Dems Counter Romney's NH Visit

Mitt Romney made his first return to New Hampshire since winningthe state's  on Jan. 10.

New Hampshire Democrats, however, are not standing idly by.

Throughout the state, Barack Obama supporters have held phone banks, calling locals to discuss the Romney-Ryan budget that may increase education costs.

In Amherst, Obama supporters will meet at at 16 Conifer Lane this Saturday, April 28 at 11:15 a.m. before canvassing on college affordability 

Romney in January's primary.

According to a release from the Obama reelection campaign:

When Mitt Romney makes his return to the Granite State this week, he will be forced answer up for his assertion in Conway that higher education costs will work themselves out in the free market and for his position that struggling students should “shop around,” as well as for his support for the Romney-Ryan budget that allows student loan interest rates to double while gutting critical programs to help Granite Staters afford a college education.

College students in New Hampshire graduated with more loan debt last year than anywhere else in the country, according to a study by the Project on Student Debt. New Hampshire college and university graduates in 2010 had on average $31,048 in debt, the most in the country, and New Hampshire also has the second-greatest proportion of students with debt, 74 percent.

“We are waiting to see how Mitt Romney will defend his indefensible support for the Romney-Ryan budget that allows student loan interest rates to double and if he will continue to advocate ‘shopping around’ as the way to address high costs of college education,” said Holly Shulman, communications director for the Obama campaign in New Hampshire. “Mitt Romney’s plan to continue to give tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires while cutting critical programs to help students afford college is unacceptable for Granite State families.”

Keeping college affordable, said Shulman, is a critical part of the President’s blueprint for an economy that’s built to last, one that prepares Americans for the jobs of the future, restores middle-class security, and rewards hard work and responsibility.

This week, Obama will be discussing how interest rates for new subsidized student loans are set to increase on July 1 unless Congress acts. 

The President’s commitment to making college more affordable stands in stark contrast to Mitt Romney’s advice to New Hampshire students that they “shop around” if they are worried about tuition. Romney has endorsed the Congressman Paul Ryan’s Republican budget plan, which would let student loan interest rates double and force students to incur more and more debt. Under the Romney-Ryan budget, in New Hampshire alone nearly 38,000 students would see their interest rates double in the coming academic year for a total of $30 million in increased interest payments from one year of borrowing. The Romney-Ryan budget would also slash funding for Pell Grants, costing the average student more than $800 per year.