and let the rates go to 6.8, or do something and make them go even higher. there is a third and better choice that the majority has refused to let the congress vote on. i suspect the reason we can't vote on that choice is it would win. it would pri veil. this is suppose -- prevail. it this is a body where plal cisrules. -- paralysis rules. i ask for 30 seconds. ms. slaughter: i yield 30 seconds. mr. andrews: this bill will probably pass the floor. it will go nowhere. and we will be back sometime in late june trying to solve this problem. let's have a democratic vote with a small d. let's let the house vote on all the options and i believe mr.

courtney's option to leave the rates at 3.% would and should -- 3.4% would and should prevail. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from north carolina is recognized. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york. ms. slaughter: i'm delighted to yield two minutes to the gentlelady from connecticut, ms. delauro. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from connecticut is recognized for two minutes. i rise in opposition to this bill. why? it increases the cost of student debt for millions of americans just trying to continue their education. it is just another example of the house majority who would put a further burden on the middle class and working family. without broad access to a good college education and the opportunities and the social mobility that it provides, there will be no middle class

in america. the compact will be broken that allows hard work to pay off and allows future generations to do better. the cost of college are high today. the average tuition at a four-year state university has almost quadrupled. 60% of america now borrows money for college. student loan debt passed the $1 trillion mark. the student loan debt for graduating seniors is $26,000. a heavy burden to carry into a tough job market. this bill would compound those costs. a student with that level of debt would pay over $5,300 more in interest than they would if the current interest rates were extended leaving them at 3.4%. but this is characteristic of the republican majority. let me just give you an example and what they view about the opportunity for education. in the last election, their

standard barrier, mitt romney, was asked the question about increasing the student a lot interest rate, this is what he replied. he said if the students need to borrow money, let them go to their parents. well, if your father is the head of american motors, then in fact you can go and get a loan from your parents. but if they are not and what struggling parents are doing today, if their jobs have either gone or their wages are down or their health benefits are gone or their home may be underwater in the mortgage because of the crushing recession they have and they are telling their children they can't afford to send them to college, they can't go to their parents for a loan. that's where my republican colleagues would take this issue. and instead of us here adding further to students' debt, we should make college more affordable to families. let us not make those interest rates double this summer. this bill moves us in the wrong direction. i urge my colleagues to vote against it.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentlelady's time has expired. the chair will receive a message. the messenger: mr. speaker, a message from the senate. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has passed without amendment h.r. 258, cited as he stolen valor act of 2013. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from north carolina is recognized. thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, my colleagues are concerned about the predictability of the market. what about the predictability of congress? congress is the source of this volatility. our bill protects students if interest rates rise with caps. not even president obama's plan does that. mr. speaker, with that i'd like to recognize my distinguished colleague from georgia for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is ecognized for three minutes.

mr. woodall: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my colleague for yielding me time and really appreciate her leadership on this issue. mr. speaker, i tell the young people when i speak to them back home, i say, turn on c-span. go to your friend's house to watch it if you don't have it and turn on c-span and every person that comes to the house floor say whatever they're doing today they're doing it for the young people. they're doing it for the next generation so they can have beater life. i hear that from every single one of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. we want to come down here. we want to defeat this rule today. we want to defeat this bill today and we want to do it for the young people. well, mr. speaker, i'm down here for the young people of my district too. the young people of my district say, rob, what about our prosperity, what about our future, what about fiscal responsibility, why are you and previous generations doing to us what you're doing? how can we have a guaranteed

access to opportunity, not guaranteed success, but guaranteed access to opportunity going forward? and the answer is, when we get out of the business of playing political games with every single issue every single day and we get back into the business of providing some certainty. mr. speaker, you remember how we got in this predicament today. we got in this predicament because when my friends on the left were in control and they began to deal with student loan rates, at the time they said a 6% rate would be good. at the time they said a 4.5% rate would be good. now, suddenly, only a 3.4% rate can be good. with every single one of these changes, mr. speaker, there are economic consequences. we now know in america today student loan debt is greater than all credit card debt combined. it's an amazing burden that we're passing on to the next generation. we are not giving them

opportunity. we are ensuring decades of servitude. this bill, mr. speaker, begins to realign marketplace rates with student loan rates, giving ery student a tremendously subsidized federal rate. here's the thing, mr. speaker. you hear this debate. it's like a small portion of the marketplace, the 3.4% subsidized loans are the end all be all to every student in america. not true. not true. as my friends on the other side of the aisle know perfectly well but never say, more than 70% of our students take out subsidized and unsubsidized loans. and as my friends on the left know perfectly well but never say, they leave those unsubsidized rates at 6.8%. the bill that ms. foxx has worked on so carefully with chairman kline brings those

rates down to 4.5%. maybe even 4.4%. we'll see in that last week of treasury markets in may, but we're tying the fiscal realities of this country to opportunities for students. i urge students, mr. speaker, look at your bills. look at your rates. look at the subsidized and unsubsidized. you will see what this bill will do for you. i rise in strong support, mr. speaker. i appreciate your time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlelady from new york is recognized. ms. slaughter: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm pleased to yield 2 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from colorado, a member of the committee on rules, mr. polis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for 2 1/2 minutes. mr. polis: t minus 38 days. 38 days until student loan interest rates are scheduled to increase from 3.4% to 6.8%. mr. speaker, in my district in colorado, students trying to finance their education through federally subsidized loans at

the university of colorado and colorado state university and our own fine universities and indeed across the country simply can't afford. in a low interest rate environment today with the sluggish economy to have their rates double, double in 38 days. look, there's been a lot of good ideas that have been presented that would allow student loan rates to remain the same or even get better. we had in our committee, the education and labor committee, the courtney amendment, which i supported, to keep them at 3.4%. there was even proposals to lower them beyond that. i have a bipartisan bill with representative petri that moves the program over to earning contingent education loans so that repayment amounts are contingent on how much somebody is earning. unfortunately, mr. speaker, i oppose the rule because it hasn't allowed any of these ideas to be brought forward to the floor. i was glad to see our ranking member, mr. miller, bring forth

