[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 64 (Tuesday, May 8, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E733]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      INTEREST RATE REDUCTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 27, 2012

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 
4628, which places partisan politics ahead of America's students and 
the health of Minnesota communities.
  If Congress does not act by July 1, interest rates on student loans 
will double for 7 million American students. This is a financial crisis 
for these students and their families, who will be forced to pay an 
additional $1000 this year in loan repayment costs. America's college 
students are already graduating with an average debt burden of 
$25,000--higher than any time in our nation's history. President Obama 
and Democrats in Congress are committed to lowering the costs of 
college and have introduced legislation to block this impending rate 
increase.
  For months, Republicans in Congress have completely ignored this 
problem. The fiscal year 2013 budget that House Republicans adopted in 
March did not include a fix for skyrocketing student loan rate 
increase, but it did provide millionaires and billionaires an average 
tax cut of $400,000. The Republican Chairman of the House Education and 
Workforce Committee--my colleague from Minnesota--opposed extending the 
current low interest rate as recently as last week. On April 20, The 
New York Times reported Chairman Kline saying a fix would be ``too 
costly'' and that ``we must choose between allowing interest rates to 
rise or piling billions of dollars on the backs of taxpayers.''
  Thankfully, House Republicans ended their opposition to lower student 
loan rates this week under pressure from President Obama and millions 
of American students. The majority introduced H.R. 4628 to extend the 
current 3.4 percent interest rate on federal Stafford loans for an 
additional year at a cost of $6.3 billion. Unfortunately, House 
Republicans are cynically choosing to offset the costs of H.R. 4628 by 
repealing the Prevention and Public Health Fund created by the new 
health care reform law. Cutting health care for millions of Americans 
to prevent rising student loan rates is an unacceptable and unnecessary 
choice.
  Minnesota communities rely on this Fund to pay for cancer detection, 
childhood immunizations, newborn screening and other critical health 
care services that help to keep our communities healthy and save our 
country billions in long-term health care costs. Women in Minnesota 
will be disproportionally impacted due to the loss of access to 
services such as breast and cervical cancer screening. Nearly 800 
community organizations across the country oppose H.R. 4628 because of 
these damaging cuts, including the American Lung Association, American 
Heart Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, the Association of 
Maternal and Child Health, and the National Association of County and 
City Health Officials. The White House opposes H.R. 4628 and told the 
House Republican majority to expect a veto from President Obama. This 
partisan legislation will only further delay a solution for students.
  Democrats in Congress have a plan to protect students against rising 
loan costs without adding to deficits or harming communities. I am a 
co-sponsor of H.R. 4816, which prevents the doubling of interest rates 
on student loans and offsets the costs by eliminating wasteful taxpayer 
subsidies for the five biggest oil corporations that are making record 
profits. This legislation is a win for students and a win for American 
taxpayers. H.R. 4816 reflects the priorities of the American people and 
creates a path for bipartisan consensus.
  I urge my colleges to reject H.R. 4628 and, instead, pass the common-
sense alternative offered by House Democrats.

                          ____________________