Rosalyn Harris, an unemployed single mother who had never gone to college, thought getting a degree would be the ticket to a new life. So at age 23, she enrolled in a two-year criminal justice program at for-profit Everest College in Chesapeake, Va. But the wealth of job opportunities the
Portland, OR – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley commended today’s announcement by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that the Fry Scholarship will be available starting on November 3, 2014 to spouses of servicemembers who died on active duty. This expanded scholarship comes as a result of legislation authored by Senator
The state opened doors for students with disabilities when it decided to recognize those earning modified diplomas as graduates — not just completers — who are now eligible for federal financial aid. “It’s really big news,” said Ashland High School Principal Michelle Zundel, who attended sessions in Salem on the
A couple years back, student debt surpassed credit card debt in the U.S. U.S. Senator Merkely supports a bill that would allow students with high interest loans to refinance them. The bill was filibustered last session, but Merkley hopes to revisit it. “I view college as a public good that
WASHINGTON – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, the Chair of the Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic Policy, held a hearing yesterday on the economic challenges facing young workers and recent high school and college graduates. The hearing, titled “Dreams Deferred: Young Workers & Recent Grads in U.S. Economy,” focused on
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley asked Clatsop Community College’s Class of 2014 Friday to stand up if they were first-generation college students. Promptly, more than half of those graduating were out of their seats. Merkley, a first-generation university student and now a senator facing re-election in five months, promised to fight
WASHINGTON – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after Republicans in the Senate filibustered a bill that would allow students and graduates to refinance student loans into lower interest rates: “When the people’s representatives put millionaires and billionaires before middle-class students who are struggling under the weight of
WASHINGTON – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley welcomed the announcement from the White House today that the administration will expand income-based repayment options for federal student loans, making higher education more affordable for as many as 5 million Americans. The new plan will expand a 2010 law that allows students with
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today helped four West Salem high school students celebrate their high school graduation because they will miss their graduation ceremony in Oregon this week. The students are in Washington, D.C. this week to be recognized as first place winners in the Toshiba/National Science
The following guest commentary was written by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley. The promise that the next generation will be able to go further and do better than the last one is the heart of the American Dream. I was fortunate enough to have that chance. I grew up in a
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