President Barack Obama is reaching out to Congress and colleges hoping to make the costs of higher education more manageable for students. He wants to make sure that obtaining a higher education is affordable for all Americans.

During his weekly radio and Internet address, he called higher education “the surest ticket to the middle class.” However, the President recognizes that the hefty price tag associated with higher education remains a struggle for many American families and he wants to reverse that with new initiatives.

In Saturday’s address, he highlighted his plan to link federal financial aid for college to the school’s performance. Obama also reiterated his attempts for Congress to pass legislation that allows students to refinance their loans at lower interest rates so more money goes to the students instead of the banks. He shared his hopes to see an expansion of grants and college tax credits for students and their families, and the chance for students to cap their student loan payments at ten percent of their income.

I love what the President is working towards with his new initiatives. I agree wholeheartedly that more students should be able to afford higher education, and not be bogged down with decades of loans to repay after graduation. I hope to see some of his initiatives like lower interest rates, grant expansion and capping loan payments come into effect in the near future. I think these changes will help ease the burden of debt and encourage more students to seek higher education.