Today, Senator Mark Warner participated in a Google+ Hangout with Virginia 21, a non-partisan advocacy group focused on engaging young voters around the Commonwealth including voter registration.

The discussion was focused on asking Sen. Warner “What’s the deal?” with higher education on the federal level and in Virginia. Virginia 21 fielded questions using the Twitter hashtag #AskWarner.

Sen. Warner was excited to participate especially given, as he noted, that Virginia 21 started during his governorship when young people began to realize there was a need for more awareness that we need to invest more in higher education. “Whether state or fed elections, your voices have to be heard,” said Sen. Warner. “Your federal government is spending $7 for people over 65 and 85 cents for those under thirty—this is not a good deal for young people in America.”

Sen. Warner answered engaged questions on a variety of topics such as his “Know Before You Go” bill, the disconnect between federal aid and federal grants at universities, as well as the impact of the debt and deficit problems on young people in Virginia.

In May, Sen. Warner, with co-sponsors Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), introduced the Student Right to Know Before You Go Act to give students and their families more tools to easily compare graduation rates, student loan debt, employment prospects and potential future earnings as they make important decisions about higher education. The information, which generally is already reported by colleges and universities to a variety of federal, state and other agencies, also will give policymakers the ability to better assess the effectiveness of various government-backed educational programs.

Before he signed off, Senator Warner reminded all the Google+ Hangout participants: “Go vote! Giving up on this process is not the right action.”