[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4752]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              URGING CONGRESSIONAL ACTION ON STUDENT LOANS

  (Mr. COURTNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, unless this Congress acts, in 75 days, the 
interest rate for the Stafford student loan program will explode for 8 
million college students. Unless Congress acts, the rate will jump from 
3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. At a time when student loan debt now 
exceeds credit card debt, added interest costs for a student using 
Stafford will increase between $5,000 and $10,000.
  It is unconscionable that the Republican leadership will not bring up 
H.R. 3826, a bill I've introduced with 119 cosponsors to lock in the 
lower rate. Incredibly, the chair of the Subcommittee on Higher 
Education spoke last week in North Carolina and said: I have very 
little tolerance for people who tell me they graduate with $200,000 of 
debt or even $80,000 of debt.
  Really? It is a sad statement when today's Republican Party turns its 
back on a program that helps millions of Americans fulfill their dreams 
and that is named after Republican Senator Robert Stafford of Vermont.
  Stop the rate hike. Bring up H.R. 3826 for a vote, and keep the 
American Dream alive for millions of college students.

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