[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 40 (Thursday, March 18, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H1627]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HEALTH CARE REFORM AND FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, competition used to be 
viewed as a way to lower prices and improve services. A rental car 
company's slogan was, We're number two, so we try harder.
  Competition apparently is no longer a virtue under this 
administration. The health care bill seeks to put health care for 
Americans in the hands of government bureaucrats, but it also seeks to 
put guaranteed student loans solely into the same government hands. 
Unlike the car company, I'm not sure the government can say that it 
ever tried harder, sought innovation, or went out of its way to help a 
student.
  The Federal Family Education Loan program is administered primarily 
by private companies today, and under the proposed change, private 
lenders will be barred from making government-guaranteed loans. Some 
30,000 employees across the Nation will lose their jobs. So much for 
worrying about the Nation's unemployment.
  Choice and competition will die, but the Democrats say it will save 
money, about $87 billion, money they have already spent on Pell Grants 
and $9 billion diverted to pay for health care reform. Instead of that 
savings, look for poorer service, increased defaults, and higher 
administrative costs--like dealing with the IRS.

                          ____________________