[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 63 (Monday, May 7, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      INTEREST RATE REDUCTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 27, 2012

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4628: the 
Interest Rate Reduction Act.
  Congress has a unique opportunity to prevent the scheduled doubling 
of student loan interest rates before July. Our failure to act will 
have debilitating effects on millions of Americans. Rather than serve 
as an obstacle to students wishing to further their education, Congress 
should work to make college accessible to all. Yet Congress is standing 
in the way by considering legislation that would pay for the extension 
of the interest rate reduction by repealing the Prevention and Public 
Health Fund, which funds essential health services for millions of 
Americans, including women and children. There is another sensible and 
responsible way to pay for keeping student loan rates low: end tax 
subsidies for big oil companies.
  Young, educated Americans begin their adult lives financially 
strapped. Not only do these recent graduates have debt, they also have 
some of the greatest difficulty finding gainful employment. Recent 
college graduates have a higher unemployment rate than any other 
demographic group in the country. Sixty-six percent of students 
graduating from college today are leaving with student loan debt. On 
average, those students graduate with $25,000 in debt. The total amount 
of student loan debt in this country is more than $1 trillion dollars.
  If we do not pass a measure that extends the reduced interest rate on 
student loans, more than 7 million students' rates will double to 6.8 
percent. Students who borrow the maximum in subsidized student loans 
will pay up to an additional $1,000 in interest costs. It is our 
responsibility to give these students a chance to earn a quality 
education without the strings of unmanageable debt.
  There is little profit to be had from trying to prevent diseases from 
occurring in the first place, which means pharmaceutical companies and 
others who profit from efforts to treat and cure diseases will not pay 
for such efforts. If we want to prevent cancer, the spread of HIV, 
outbreaks of West Nile Virus, and protect mothers and babies from 
tobacco; if we want to promote better nutrition, birth defect 
reduction, preparedness for bioterrorism, and breast and cervical 
cancer screenings; if we want to protect our children from lead in our 
homes and yards, the childhood obesity epidemic, and otherwise 
invisible clusters of chronic diseases like Multiple Sclerosis, we have 
to fund these programs ourselves. The Prevention and Public Health Fund 
must be protected as a measure of self-protection.
  This bill repeals the Prevention and Public Health Fund. I cannot 
support this bill.

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