Young Americans are facing a triple threat, and Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) knows it.
Piggybacking off a meeting with House GOP leadership this morning, Boehner re-affirmed Republican’s commitment to helping young people, saying the party’s focus continues to be on a triple threat for young Americans: the rising cost of student loans, youth unemployment and the increasing cost of healthcare.
Boehner noted the Republican’s Plan for Economic Growth, saying its roadmap plans to combat all three of these issues, which are “a lot more difficult, costly, and complicated than they should be for young Americans,” a press release said.
As Millennials are faced with increasing student loan debt, Boehner referenced the GOP’s Smarter Solutions for Students Act, which sought to tie loans to market-based interest rates and prevent them from doubling on July 1. Though the House passed the bill last week, it has yet to move beyond the Senate.
And with Millennials set to experience “rate shock” from rising costs of healthcare premiums from Obamacare, Boehner called once more for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. House Republicans called for a full repeal of the bill in May, though it failed to pass.
Boehner’s recognition of the triple threat facing young Americans comes after a meeting with House GOP leadership. The Republican Party’s top officials met Wednesday morning to discuss last week’s unimpressive job numbers, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. Unemployment for Millennials rose by 0.5 percent — to 11.6 percent for the month of May.
“I don’t want [my children] to have to come home because they can’t support themselves or find a good job,” said Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.), vice chair of the House Republican Conference. “Today, 50 percent of college graduates can’t find a job or are underemployed. … We are determined to create opportunity and grow this economy so kids like my own don’t have to come home because they can’t support themselves.”
Jenkins joined the party’s leadership — including Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Ore.) — in touting the GOP’s jobs plan as a way to strengthen the economy and create new jobs for Millennials.
“Let’s begin to govern and protect these kids,” Cantor said.