the president's proposal which includes earnings contingent education loans. unfortunately, the rules committee did not make it in order under this rule which is why i oppose it. now, the underlying bill is a step in the right direction towards the president's proposal. i think it provides a framework which we need to improve upon in the senate and work with the administration over the next 38 days to prevent student loan rates from doubling. now, first of all, to be clear, the proposal before us on the underlying bill is not the president's proposal. it does not include a robust earnings contingent income-based repayment program. it also charges a higher rate of interest above the 10-year treasury note. to its credit, the kline-foxx bill does include a cap on interest rates, which is very borrower friendly and student friendly. what it does is provide a framework of moving forward over the next 38 days to resolve this issue and prevent

student loan rates from doubling. "the washington post" editorialized on this two days ago and said that the education and work force committee bill is quote-unquote a similar policy, end quote, to president obama's policy. namely, pegging the student loan rates to a rate at which the government borrows, providing more certainty to borrowers and making sure that college remains affordable. i ask my colleagues to oppose the rule and consider the underlying bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlelady from north carolina is recognized. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, america's college students, especially those who study math, understand that if washington can't get its act together their generation will be stuck paying the tab. so they have little sympathy for elected leaders who refuse to face reality by pretending that recklessly spending money we don't have will somehow translate into economic prosperity. it's time to face the simple truth.

government spending won't fix our economy. america's growing debt is real and congress has the responsibility to deal with it. the first step must be reining in government spending by passing a balanced budget. that is why house republicans took the lead and passed h.con.res 25, the path to prosperity budget. our budget brings spending discipline back to washington which balances the budget in 10 years, provides for comprehensive tax reform without raising tax rates and removes many of the regulatory barriers that prevent employers from hiring new graduates. the house republican budget stops spending money we don't have by cutting waste, fixing our broken tax code and balancing in 10 years. a balanced budget will promote a healthier economy, create more jobs for graduating students and put more money in americans' pockets. our budget provides economic

security for workers and families, ensures a secure retirement for the elderly, repays the safety net and expands opportunity for those entering the work force. republicans have passed a bold budget that grows our economy today to ensure the next generation inherits a stronger, more prosperous america. mr. speaker, one of the best things we can do for college students now and in the future is to provide a stronger economy. and with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentlelady from new york is recognized. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, i hope my friend's comments means the republicans are ready to appoint conferees. i am pleased to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from new york, my colleague, ms. clarke. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york is recognized for one minute. ms. clarke: today i rise in opposition to this rule and the underlying bill, h.r. 1911,

smarter solutions for students act, the so-called republican solution to address the impending student loan interest rate rise. despite their rhetoric, the republicans do not want the american economy more competitive. if they did, they would not have introduced this bill. under the current law, student loan interest rates are fixed. however, h.r. 1911 would change that and student interest rates will become variable rates based on the treasury interest rate plus additional percentage points. this is truly a bait and switch. students could start their careers with a 5% student interest rate, but by the time they reach their senior year, 7.7% to 7.8% student interest rate. education has traditionally been a path out of poverty and into the middle class, and it is the middle class that has historically been the backbone of american society. instead of doing the right thing by permanently lowering student interest rates, the

republicans have once again decided to do things the wrong way. the republicans just don't get it. oppose this rule and the underlying bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentlelady from north carolina is recognized. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, my colleagues allege, quote, the republican bill raises interest rates on students when we should be providing them with relief from their student loan debt. . let me respond to that, mr. speaker, the smarter solution force student loan act would lower interest rates for all new borrowers in the stafford loan and plus loan programs rather than extend an artificially loan rate to a small subset of borrowers. this makes federal loans more affordable for everyone. the underlying bill helps all students including those borrowers receiving subsidized loans whose loans are slated to double based on the irresponsible actions of the other side. the bill includes a reasonable

cap, something missing in the administration's budget, which protects borrowers and high interest rate environment. if democrats think the 8.5% cap is too high, then let's see their fiscally responsible paid for proposal to back up their rhetoric. the legislation also maintains current law allowing borrowers to take out a consolidation loan after graduation where they can lock in their interest rate for the life of the loan. students can also take advantage of a number of repayment plans and debt management initiatives such as income based repayment program, loan forgiveness programs, and opportunities for deferment or forebarons. the smarter solution for students act is a comprehensive, responsible solution that will benefit all students and parents. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentlelady from new york. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, if we defeat the previous question i will offer an amendment to the rule that will allow the house to vote on the veterans backlog

legislation act and discuss our proposal i am pleased to yield four minutes to the gentleman from illinois. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for four minutes. >> i thank the gentlelady from new york. mr. enyart: i rise today in support of h.r. 1739 rgets the veterans backlog reduction act. as a retired military veteran, one of my top priorities is caring for our veterans. the sad fact is the v.a. is not honoring its commitment to our veterans today. there are currently over 900,000 claims waiting to be processed. and the average wait for that backlog is now 272 days, or nearly nine months. these are real people, real american heroes who deserve disability benefits because they sustain injuries in service to our country. one of these is michael boren of energy, illinois. michael came home from active duty in iraq and afghanistan

with nerve damage, an injured back, and other physical problems. by every measure michael is legitimately deserving disability benefits. a the reason i know about michael is because he contacted my office a few months ago when he was at the end of his rope and in danger of losing his home. permanently disabled from his injuries sustained in service, he is unable to find gainful employment to sustain himself and his family, and the v.a. couldn't coordinate his paperwork to make a ruling on his claim for nearly 19 months. all while he waited and worried without income. too many veterans like michael are threatened with home foreclosure, having their cars repossessed, their credit cards cut off all because the v.a. can't get its act together. it's shameful. and despite promises from the v.a. to reduce the backlog, just yesterday, we learned the backlog is actually increasing. and the v.a. hasn't met a single one of its benchmarks.

the solution is the veterans backlog reduction act. it says the v.a. has 125 days to process claims filed by disabled veterans. if the v.a. can't live up to a reasonable timetable in processing these claims, then disabled veterans will get a provisional payment until a final ruling is made. if the claim is ultimately deemed valid, then the remainder of the disability benefits will be paid out. if the claim is denied then the veteran is held harmless and would not have to repay the provisional benefit unless there would be a finding of fraud or bad faith on the part of the veteran. the goal is to get these claims processed in a timely manner. and it's my belief that this legislation gives the v.a. a powerful reason to clean up its act and speed up the process. this bill serves as a life line to countless veterans who can't wait months or years for this problem to be solved.

