House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) reaffirmed his commitment to finding a permanent fix to prevent new subsidized Stafford Loan interest rates from doubling on July 1st. In May, the House passed the Smarter Solutions for Students Act, legislation that mirrors President Obama’s call for a long-term, market-based solution to the student loan interest rate problem.... Read more »
Based on an idea of self-regulation, accreditation was originally developed to assure and improve excellence in higher education programs. When the federal government began investing in higher education, accreditation took on another role by ensuring that the gate to federal funds is open only to high quality academic institutions. Today the federal government, states, and accrediting agencies – k... Read more »
House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) has called on President Obama and Senate Democrats to work with congressional Republicans to negotiate a long-term solution to the student loan interest rate problem. During an interview posted on the Yahoo! Finance website earlier today, Chairman Kline said, "I’ve felt for a long time that we ought to get out of the business o... 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 »
House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chair of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, issued the following statement on the Obama administration’s decision to continue pursuing the widely-panned ‘gainful employment’ regulation: It is disgraceful the administration continues to ignore the significant threat the so... Read more »
On Thursday, June 13 at 10:00 a.m., the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, chaired by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), will hold a hearing entitled, “Keeping College Within Reach: Discussing Program Quality Through Accreditation.” The hearing will take place in room 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Accreditation plays an important role in promoting the academic quality of... 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 »
House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) issued the following statement on the Senate’s upcoming vote on student loan interest rate proposals: Last month the House approved legislation that prevents student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1st and heeds the president’s call for a long-term, market-based solution. The Senate has a chance to do the right thing ... Read more »
