[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11042]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           STUDENT LOAN RATES

  (Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because every American 
deserves access to an affordable education. Unfortunately, high costs 
keep too many students from realizing this dream. Last Monday, the 
interest rates on subsidized student loans doubled to 6.8 percent. We 
have the ability to fix this, and the time to act is now.
  This week, the Senate will vote on a plan to lower interest rates to 
3.4 percent for another year. Authored by my friend and colleague from 
Rhode Island, Senator Jack Reed, this bill is a commonsense solution to 
another self-imposed crisis. I realize, as does my colleague from Rhode 
Island (Mr. Cicilline), that over 40,000 Rhode Island students receive 
subsidized Stafford loans and will soon be making financial decisions 
for the upcoming school year.
  If education is truly the great equalizer, if it's the thing that's 
going to help our students achieve their own path to success and truly 
grow our economy, then how can we justify making it less accessible to 
the most economically disadvantaged?
  Mr. Speaker, we must act today to help students access higher 
education. I urge the Senate to pass this bill and the House to take it 
up without delay.

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