our veterans are demanding leadership now. this is not a democrat or republican issue. taking proper care of our wounded veterans is an american issue. this is a national embarrassment, and we in congress must meet it head on. it is my hope that we can restore the trust veterans have lost in their government to care for them when they need it most. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from north carolina vefpblgt ms. foxx: mr. speaker, i'd like to inquire of the the gentlewoman from new york if she's prepared to close. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, i am prepared to close if my colleague has no further requests for time. ms. foxx: i'll reserve and allow my colleague to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from north carolina reserves. the gentlelady from new york is recognized. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, i wish we were debating legislation i thought might actually have the possibility of

becoming law, but we are not. ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question. i urge my colleagues to vote no and defeat the previous question nd think about memorial day. and the proposal to take care of the veterans' backlog. i hope we are successful in getting that done and then i urge a no vote on the rule and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentlelady from north carolina is recognized. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, house republicans are committed to providing more opportunities for more americans and helping make life work for more families. this legislation is a great step in that direction. student borrowers deserve more than platitudes and empty promises. they deserve real solutions that will improve their lives and help them achieve success.

our conservative solutions to the challenges facing young americans today are the right solutions and the results will speak for themselves. therefore i urge my colleagues to vote for this rule and the underlying bill, i yield back the balance of my time and i move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. ms. slaughter: may i request the yeas and nays, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 9 of rule 20, the chair will reduce to five minutes the nim time for any electronic vote on the question of adoption of the resolution. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned

coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: the yeas are 224. the nays are 195. the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the resolution. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, i ask the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 224. the nays are 193. the resolution is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota, mr. kline, seek recognition? mr. kline: mr. speaker, pursuant to house resolution 232, i call up h.r. 1911 and

ask for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the house. the clerk: h.r. 1911, a bill to amend the higher education act of 1965 to establish interest rates for new loans made on or after july 1, 2013. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 232, in lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on education and the work force printed in the bill an amendment in the nature of a bill, as the amended, is considered as read. the gentleman from minnesota, mr. kline, and the gentleman from california, mr. george ller, each will control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. and include extraneous material on h.r. 1911. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. kline: mr. speaker, i rise

today in strong support of h.r. 1911, the smarter solutions for students act, and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. 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% for all loans and then decided to advance legislation based on a campaign promise that would temporarily phase this rate for subsubsidized stafford loans down to 3.4%. last summer, with the expiration of the lower rates scheduled for gentlelady 1, 2012, at the bait about student loans reached a fever pitch. president called on congress to prevent the increase, that his own party, set in motion back in 2007. as i said at the time, no one wanted to see interest rates

double. particularly at a time when one out of every two college graduates was struggling to find a full-time job, but we need to move away from a system that allows washington politicians to use student loan interest rates as bargaining chips, creating uncertainty for borrowers. when congress approved legislation to temporarily stave off the stafford loan interest rate increase, my colleagues and i had a promise we would use this time to work toward a long-term solution that better aligns interest rates with the free market. the smarter solutions for students act accomplishes this goal by simply moving all federal student loans, except perkins loans, to market-based interest rate system. this responsible legislation builds upon a proposal that was actually put forth by the president earlier this year. the smarter solutions for students act is a narrow piece of legislation that will provide a lasting solution to the problem facing the federal student loan program. unfortunately, unfortunately, mr. speaker, some critics would rather kick the can down the

road and simply extend the current arbitrary rates at a taxpayer cost of roughly $8 billion. they want to continue the failed status quo and leave politicians in charge of setting rates. earlier this week, "the washington post" called it a, quote, weird fact, unquote, that student loan interest rates, quote, aren't pegged to anything real, just to the whims of congress which inevitably uses student loans as political play things, closed quote. students deserve better. they shouldn't have owatch as watch holds their interest rates each election year. they shouldn't have the uncertainty of waiting for politicians to have another temporary fix to keep interest rates in line with the market. we have an opportunity today to get politicians out of the business of setting student loan interest rates. we have an opportunity to provide students with more stability in the long run by putting an end to quick fixes and campaign promises, and we have an opportunity to build upon common ground with the

administration to advance a bipartisan solution that's a win for both students and taxpayers. i urge my colleagues to support the smarter students -- smarter solutions for students act, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. r. miller: i yield myself five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for ive minutes. mr. miller: mr. speaker, in little more than a month, the interest rates on loans to millions of the neediest students will double from 3.4% to 6.8%. with that doubling, those who can afford will be burdened with more debt. with total student loan debt already suspend the rules and passing $1 trillion, this -- already surpassing $1 trillion, this congress needs to stop this. but rather than making it more affordable for students and families pay for college, this

congress this day in this hamber is debating a bill -- i know people won't believe this -- but we're debating a bill to make it more expensive for families and students to achieve a college education. at a time when college costs are rising and historic low interest rates, the majority is asking us to accept a bill that would increase interest rates. and even though the student interest rate is scheduled on july 1 to double from 3.4% to 6.8%, the bill presented on this floor today is worse than that for students and their families. it increases the drag on the economy that the student debt is to families and to young people trying to seek a job and to seek the form of family. this bill is so bad, this bill is so bad that it means more

than the doubling of the interest rates. how do you think that that has anything to do with the market rates? according to the congressional research service, when they look at this bill, you can see under current law they would pay $4,000. under the -- under doubling to 6.8%, they pay $8,808. and under the republican bill they will pay more than $10,000 . how can that be happening in this economy when people are struggling with this interest rate? it cannot be allowed. you can see here. parents may have to contribute something and they would take out a loan to help their child complete a college education. they're going to pay more than $35,000 over the life of those loans than under the current law. and that's what we got to stop from happening.

