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 »
We’re here today to address a crisis of Washington’s own making. Several years ago, Congress decided politicians – not the free market – were better equipped to set student loan interest rates. Politicians set a fixed rate of 6.8 percent for all loans, and then decided to advance legislation based on a campaign promise that would temporarily phase this rate for subsidized Stafford loans down to 3.... Read more »
Once again Washington is working to prevent subsidized Stafford Loan interest rates from doubling. The House is expected to vote tomorrow on the Smarter Solutions for Student Act, legislation that provides a permanent solution on behalf of students and taxpayers. Just yesterday Education Secretary Arne Duncan assured Congress that the Obama administration wants a long-term solution. However, a new... Read more »
House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) today released the following statement after the Obama administration threatened to veto H.R. 1911, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act: I’m disappointed the administration has threatened to veto the Smarter Solutions for Students Act. The legislation is based on the president’s own proposal, and provides a solid basis fo... Read more »
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), today held a hearing with Education Secretary Arne Duncan to examine the administration’s budget and policy proposals. During the hearing, members spoke with Secretary Duncan about the need to address the upcoming student loan interest rate cliff with a lasting solution that will better serve students and taxpay... 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 »
I’d like to begin with a brief overview of what’s in the administration’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The president has asked for more than $71 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Education – up $5 billion from last year’s request and $3 billion from the year before. This is on top of a request for $7 billion in mandatory funding for Pell Grants, $17.5 billion to “refor... Read more »
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will testify before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Tuesday, May 21 to discuss the Department of Education’s priorities for Fiscal Year 2014. In advance of the hearing, the committee has compiled 5 key questions Secretary Duncan should address: Question 1: Will the administration support the Smarter Solutions for Students Act, legislation th... Read more »
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), today approved two pieces of legislation designed to address a pair of problems facing the nation’s higher education system. The Smarter Solutions for Students Act (H.R. 1911), introduced by Chairman Kline and Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) will address th... Read more »
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to offer this Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 1949, the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act. Few decisions in life are bigger than whether to attend college and which college to attend. Yet many families struggle to wade through the complicated maze of statistics to find the information they need to make fully informed, cost... Read more »
