University Times

Vice President Al Gore visited Pitt on Sept. 11 as part of a coordinated effort by the Clinton administration to short-circuit proposed student aid cuts now before Congress.

Gore told the mostly friendly lunchtime crowd of about 3,000 who gathered on the grounds of the Cathedral of Learning that President Bill Clinton would do everything in his power to fight the "Draconian cuts" the Republican Congress is planning for student aid programs.

"There are leaders right now in this bunch that's running Congress who are trying to slash our investment in education in the name of budget cuts," Gore said. "I don't understand how they can argue so strongly that so much student aid should be taken away, and then, in the very next breath, turn around and advocate that we give away much more money than that for a tax cut for the very wealthy." Gore was especially critical of one Republican proposal that would curtail the interest subsidies students receive while they are studying and another that halts an administration effort to give direct loans to students, rather than have them funneled through lending institutions.