and so what you see is is when it's all said and done, when it's all said and done, this bill asks students over the next few years to pay more than $3.7 billion, almost $4 billion in increased interest rates. no wonder this poor student has a headache. no wonder there are parents pounding their heads thinking, what am i going to do about this? what do they say? we have a market rate here. we have a market rate. well, many in america, certainly middle-class families and low-income families remember we had this kind of market rate because what they have is a teaser rate for your first year. they'll have a lower interest rate. so you have a teaser rate. you know that next year that teaser rate adjusts so you don't get that rate because next year you get a new rate. when you're a sophomore in college and take out a new loan you get a new rate, higher rate. when you're a junior and take out a loan you get a higher rate. when you are a senior, you have

a higher rate. does that sound familiar to people? that's the marketplace. that's the marketplace when you choose to crush the people who are borrowing the money. the president has a market rate. the chairman has said many times the president is looking to using the markets to set a realistic rate. but anyways, he sets the rate. it's deficit neutral. as he sets the rate, the amendment we tried to offer was deficit neutral. he saves those students and families about $30 billion over the life of those loans. you get the difference? yes, the market is a market, but you can pick the worst of the market, you can pick the best of the market. they've chosen to pick the worst of the market for these students. now, we've had options. house republicans in rules committee had options. mr. courtney offered an amendment to keep rates at 3.4%. they rejected it. i offered the president's market approach.

they rejected that. then, mr. heck, from the republican side of the aisle from nevada, said let's provide an incentives that students continue to pay on time as they should as the market would do because you want to incent good behavior because you get more of it. they rejected that. mr. rice of south carolina went before them, member of the republican caucus, very concerned about the interest rates in this legislation. very concerned about what's going to happen to these families. he thought he could lower the interest rates within their bill, within the market rates, stick with the market principle. they said no. all you get today is whether or not you want a solution that is worse than the doubling of the interest rates on july 1. that's not an answer for america's families. that's not an answer for america's students. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm now pleased to yield to the vice chairman of the education and work force committee, the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. petri, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is

recognized for two minutes. mr. petri: i rise today to support h.r. 1911 because it would put in place a long-term market-based solution to federal student loan interest rates. some on the other side wish to engage in debate on the level of student loan interest rates. this is the wrong debate to be had, however, and distracts us from real reform. by taking this issue out of the hands of politicians, h.r. 1911 moves the discussion forward. i believe there are better ways to help students manage the repayment of their loans than ever higher interest rates subsidies. income-based repayments, an idea that originated with milton friedman, who was advocated by presidents reagan, clinton and obama, is better for students and taxpayers. while we have an income-based repayment option now, it doesn't do enough to protect students and taxpayers. therefore, working with representative jared polis, i introduced legislation to make

needed reforms. with today's bill, we can break free from this debate over interest rates and focus on real reform to help students struggling with student loan debt. so i'd urge passage of h.r. 1911 and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. miller: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. hinojosa. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for two minutes. mr. hinojosa: mr. speaker, i rise in strong opposition to h.r. 1911, the republican bill to make college more expensive. in america, we often speak of the importance of expanding educational opportunity and supporting students in achieving the american dream. unfortunately, our student loan debt crisis is crushing the dreams and aspirations of students and and college graduates. as congressman miller said earlier, today, student loan debt exceeds $1.1 trillion.

according to the consumer financial protection bureau, student loan debt surpassed total outstanding credit card debt for the first time in 2010. these staggering figures are truly unacceptable and must serve as a wake-up call for developing a long-term solution that helps, not harms, current and future borrowers. as a result, it is shocking that the majority party would bring a bait and switch scheme to the house floor, a bill that would force students into loans with skyrocketing interest rates. i find it shameful that h.r. 1911 would reduce the federal deficit on the backs of students and parents by saddling them with almost $4 billion in additional loan interest charges and leaves

students worse off than if congress simply allowed student loan interest rates to double on july 1. high levels of student loan debt can limit where college graduates live and work. it can affect the kinds of careers they follow. it can create obstacles for young people who hope to start a family, to purchase a home and save for retirement. to be clear, students and families deserve more from u.s. congress, not less. for these reasons i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle -- 10 seconds. mr. miller: additional 10 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 15 seconds. mr. hinojosa: for these reasons i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle oto oppose 1911. i suggest you do two things. one, prevent interest rates from doubling on july 1 and, second, work to make college more affordable and accessible

through the re-authorization of higher education act. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to yield two minutes now to the chairman of the health subcommittee, the gentleman from tennessee, dr. roe. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized for two minutes. mr. roe: i thank the chairman and thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of the smarter solutions for students act. this is a student loan debt, as i agree with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, is a huge issue in this country. and how do we get to the current rate of 6.8%? i asked myself. i went back and reviewed it and in 2006 the congress decided the interest rates were too high so they wanted to lower the interest rates but found out they couldn't afford the cost of it. so gradually step-wise it went down last year. in one year we had a 3.4% student loan rate tied to nothing but other than the whims of congress. it created a fiscal cliff for

loan rates, so we voted to extend it for yun year to get a permanent solution to this. the permanent solution we're offering is simply treat a student loan like any other loan and tie it to a treasury note plus 2.5% for a stafford loan. what does that mean? and certainly, mr. speaker, very eloquently mr. miller spoke just a moment ago about how rates variable means rates can change. that's absolutely true. but rates can go down. it doesn't necessarily mean that rates will go up. and in acknowledging this, an 8.5% cap was put on those loans. i checked the student loan rate. if you went to your local bank or credit union to see what a loan rate would be, and it's about 7% now, higher than that, and i agree with my good friend, ruben hinojosa, who believes we should work for ways to help college more affordable. i could not agree more. the secretary of education just

this past wednesday says he agreed and supported a permanent solution. the president said he supported market-based approach. this will give certainty to it and certainly i would urge my colleagues to vote and support this very needed piece of legislation. i yield back the balance of my ime. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. > i yield -- mr. miller: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. andrews. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. andrews: the question before the house this morning is whether we should make college more affordable or less affordable? which is better for the country? if we do nothing by july 1, interest rates double on student loan rates from 3.4% to 6.8% this bill makes it worse. it will actually increase the college cost for a typical

