“Speculation.” That’s how Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius described concerns about ObamaCare’s impact on workers and employers. According to the secretary, the law is still being implemented and there is nothing to fear until next year. Unfortunately, the secretary’s flawed theory stands in sharp contrast to the harsh reality reported across the country. A new survey is the l... Read more »
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce is marking up the Student Success Act (H.R. 5), legislation to rewrite the nation’s K-12 education law. Despite critics’ best attempts to dismiss this responsible proposal, committee Republicans know H.R. 5 is an important step forward for students, families, and schools. It’s time to separate the myths from the facts in the K-12 reform debate. MY... Read more »
‘Obamacare’ benefits mandate could further phase out full-time work President Obama’s health care reform is prompting employers to hire more part-time and temporary workers to escape paying benefits under a mandate that goes into effect next year, amplifying a trend toward transient employment that took hold during the recession, according to a growing number of economic indicators. Hardest hit b... Read more »
There may be few issues that Republicans and Democrats agree on these days, but protecting college students and graduates from sky-high student loan rates should be one of them. The Smarter Solutions for Students Act, currently pending before the Senate, ties student loan rates to the market instead of leaving interest rates up to politicians’ whims. On July 1, these rates are set to double from ... Read more »
On Saturday Representative Luke Messer (R-IN) discussed the Smarter Solutions for Students Act (H.R. 1911) in the weekly GOP address. Recently approved by the House of Representatives, this commonsense legislation would stop new subsidized student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1st. During his remarks, Rep. Messer explained how H.R. 1911 is a long-term, market-based solution that takes ... Read more »
It wasn’t long ago the president supported a permanent solution to the student loan interest rate crisis. Here is how the administration described the president’s plan in April of this year: The Administration’s FY 2014 Budget proposes to change the structure of interest rates on Federal student and parent loans to provide market-based rates tied to the 10-year Treasury note with specified basis p... Read more »
Today the Obama administration released a Statement of Administration Policy endorsing a Senate proposal to kick the can down the road on student loan interest rates. The approach now supported by the president would ensure millions of borrowers will face another interest rate cliff in two short years – exacerbating the confusion and uncertainty facing families and students. This is a sharp detour... Read more »
Since the early days of his administration, President Obama has enjoyed a reputation as a higher education reformer. Just over four years ago he told a joint session of Congress that the country would regain its place as the most educated nation in the world, and his student loan reform bill phased out the role of private lenders in the federal aid system. Two years ago he famously warned college... Read more »
By Rep. John Kline (R-MN) Last summer, debate about student loans reached a fever pitch thanks to a scheduled increase in the interest rate for subsidized Stafford loans made to undergraduate students. The president began touring college campuses, calling on Congress to prevent the increase that his own party set in motion in 2007. As I said at the time, no one wanted to see interest rates double... Read more »
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 »
