Pell Grants, helping 3.7 million more students afford college. He fought for a college tax credit that’s worth up to $10,000 over four years of college. He capped federal student loan payments at 10 percent of monthly income. That will help 1.6 million students manage their monthly payments and pursue the career of their dreams as soon as this year.

Call your Member of Congress today and let them know that we have to keep college affordable, giving all Americans a fair shot at receiving an affordable education. They need to know that passing this bill is not only good for our nation’s students and their families – it’s vital to keeping America competitive for the long haul.

The rising cost of health insurance coverage has imposed a heavy burden on our nation. As a recent graduate of the University of Virginia, I can convey that the Affordable Care Act has saved me over thousands of dollars by allowing me to stay on my parent’s health insurance until I turned 26 years old. Before health reform, insurance premiums were skyrocketing and the cost of caring for the uninsured added $1,000 to the typical policy. The Affordable Care Act promotes better value through preventive care, coordinated care, and reduced waste and abuse.

Before the Affordable Care Act became law, my parent’s insurance company dropped me from their coverage when I was only 21 years old. I didn’t really understand what I was losing until it was actually gone. During the last few months of my undergraduate years, I was considered an uninsured American. It still amazes me to this day how I took my insurance for granted. I never had to think twice about going to the dentist, or getting a physical, or even about going to the doctor to complain about a non-existent problem that I had diagnosed myself with. As Americans, we often take issues like health insurance for granted until we become burden with illness or denied coverage.

During my first year of employment after college, I considered myself blessed to have health insurance again; however, it was an overpriced, low-quality plan. The 2010 reform law gave Americans a truly competitive health insurance market. Words can’t express how excited I was the day my mother called me and informed me that she would be mailing me my new insurance card. That meant that I was able to cancel my current low-quality insurance plan, and return to my parent’s top-notch plan. Even though I was only able to enjoy the benefit of staying on my parent’s health insurance for about two years, it brings me great joy to know that my brother and future generations will be able to graduate from college and not be uninsured.

Because of the Affordable Care Act, 3.4 million young adults are now eligible to stay on their parents’ health insurance plans up to age 26. In the law’s first year, close to a million young adults – traditionally the group most likely to be uninsured – gained insurance. President Obama pushed for and signed the Affordable Care Act, which improved access to health care for all Americans, making access to quality, affordable health care a right – not a privilege – in the United States.

Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA), too many young women were not getting the preventive care they needed to stay healthy. Yearly checkups like pap smears, mammograms, and HPV tests are crucial to a young woman’s health. I am thankful for the ACA, because now pap smears are considered preventive care and is provided without co-pay, while previously, my parents insurance provider would not take care of the necessary procedure without hiking up the cost.

I am a 20-year-old psychology and English major at Xavier University in Ohio. Often because of cost and my parents’ inability to afford my annual checkups and support my college education at the same time, I only used to seek preventive care at less than half the recommended rate. We were constantly worrying about me catching the flu because we could not afford the cost for yearly flu shots. But now, flu shots are considered preventive care under the ACA, and I am able to obtain my yearly shot which is now one less thing that my parents have to worry about while I am trying to achieve my degree. As an African American, I finally feel like my country is considering my community.

Thanks to the ACA, I can focus on my studies and graduate a strong, healthy woman—as every woman deserves. When I decide to settle down with my family, I have the comfort of knowing that prenatal care will also be affordable. The ACA has helped my life and many others in so many ways. Finally, America has turned a kind face to women’s health, to African American health, and most importantly, to my health.

Did you know that women still pay more than men for the same health insurance coverage? Well, the Affordable Care Act will prohibit such “gender rating,” starting in 2014. The elimination of gender rating was one of the most important changes made by the health care law, signed by President Obama on March 23, 2010.

Thanks to President Obama and Democrats, gender rating will be a thing of the past, and it will be illegal to charge women more. That's progress. Every Republican presidential candidate has pledged to repeal the health reform law, allowing insurance companies to keep charging women more than men for the same insurance. Under a President Romney or a President Santorum, being a woman would continue to be a pre-existing condition—and that is what this election is about.