student by $5,000 or $6,000 over a 150-year period, $3.7 billion across the country. there's a better way. the better way, government's borrowing money at 1%. why don't we borrow the money at 1%, factor in the cost of administering the loans and setting aside a reserve for default, and charge that amount to the students, rather than run a profit-making enterprise on student loans? mr. tierney and others have taken the lead on this, mr. kourtney has, and that's the bill that i think is the appropriate long-term solution. but i do know this. if you listen to any corporate leader, any business leader in america, they tell you this. we will only grow and prosper with the skill -- with a skilled work force and we will only have a skilled work force if high every education is affordable. the simple question before the house is, if you think higher education should be less affordable, vote yes. if you think it should be more

affordable, vote no. no is the right vote. the better -- there's a better way. we should put that on the floor and proceed that way. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. >> kline: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from the committee, mr. thompson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. thompson: absent congressional action, interest rates on student loans will double from 3.4% to 6.8% on july 1. not that far away. we need both parties and both chambers working on solutions now. we can't afford more last-minute back room deals and political brinksmanship. the smarter solutions for students act is a commonsense approach. this bill prevents the rate hike from happening and ends what has become an annual debate within congress on how to set the rates

for student loans this bill puts in place a rate that is more predictable and affordable, it builds on a proposal put put forward by president obama in his fiscal year 2014 budget request. both of these proposals move to a market-based interest rate, not one set by politicians in washington. we have a responsibility to america's youth to put forward a long-term plan for college affordable. this is a good first step and will offer the lowest possible rates for college education by ensuring the solvency of these important loan programs. i encourage my colleagues to join in support of this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california is ecognized. mr. miller: i yield to the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. scott: i rise in opposition to the making college more expensive act in 2007, congress

cut the interest rates on student loans in half from 6.8% to 3.4% for five years. last year we extended that benefit for one more year. in a few weeks, on january 1, if congress chooses not to act, the rate will double back to 6.8%. incredibly, this bill is so bad that the according to the congressional research service, students will be better off if congress were to let the rate double to 6.8% than to adopt this legislation. this bill is also bad because it makes rates variable for the life of the loan, therefore forcing students to sign for an interest rate that flill -- that will fluctuate over time so they don't know what it's going to be from one time to the next. it asks students to sign up for a loan without knowing what they're signing up for. now this is different from the democratic proposals on various -- on variable interest rates because the president's proposal and the democratic alternative that was offered in committee

has a variable rate but once you sign the loan, that rate is fixed for the duration. so you know what you're signed up for and with the historic rates now, you can sign up for a loan rate that's probably much lower than any of the numbers that are being considered. but this rate, this rate is so bad that when congressional research service estimates that we return to normal rate, that the student will actually be worse off than if we let the rates double to 6.8%. i urge my leagues to work diligently to improve access to quality education by making higher education more affordable and ensuring that the interest loan rates are reasonable and that starts with defeating this bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: i yield two minutes to the chairman of the work force protection subcommittee, the gentleman from michigan, mr. walberg. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. walberg: i thank the

chairman. mr. speaker, recently i had the opportunity to meet with more than a dozen of michigan's private colleges and universities. they're working hard, as you might guess, address the rising costs of college education. with their institutions and other institutions. with students who desire an education. at the same time, this house, under the direction of this committee, is working hard to address student loan interest rates in a way that brings long-term stability to the program. the interest rate for federally subsidized stafford loans is currently set to rise at 6.% on july 1, 2013. matching it to the current unsubsidized stafford loan rate. other federal loans have rates as high as 7.9%. any further temporary extension of the current rate only kicks the can down the road. we've done this already.

politicians vs. markets. markets will always produce better long-term results and only those who refuse to deal with the truth of history and reality would say otherwise. congress has a unique opportunity to institute the long-term, bipartisan reforms. why not? we know in our hearts it's the right thing to do. both president obama and the house have favored market based solutions to current rates. the secretary of education desires a long-term solution like this as well. instead of another short-term fix, the smarter solutions for students act, provides a long-term solution to the student loan interest rate problem. it returns all federal student loans, except perkins loans, to a market-based interest rate and takes politics out of this part of our children's education. the only way this plan won't work is if the liberal progressive central planners that control our government policy now are allowed to

continue their failed approach and it is a failed approach. pass this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. miller: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. tierney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. tierney: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i go to the point mentioned earlier, the democrats made a promise to keep the loans at 3.4% and it's being broken. it's being broke bin this bill. we kept that promise through the entire re-authorization higher education opportunity act and two more years in addition. this is the proposal now, we say stay at 3.4%, the republicans say no, jack it up more than double. i join with millions of students and parents and organizations that represent them in strong opposition to this making college more expensive act before us here today i. my republican friends talk about how this bill is simple and predictable. it's predictable, all right, i

predict the lates -- rates will go right up beyond the 6.8% rate. we have a nonpartisan group that says, if we pass this bill those rates will go up more than double on that basis. it is not simple. they would have you believe through this debate that the rates will go down to market rates. they would if you followed our bill at 3.4%, but if you went with the bill of making college setsexpensive act, it re-- them low, but resets them, and resets them, so at the end of four years you get the package with a higher rate. that's going to be almost $3 billion more in cost for students and parents. the congressional budget office said the rates would be almost $4 billion. we know that to be the case. these are the same people who say they don't want to burden the next generation with the debt but they have no problem burdening the next generation by burying them in student loan debt year after year after year.

