Washington, D.C. – Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Malden) today joined more than 250 students and young community leaders from across the country at the first ever “Next Generation Democratic Summit” at the U.S. Capitol. The participants included Ms. Ori Korin, who joined celebrities including MTV’s Gideon Yago in a discussing ways to increase young Americans’ involvement in their communities and in public service.

The daylong event also included conversations about how to bring down the cost of attending college, stop the “outsourcing” of good paying jobs, and improve education. “We are incredibly lucky to have the talent and enthusiasm of young Americans like Ori Korin who want to volunteer in their communities, get a good education, and help make our country a better place,” Rep. Markey said. “The young leaders who are with us today remind us of the need to implement key policies today that will shape the country’s future - such as college tuition assistance, environmental protection, and budget policy ”

At an afternoon town hall meeting, Rep. Markey joined students and young activists, as well as WWE wrestlers Chris Nowinski and Shelton Benjamin, in a discussion about student loans and the difficulty many families face in paying for college. While the Bush Administration has refused to increase federal grants, Democrats want to make college more affordable by increasing the maximum Pell Grant from $4,050 to $5,800 this year, doubling the HOPE Scholarship tax credit from $1,500 per student to $3,000 per student, and making the HOPE tax credit refundable. Democrats have also proposed incentives for colleges and universities to reduce costs, expanding assistance to minority serving institutions, simplifying application procedures for federal grants and loans, and increasing support for job and technical training.

“Today’s event provides us the opportunity to come together and emphasize the importance of getting involved in politics at a young age. There’s a perception that young people don’t care about public service, and I think that activities like today’s program demonstrate otherwise,” said Korin.