[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6150]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      STUDENT LOAN INTEREST RATES

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, unless Congress acts, millions of 
students will see their student loan interest rates double from 3.4 
percent to 6.8 percent on July 1 of this year. This issue is important 
to students, parents, teachers, and businesses all across my home State 
of Rhode Island. It will result in more than 43,000 students paying 
more than $34 million in additional interest costs. We must act on this 
issue.
  But some in this Chamber have put partisanship ahead of good public 
policy and propose extending these rates by cutting funding for 
preventative health care. Today the Senate will be voting on cloture 
for a bill that would extend low-interest student loans by closing a 
tax loophole. I would like to especially thank my State's senior 
Senator, Jack Reed, for his leadership in highlighting this issue on 
the Senate side and making sure that Congress acts in the best 
interests of working families.
  I urge my colleagues in the House to reconsider their course of 
action and to not propose a false choice between the welfare of our 
young people and public health. We owe it to our young people to ensure 
that we prevent these rates from doubling.

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