i am hearing from people all over my district. one woman from wilmington wrote me and said when he her son graduates from college, his loans will equal what her husband and she paid for the -- for their first home. something is not right with the system, she says. both college tuition costs and student loan interest rates are wrong. shoast right, this bill is wrong. let's do the right thing, 3.4% now, do a higher education re-authorization rate that takes care of this problem going forward. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: in order to balance the speakers, i'll reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. miller: i yield one minute to the gentlewoman from new york, mrs. mccarthy a member of the committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. mccarthy: i stand today against making college more expensive act. let me tell you why. i represent a pretty large

minority area. over the last several year, we have seen those scores in those students going up and up. for the first time we're seing a higher rate of young people going to college. this is not the time to be looking at making college more expensive. they're loans, first-time generations of students going to college. this is wrong. this is supposed to be a friendly family bill. for who? it's certainly not for my constituents. you know, i'm sorry also to say that what we're going to be seeing is after this bill, and it will probably pass today, it dies. the senate is not going to pick this up. so again, we have wasted all our time, instead of working together to come to a solution. and again as you heard, according to the c.b.o. if congress did nothing, and let student loan rates double on july 1, students would be better off.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. mrs. mccarthy: this is not a good bill, i ask my colleagues o vote against it. mr. miller: i yield one minute to the gentlelady from california, mrs. davis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. davis: student loan rates are set to double unless congress sets to stop -- stops it. we should be considering legislation like the one my colleague mr. courtney introduced to extend low interest rates for two years. but instead, we're debating a bill that makes students worse off. worse off than if congress does nothing. that's because under this bill, student interest rates would be subject to the whims of the market. today, interest rates are at an all-time low. what about five year what about 10 year, what about 15 queers from now? this bill lures students in with

a low variable rate only to trap later th a higher rate on. we've seen this bait and switch before. usually it was by credit card companies setting up shop outside of college sporting events, not by the federal government. we are not subprime lenders. the federal government should not be profiting from students. it shouldn't be making $4 billion off of students. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired this egentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: i yield one minute to a member of the committee, the gentleman from tennessee, dr. desjarlais. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. desjarlais: i rise in support of h.r. 1911. this commonsense bill aptly named the smarter solutions for students act, brings the student loan interest rate program back to reality. instead of coming back each year to partake in the washington tradition of putting last year's failures off to the next year,

this bill gives students and their families the certainty that their loan rates won't be subjected to the whims of bureaucrats in washington or legislators on capitol hill this legislation ties student loan interest rates to the 10-year treasury note. in fact, the president's fiscal year 2014 budget request included language shar to this bill. h.r. 1911 goes even further toward protecting students and families from high interest rate environments by including caps on interest rates. i encourage my colleagues to support this bill and i thank chairman kline and virginia foxx and their staffs for their hard work in bringing this legislation to the floor. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. miller: can i inquire of the chair the time on both sides? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california has 15 minutes remain, the gentleman from minnesota has 20 minutes remaining. mr. miller: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from connecticut, mr. kourtney a member of the committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes.

mr. courtney: at a time when student loan debt has skyrocketed among all forms of debt, credit card debt, car loan debt, and students are graduating on average with over $25,000 of student loan debt, a ticking clock 30 days away where the rates will double, the bill that the majority has come forward with makes the problem worse, not better. again, the analysis from independent sources, the ones that we rely on to make decisions in this body, the congressional budget office and the congressional research office, make it clear that if we do nothing, the interest costs for the average stand loan will add $4,000 in interest payments. if we pass this bill, the interest will rise by $5,000. so the notion that this is somehow a solution to the problem, the misnoemer that this bill is given, the reverse is true. mr. speaker, we know that the senate is not going to move over the next 38 days. they're doing the farm bill. they're doing immigration reform. it is time to protect students

by extending the 3.4% rate, a rate i hasten to add was passed in 2007 with a large bipartisan majority, signed into law by george bush, was extended again last year with large bipartisan majorities, signed by president obama, do a two-year extension and then get with a five-year higher education act. it's about pell grants, about perkins loans, it's about students not being given good information in high school. it's about allowing graduates refinance their debt which they are confronted with large barriers. that's the real work to solve the higher education challenge and issue in this country. in the meantime let's extend the two-year rates. i have letters from 21 campus-based organizations representing real-life college students across america who support the democratic measure to extend those rates, get a good higher education re-authorization bill and totally, totally reject the

measure that's on the floor today, the make college more expensive act, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: mr. speaker, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. mr. miller: i yield 1 1/2 minutes to ms. bon meche. -- bonamici. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. bonner: across america, -- ms. bonamici: across america, with this bill it's about to get worse. on july 1, the interest rates will double for millions of students entering college, but this bill is not a constructive solution. in fact, this bill will make the problem worse. rates are currently 3.4% and they will double to 6.8% if we do nothing, but under this bill, the rates will be uncertain because there will be variable and will be as high as 8.5%. according to the congressional

budget office, this legislation will force students to pay thousands more in interest than if congress simply does nothing if the rates double. it's just not fair. on average, middle-class families haven't seen a raise in years. many are worker harder for less money, they're struggling to buy everything from groceries to gas. they're relying more on the federal student loan programs to finance the growing cost of college. but instead of debating how much we should lower rates, instead of considering comprehensive reforms to address college costs, we're actually considering legislation that would be worse if we did nothing at all. mr. speaker, this is unproductive, unreasonable and unacceptable. i urge my colleagues to vote no. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: jabe -- the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. now i'd like to yield three minutes to another member of the committee, the gentleman from indiana, mr. messer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is

recognized for three minutes. mr. messer: thank you, mr. chairman. i'd like to thank chairman kline for his hard work on this bill. i'd also like to thank the for her tee chair foxx hard work. i rise in support of h.r. 1911, the smarter solutions for students act. this debate is about a fundamental question, who do you trust more, the promises of big government or the private market setting rates in the marketplace? i believe we must return to a market-based policy rather than keeping congress in the business of fixing interest rates by throwing darts at a dart board. i will make two simple points to this chamber. first, markets work. the president has recognized this. chairman -- our education secretary duncan has recognized this. they both have called for a market-based -- return to market-based rates and policies

on our student loan interests. families deserve the security of knowing that the marketplace will be setting their interest rate, not the results of the next mud wrestling match in congress. for a lot of rut rick on the other side of the aisle -- rhetoric on the other side of the aisle that rates will rise if we change this policy, lost in that rhetoric is the fact over the course of the last decade there have been times where interest rates have been much lower had we had a market-based approach to nterest rates. in 2002, they wanted it at a fixed interest rate at 6%. at that time rates were variable at historically low levels. a 6.8% rate would be a better deal. turned out they were wrong. interest rates, had we stayed at the variable rate, would be

