If we want to be a nation that uses all of its potential, we can't afford to leave our kids who don't have the financial resources on the cutting-room floor, and the federal government has a role to play there.

It would be great if they started with early childhood education, and helped parents acquire and pay for opportunities so that the kids start off on an even track. But if we're just talking about higher education, we need to make sure that there are public institutions that stay affordable, and that affordability is going to come partially from federal grants and loans.

We've always counted on the federal government for a lot of the research grants, and certainly in the area of renewable energy, lots of institutions all over the country could be working with our students and graduate students on the issue. If we really believe renewable energy is one of our most pressing issues, we really ought to be funding that grant process.

Look at the research institutions in this district -- CU is one and it spins off all kinds of jobs and economic development from its research. CU is one of the reasons that it's a desirable place to live, because there are economic opportunities there when kids get out of college, and the professors who are doing research are also developing new entrepreneurs and people who are bringing new technologies to the market.

We need to look at funding academic block grants, which would help make school more affordable for kids of limited economic means who may be reluctant to assume even a low-interest loan.

I also think we can't underestimate the home foreclosure issue, and how the lack of getting second mortgages affects families who may have thought they had equity in their home, and were planning to use it to send their child or children to college. Now, they can't get their second mortgage, and I don't think we can underestimate the dollars that will be missing in the system because of the home mortgage crisis.

I went to college on a federal grant, a public New York State Regents Scholarship, and a private scholarship -- which was philanthropy funded by Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and others. I know that meant a big difference for me, and we need to keep that door of opportunity of getting public higher education open for all kids who are willing to work hard. If the federal government doesn't put the grant money up, that means it becomes a world for the privileged few.