To learn more about the Affordable Care Act click here.

On May 1, 1997, I was sworn-in as the nation's 23rd Secretary of Labor and the first African American to head the department. During my tenure at the U.S. Department of Labor I focused on achieving 3 goals: ensuring a prepared workforce, a secure workforce and a quality workplace.

Now we are facing a make or break moment for middle class Americans. With so many challenges affecting us, President Obama is creating a blueprint for an economy built to last. He is addressing concerns like job training, economic security, and educational investments that will give our children the skills they need to obtain the jobs of tomorrow. President Obama is working relentlessly to prepare the workforce, secure the workforce, and create a quality workplace.

President Obama is going to keep fighting for middle-class families throughout the country. He will keep fighting to regain the economic security the middle class has lost, and he’ll keep fighting to provide new opportunities for those Americans who are struggling to make it to the middle class. We have to, as a community, join together and support President Obama. He will keep up the fight to restore an economy where hard work and responsibility are rewarded.

Are you in for 2012!?

To learn more about Alexis Herman click here.

On May 1, 1997, I was sworn-in as the nation's 23rd Secretary of Labor and the first African American to head the department. During my tenure at the U.S. Department of Labor I focused on achieving 3 goals: ensuring a prepared workforce, a secure workforce and a quality workplace.

Now we are facing a make or break moment for middle class Americans. With so many challenges affecting us, President Obama is creating a blueprint for an economy built to last. He is addressing concerns like job training, economic security, and educational investments that will give our children the skills they need to obtain the jobs of tomorrow. President Obama is working relentlessly to prepare the workforce, secure the workforce, and create a quality workplace.

President Obama is going to keep fighting for middle-class families throughout the country. He will keep fighting to regain the economic security the middle class has lost, and he’ll keep fighting to provide new opportunities for those Americans who are struggling to make it to the middle class. We have to, as a community, join together and support President Obama. He will keep up the fight to restore an economy where hard work and responsibility are rewarded.

Are you in for 2012!?

To learn more about Alexis Herman click here.

From BarackObama.com:

Today, as our nation kicks off African American History Month, the campaign is launching African Americans for Obama.

When President Obama took the oath of office, our economy was hemorrhaging jobs at a record pace. President Obama inherited a system that allowed a shrinking number of people to get ahead while the rest of us fell behind. But he stopped the bleeding and went to work for our community and our nation. Despite serious challenges, since 2009 restoring our shared values has helped us achieve real progress.

In some ways this election is more important than the last for our community. If we fail to re-elect President Obama, some people will say everything we’ve accomplished since 2008 was a fluke. That’s why we’ve got to speak loudly about his accomplishments and make sure that, throughout the campaign, we’ve got President Obama’s back. You can start today by volunteering or joining your local neighborhood team as a Black Business Captain, Congregation Captain, Barber Shop & Beauty Shop Captain, or HBCU Organizer.

There are ample opportunities to get involved. Begin by watching this message from the President and sharing it with your family and friends.

The President outlined in his State of the Union a blueprint for a job-creating economy that’s built to last – one where hard work pays, responsibility is rewarded, and everyone does their fair share and plays by the same rules. His plan will establish an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.

The President’s plan will cut in half the taxes paid by businesses on their first $5 million in payroll, providing a tax but targeting the benefit to the 98 percent of firms that have payroll below this threshold. The plan will also completely eliminate payroll taxes for firms that increase their payroll by adding new workers or increasing the wages of their current worker to ensure that this tax cut is focused on small businesses.  In addition, the plan will encourage businesses to make investments by extending 100% business expensing into 2012. This extension would put an additional $85 billion in the hands of businesses next year. Finally, the plan intends to help entrepreneurs and small businesses get access to capital, grow and hire by expanding Small Business Administration backed loan limits, cutting red tape and reforming our patent system.

This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class and those trying to reach it. At stake is the very survival of the basic American promise that if you work hard, you can do well enough to raise a family, own a home and have some savings when you retire.  The defining issue and most urgent challenge of our time is how to keep that promise alive. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well but most Americans barely get by, or we can build a nation where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules.