DEAN HELLER FLUNKS THE COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY TEST

While Shelley Berkley Echoes President Obama's Call To Keep Student Loans Affordable For Nevada's Middle Class Families, Unelected Senator Dean Heller Gets an "F" On College Affordability

If Heller Had Gotten His Way, the more than 35,000 Nevada Students Who Receive Pell Grants Would Have Seen Their Grants Cut By More Than $600

Las Vegas, NV- Today, following President Obama's speech yesterday at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in which the President called on Congress to act to make sure student loan interest rates would not double on Nevada students come July 1st, the Nevada State Democratic Party awarded unelected Senator Dean Heller an "F" on the college affordability test. 

"Unelected Senator Dean Heller's report card on student loans has a big fat F on top," said  Zach Hudson, spokesperson for the Nevada State Democratic Party.  "While Shelley Berkley has been a leader on keeping college affordable for middle class Nevada families, Dean Heller voted against increasing Pell Grants and other financial assistance programs that help thousands of middle class Nevadans afford to go to college.  As a mother, and the first person in her family to go to college, Shelley knows first-hand the invaluable role affordable education plays in keeping Nevada's middle class families strong." 

Unelected Senator Dean Heller has a long Washington track-record of voting against middle class Nevada families on the issue of keeping college affordable.  Even though more than 35,000 Nevada students receive Pell Grants, Heller voted to cut funding for Pell Grants, which would have cut the size of the average Pell Grant by over $600.  Shelley has proudly stood up for middle class Nevada families by voting to protect and increase Pell Grant funding and other financial assistance programs.