--substantially increasing funding to cancel the education debts of graduates who enter public service--including teaching, social work, child care and law enforcement.

Can the federal government afford to give students and families more financial help to pay for college? The answer is clearly "yes." At a time when the current federal budget surplus is over $200 billion, and when very large surpluses are anticipated in coming years, we now have a unique opportunity to make certain that college education becomes affordable for every American family.

Education in this country must become a major national priority, and not something we just pay lip service to. That means the federal government must accept its responsibility to adequately fund it. Currently, we are providing only $13 billion a year on aid to post-secondary students and contribute less than fifteen percent of the operating costs of our nation's colleges and universities. If we can afford to give the Pentagon a $22 billion increase in its budget-as we did this year--surely we can afford to increase student aid for higher education by $13 billion. If we can afford to spend $125 billion on corporate welfare each year, surely we can afford to increase Pell Grants by $7.4 billion.

Will we be successful in significantly increasing federal aid to college students and higher education? Will we be able to end the absurd situation of millions of young Americans beginning their careers oppressively in debt? The answer depends entirely upon the willingness of the citizens of this country, especially college students, to demand a fundamental change in national priorities and to be actively involved in the political process.

Currently, members of Congress are assaulted every day by well-paid lobbyists representing multi-national corporations and the wealthy who demand tax breaks and favors for the powerful special interests in our country that need it the least. On the other hand, I and my Congressional colleagues hear almost nothing from college and graduate students and their parents who incur tens of thousands of dollars in educational debt.

We can change this situation, but only if students play a leadership in that process. Hold campus rallies, arrange for meetings with your member of Congress, march on Washington. Working together, we can change our national priorities, and make college affordable for all.

U.S. Representative Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is a member of Congress. He was a lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government in 1989.