News Articles

President Obama's 2014 budget calls on Congress to prevent a doubling of interest rates on student loans and make the rates "more market-based." Last week House Republicans and four Democrats voted to prevent the rates from doubling and make the rates more market-based. Naturally, Mr. Obama is sitting down with the leaders of both parties in a good-faith effort to iron out their remaining differe... Read more »

Bipartisan compromise is tough to find in Washington right now — but when there is opportunity for agreement, we owe it to the American people to take action. In the coming weeks, millions of student-loan borrowers could see their interest rates double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. We’re in this predicament because politicians put themselves in charge of setting interest rates, guaranteeing un... Read more »

Congress has only begun working on student loans this year, and already it’s going better than last year’s debacle. Election-year politics drove Congress and the White House to endorse a bumper-sticker policy — keep loan rates from doubling! — instead of looking at the substance. Lawmakers rushed to extend a 3.4 percent rate on certain new loans instead of allowing the rate to revert back to 6.8 ... Read more »

On Saturday Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL) highlighted the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 (H.R. 1406) in the weekly Republican address. The commonsense proposal to give private-sector workers the option of receiving paid time off or ‘comp time’ for overtime hours worked was approved by the House of Representatives last week. During her remarks, Rep. Roby explained how H.R. 1406 would help more ... Read more »

House Republicans on Thursday proposed a permanent fix for avoiding a doubling of student loan interest rates this year, one that is based on a proposal from the Obama administration. The Smarter Solutions for Students Act, H.R. 1911, would require interest rates for all federal student loans to be based on the 10-year Treasury note, and end what has become an annual debate within Congress on how... Read more »

By Rep. John Kline (R-MN) A South St. Paul mom and dad are having a difficult time balancing work and family. They feel time spent with their children — something we all dearly covet and our kids direly need — is harder to come by. A member of the Minnesota National Guard deployed overseas can’t stop worrying about a spouse juggling work and parenting responsibilities halfway across the world. A ... Read more »

Part-timers to lose pay amid health act's new math Many part-timers are facing a double whammy from President Obama's Affordable Care Act. The law requires large employers offering health insurance to include part-time employees working 30 hours a week or more. But rather than provide healthcare to more workers, a growing number of employers are cutting back employee hours instead. The result: No... Read more »

In April 2009, Martha Roby wasn’t sure she could juggle being a House member with raising her toddler daughter and baby son. As attracted as she was to the idea of representing Alabama’s second district in Congress, Roby — at the time, a city council member in Montgomery, Ala. — had enough doubts that she decided to make a trip to D.C. with her husband, Riley, to “vet whether or not this was real... Read more »

By Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL) Should a working dad be forced to use up all of his vacation time in order to be involved in his child’s school? Should a military mom with her husband deployed have to dip into sick leave at work to make sure her kids have the parental support they need? Should someone with aging parents who require extra care have no option allowing them to devote more time and attent... Read more »

The House will soon consider the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 (H.R. 1406). Sponsored by Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL), the legislation will help Americans balance family and work by allowing private-sector workers to choose paid time off or ‘comp time’ in lieu of cash wages for working overtime hours. In an op-ed published in the Huffington Post, Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) sets the record st... Read more »