[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6151]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             STUDENT LOANS

  (Mr. COURTNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, on July 2, we will celebrate the 150th 
anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Morrill Act, 
a Federal mandate for every State to establish a land grant college.
  What an inspiring example. In the darkest days of the Civil War, we 
have leaders who understood that making college a national priority was 
too important to be ignored. Sadly, the day before that anniversary, 
July 1--53 days from today--we risk breaking faith with that vision 
when Stafford student loan interest rates double from 3.4 percent to 
6.8 percent.
  For 3 months, I have put forth a bipartisan bill, with over 150 
cosponsors, to permanently fix this problem. Yet all we have gotten 
from the Republican leadership is a Band-Aid bill that is a dead 
letter--cynically wiping out a fund to prevent cancer, heart disease, 
and diabetes to pay for only 1 year of student loan relief.
  Sorry, Mr. Speaker. The American people are smarter than that. They 
want a real bill, paid for fairly, that helps students, not fearful 
politicians.

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