America’s education system faces serious challenges, and the federal law governing K-12 classrooms is overdue for reform. But instead of working with Congress to rewrite the law, the Obama administration is using conditional waivers and pet grant programs to compel states to adopt the president’s preferred education reforms. In fact, just last week the administration announced plans to further exp... Read more »
For the third time in as many weeks, Republicans used their weekly address to push Senate Democrats and President Obama to act on federal student loan rates, which are set to double July 1 unless Congress and the president can agree on a proposal that prevents the rate hike. "As you may know, millions of student-loan borrowers could soon see their interest rates double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 per... Read more »
Obama Appointments Unconstitutional On January 4, 2012, President Obama made three so-called recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) while the Senate was not in recess. These appointments were unprecedented—no other president has made recess appointments while the Senate was in session. A year later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously held ... Read more »
“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 »
