[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 80 (Thursday, May 31, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H3280]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      STUDENT LOAN INTEREST RATES

  (Mr. TIERNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, during the last 2 months, students from my 
district have spoken out about their struggles to afford college, to 
pay their loans, to keep up their grades, and to maintain their jobs. 
Many of them are working multiple jobs and still graduated with $20,000 
to $30,000 in debt, and it's way too much for them.
  So now they're just watching as the days tick by, and we're getting 
closer to July 1, when student loan interest rates will actually double 
if Congress doesn't act. They are understandably scared and frustrated.
  At Middlesex Community College recently, the students that I met with 
added their voices to the debate and signed their names on the ``Wall 
of Debt.'' In the days following, hundreds of students, parents, and 
even grandparents added their names to what has now become the virtual 
``Wall of Debt.'' They're letting Congress know that we can't let those 
interest rates double on July 1.
  So, again, I'm standing here today on behalf of 177,000 students from 
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and 7 million students across the 
country whose student loans rates are set to double if Congress doesn't 
act, and I call upon my Republican colleagues to put the partisanship 
and the political games aside and take real action on this important 
issue.
  While I believe the bill that I put forward a month ago to prevent 
the interest rate from doubling to 6.8 percent and was fully paid for 
by just one tax subsidy to Big Oil was fair and reasonable, I continue 
to be open to find other ways to compensate for that bill. I urge my 
colleagues to join me in doing that and make sure that this interest 
rate does not double.

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