2.6%. i don't think it would be fair that we had the government in the way. the second i think needs to be -- point i think needs to be made in this debate is while we need to have low interest rates for students and we are all concerned and want to make sure they don't rise, the real threat to young people in this country is not a few dollars on their interest loan. chine kleine -- mr. kline: i yield a minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. messer: the real threat is the explosive debt in this country. the fact we're adding $1 trillion of debt each year, $6,800 of debt for each taxpayer each year and the dragging down our economy and hurting our ability to create jobs. let's return to commonsense policy on interest rates. i urge my colleagues to support 1911 and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. miller: i yield one minute to the gentleman from vermont, mr. welch. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from vermont is recognized for one minute. mr. welch: i thank the gentleman, mr. speaker. i rise today in opposition to the making college more expensive act. mr. speaker, what we're doing is just not right. we're borrowing, the federal government is borrowing money at 1.8%. then we're lending it now at 3.4%. if we do nothing it goes to 6.8%. and under this bill it probably will hit up around 10%. we're ripping off kids. i mean, we're making money off of these kids. a confident nation will invest in the dreams of our young people. it won't crush those dreams. and why are we doing it? you know what, we're borrowing money as a government at 1.8%. the federal reserve is lending money to the big money center banks at .75%. but we're going to be charging up to 8% or 10% to our kids? i don't get that. families are sitting around the

kitchen table having discussions if they have three kids, which can we send to college? parents who thought they had equity in their home and thought after working 30 years -- mr. miller: i yield 30 second. mr. welch: after 30 years of work will be finally able to take that cruise or vacation, they're refinancing their home to help their kids. and despite that, which compromises their retirement, their kids are getting out of college. in vermont with an average debt of close to $30,000. it's tough on the kids. of it's tough on the parents. it's bad for our economy and it's just not right. we borrow, the federal government at 1.8%. we're going to charge up to 8% for families who are lending to the banks at 7.-- .75%? i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: mr. speaker, i don't know how many speakers are left over there. i'll reserve.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. miller: i yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. swalwell. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. swalwell: i rise in opposition to the making college more expensive act. how short are the memories of the members on the other side what it was market-based principals that led to the housing crisis that we're now getting out of, and doubling the student loan rate is an attack on students and the increased debt they will take on will build a great wall around our middle class. there's no better way to have a healthy growing middle class than access to education. today our middle class is shrinking. if you're in the middle class you're making about $5,000 than you were 10 years ago. if you're in the middle class, you have about $25,000 in debt than 10 years ago. doubling the rates will increase the debt that our middle class has. i know a thing or two about student loans. i have thousands of dollars of them myself, and this is not just dollars on interest rates.

we are talking thousands of dollars that individual borrowers, like myself, and the people that grew up with me in a middle-class town called dublin, will take on. let's tear down this great wall that the g.o.p. and the house leadership are trying to build around our middle class and let's not double the rates. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. miller: i yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from rhode island, mr. cicilline. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from rhode island is recognized for a minute and a half. mr. cicilline: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i rise in strong opposition to the republican making college more expensive act that we're considering today. market-based systems will drive up the cost for millions of middle-class families, but will, of course, also benefit some of our biggest banks and other financial institutions. if we want to get our country back on the right track, put men and women back to work and ensure we remain competitive in the global economy, we have to do more to make higher

education more accessible and more affordable, not more expensive. without congressional action, the interest rate on federal subsidized stafford loans will increase from 3.4% to 6.8% for more than seven million students. we shouldn't be making a profit on student loans period. we have proposals that will end this practice and give students access to college at the lowest cost possible. unlike this bill, the student lon relief act, the responsible solutions for students act, would have low interest rates for students. but the bill before us today is a bad republican idea that will make college more expensive for working families and will benefit some of america's largest financial institutions who will earn billions more on student loan interest. hidden within this bill is a obligatent bait and switch scheme that will allow students borrow at one rate before the other sky rockets. let's vote against this and find a serious long-term solution on student loans that will make college more

affordable for millions and millions of students. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. miller: i yield one minute to the gentleman from new york, mr. meeks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for one minute. mr. eeks: thank you, speaker. i'm puzzled. this is not the america that i know. can't be. when we were growing to make ourselves a great nation, we were talking about trying to make sure our young people had a free education. i can't figure out what's going on here. so many americans that are doing well now, when i talk about when they were going back to school in the 1940's, 1950's, 1960's, it was a free education. and now we want to ask our young people, the ones that are going to be the middle class, the ones that going to strengthen this country, to be more in debt than ever, how could we say to our students when we're talking about financial literacy and trying to teach them how to be financially able that you got

o take a bait and switch loan? didn't we learn anything from this last financial crisis? what are homeowners doing now? all of them are running to make the adjustable rate mortgages fixed rate mortgages. and yet we take who we say are our precious resources, our children, to say that you got to pay these resources is ridiculous. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. miller: i have no further speakers. is the gentleman, the chairman, the last speaker? mr. kline: i'm prepared to close. mr. miller: thank you. mr. chairman, i want to thank all my colleagues who entered into debate here this morning on this legislation. i think it is clear this is' a very big -- there's a very big different between our positions on this legislation.

there's a very big difference between the president's bill, who is trying to use a market system, and this bill before us, mr. kline's bill, that uses a market system. the fact is that the president's bill saves students billions of dollars, but the republicans will not make president obama's bill in order for consideration. hy not? they say they're doing the same as the president. well, they're not. in fact, they're adding on $4 billion worth of debt onto the back of students over their program. and how can they possibly do that? you've heard my colleagues on this side of the aisle speak to the issues we hear all the time when we go home. the struggle of students, the struggle of families, be they low income, middle income, to get access and to be able to complete a college education, get access to a community college, a state college system, to get a certificate, to get a

degree, that will allow them to participate in the american society in the american economy. that's part of the american dream. yes, we lower the interest rates to 3.4%, and it held over a period of years. and they held over those exact same years when families were under the most stress because of this recession that was created on wall street and the scandals that -- and the scandals that took away 70% of the wealth of african-american and hispanic famthroifs country that destroyed the equity in good chunks of middle america because of teaser rate loans, subprime loans, and what's happening today in the private market? the banks are getting money from the treasury at .75% interest and loaning it to families in private student loans. if you have good credit, the loan -- they'll loan it to you

