[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8139]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           STUDENT LOAN DEBT

  (Mr. WELCH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, the other day, I received a letter from a 
constituent, Lana Kunkel. Like many Vermonters, she is concerned about 
the doubling of Stafford student loan interest rates scheduled for July 
1.
  This is very personal for her. She used the Stafford loan to get a 
good education and start a career as a nurse. She is now a contributing 
member of the community. She is also the granddaughter of former U.S. 
Vermont Representative and Senator Bob Stafford, for whom the Stafford 
student loan program is named. Here is what she had to say about her 
grandfather:

       I know my grandfather's intention for these loans was 
     accessibility and not profit. I understand that times are 
     tough and people are looking everywhere, but this is just not 
     right. My grandfather was known as a gentle giant, but if he 
     were alive today, I think he would oppose this with force.

  Mr. Speaker, Bob Stafford knew that a higher education was the 
clearest path to the middle class in this country--and he was a good 
Republican. We should not let the interest rates double. There is no 
justification for having these interest rates go from 3.4 to 6.8 
percent. We have 30 days to act.

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