Lucas--
My priority is and will always be to solve problems and to fight for justice. As a prosecutor, I've spent my career fighting for victims and for those in need of a voice. That's what I'll do in congress. My priority will be to fight for the middle class and for people in need, and to keep the American Dream alive for future generations. And make no mistake: for young people in New York and across the country, that dream is very much in jeopardy. The path to the middle class is in danger because of misplaced congressional priorities.
Yesterday, I joined several local college students to call on my opponent to clarify his priorities -- specifically, whether or not he supports the latest House Republican budget proposal, introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan earlier this year. This budget would protect more than $40 billion in subsidies to some of our largest and most profitable oil companies. At the same time, the same budget would collect $40 billion from college kids with student loans by forcing them to start paying interest rates while they're still in school .
Newsday's Spin Cycle: "Rice Raises Ryan Budget as Campaign Issue"
My opponent says that he supports the "goal" of the Ryan Budget. What does that say about his priorities?
It says he isn't too concerned about the $1.2 trillion student debt crisis that's stalling our nation's economic recovery. It says he would protect unnecessary, undeserved subsidies for the oil industry and its executives, even if they're funded on the backs of debt-strapped college students.
Those aren't my priorities. I'll protect our college kids and their economic futures before the oil industry. I'll work to relieve the student debt crisis by fighting to reduce the cap on interest rates, allow loan refinancing, and expand tax breaks to parents who are able to help their children pay for college.
And I'll never send our students the bill for $40 billion in unnecessary corporate tax breaks.
--Kathleen Rice