|
Pallone, who won reelection in one of this November's heated midterm races, stressed the need to address concerns of college students and the need to motivate students to get involved in government.
One of the first things on his party's agenda is a goal to make college financially accessible to all Americans, Pallone said.
He said the plan includes reducing interest rates, increasing the tax deductibility of college tuition and maximizing the Pell Grant, a type of federal aid.
"I don't see how (the President) could veto that," Pallone said, adding that enacting policy related to the war in Iraq will also appear high on the Democrats' list of priorities.
Pallone said he strongly believes the reason the Democrats took the majority is because of discontent with the war. People voted by party, not individual, Pallone said, because they want to see a Democratic majority that will end the war.
"We need to push for benchmarks and timetables," Pallone said while discussing the need for an exit strategy in the war in Iraq. "People have high expectations for us to do something."
Pallone serves as chairman of the Democratic Health Care Task Force and also spoke briefly on health care in America. He attributed the decrease in coverage to employers who can no longer afford to pay health care and also to funding cuts.
When Pallone concluded his lecture and opened the floor to questions, many audience members grilled the congressman on policy and on his predictions.
One student inquired whether environmentalism, a specialty for the congressman, will take on a larger role in the new Congress.
Pallone responded that people want a clean environment and will give their support, adding that the difficulty lies in determining which members of Congress will support the environment.