for around 7%. bankers used to die and go to heaven if they could get a a 7% spread. that's how you become a billionaire. .75% it out, get it at and put it out at 7%. and if your credit is not so ood, it drifts toward 13%. that's why we took the program away from the banks, we took the $60 billion that we were giving to the banks to loan the public's money to the students, and we said, why don't we put that to use for families? and we did. and we lowered the interest rates. and we increased the participation in the pell grant, made it available, we increased some loan limits. gave people a chance to manage the debt after they graduated so the more youer, the more you pay, but you don't get crushed

when your first job may not have the best salary even though it's the career you want to go in and it takes time to get that salary. we made it more affordable for america's families. yes, we lowered the debt to 3.4%. it was paid for and that's all we could afford. congress will make that decision. last year the congress made a decision to extend this. -- to extend it. this year they decided they don't want to extend it on the other side of the aisle system of fine, come up with a plan. but the plan they came up with is worse than having 3.4% double on july 1. how can you develop a plan that's worse for students? i guess maybe if you go home and everybody if your district is working around everybody is participating in this slow-growing economy that's getting better, i don't know, families i represent, they're still struggling.

the recession hasn't left town. the recession hasn't left the country. you pick up "the wall street journal" today and there's greater concern about what's happening in china, dragging down the world economy. there's greater concern about the europeans dragging down the world economy. and america is trying to struggle, students are trying to struggle, and we're going to come along and more than double the rates. we're going to give them a teaser rate, though. next september, families go out and get a rate, probably somewhat lower than the current rate. but that loan will be adjuste -- adjusted and they don't know what the rates are going to be. as long as they're paying on that loan, that loan will continue to be adjusted. we just saw that history in america. we saw what that did. i don't have a problem going to a market system. how about a fair one. the number, the president went to a market system. for the subsidized stafford lofpblee said in the market system, go to .9. they said go to 2.5. 10 years plus 2.5.

the president said 10 years plus .9. there's a lot of ways to go to a market system. you don't have to punish the american family, you don't have to punish the students in school to go to a market system. i wish the president had a cap. the gentleman has a cap. this could be worked out. but we don't do things bipartisanly anymore in the congress of the united states system of because we can't get the president and the majority on the education labor committee to sit down and work out the market system, because that's not allowed, we don't do bipartisan work, the vims are going to be the families and the students and long-term, our nation. every member of congress that's come to -- has come to this floor and said how important this education system is to our future economic growth, to competing in a globalized world, to have innovation, to have discovery, to have job creation. we're now creating a drag on job creation. we're now creating a drag on the

opportunities for families. we're creating a drag on the ability to achieve the american dream. and a college education is part of that dream but a college education is also critical to keeping this economy and this society moving. with that, i'm very close to yielding back my time, i think. i want to thank the chair for presiding, i would hope that any colleagues whether they're committed to a market race or -- rate or not would uh understand that this is a flawed rate. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired this egentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: i yield myself the plans of our time. well, mr. speaker, it's -- as always in this debate, there's a lot of confusion, a lot of misinformation. it's that old thing about figures lie, liars figure, and you've got different guesses for interest rates and reports and i want to get into some of that

but some of it is at the core of our differences here. let's get a cup of things straight. we've watched what's happened as congress tries to chase an interest rate and get in political battles year after year. remember the 6.8% that was put in law was considered a good deal. and then there was the plan to take it from 6.8% to 3.4% for all loans. didn't work. cost a lot of money. added to the debt. which is a problem that's still nagging us today. so interest rates for taken from 6.8% to 3.4% gradually over years. got down to the point where for one year, the interest rate on subsidized stafford loans, not the unsubsidized stafford loans, not the plus loan, didn't have the money for that, took it down to 3.4% for one year and then there wasn't enough money. and so by law, the interest

rates on those loans went back up to 6.8% an last year new york election year, we had a big political fight and that's what you can anticipate, apparently, forever as politicians try to use this as a political pawn and fight over what the student loan interest rates ought to be and what can be afforded. mr. speaker, what can be afforded counts. it counts. because a problem, as i said, that is continuing to nag us, we have a mountain of debt in this country. we've been running deficits year after year of over $1 trillion. we've got over $16 trillion in debt. we have to face that. -- we have to face that issue here coming before us. and so while we would like all student loan interest rates are low and we would -- we want to get them as low as we can, we don't want to add to the mountain of debt that's out there. so, we thought that it would be a good idea to let the free market determine what those rates ought to be and we came forward with a proposal and

talked about our proposal with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, staff to staff, hour after hour, trying to beat this out. staff to staff talking to the white house and expect of education about what they're doing, what we're doing, what might work out. i talked to the secretary of education before this bill was ever introduced because i agreed, i agreed with the president and the secretary that we need a long-term solution and get out of kicking this can dun the road with annual or maybe it's semiannual, biannual, political battles. and so we move to the market. we used the 10-year treasury that the white house was proposing using, senate republicans wanted to use the 10-year treasury and then we worked it. we worked it and worked it to get as close to budget neutral as we could possibly get it. because we want to help students, we want to give them

certainty, and we want them not to rely on the whims of politicians here and we want also not to put a burden on the american people and the taxpayer and not add, not add to that debt. so we tried to get it close to zero. we've seen charts down here, i love charts, particularly colored chart, you know. we've seen charts down here that says that our bill, our bill is adding billions of dollars to student debt. well, we've got a counterproposal over there, i think the gentleman from california offered it, the president's proposal. president obama's plan, that additional debt to students, is $3 ppt 1 billion. ours is -- is $3.1 billion. ours is $3.7 billion. over 10 years. we tried to come together on this and i think we can continue to try to come together on this

and we need to move this forward. there are a lot of things we need to do to help students and certainly one of them is to help graduates get to work. half of all college graduates now are underemployed or unemployed, doing things, working in places, employing none of the skills that they learn in college. we need to get the economy going. we're still asking where are the jobs, we need to get americans back to work. you can't get americans back to work if you keep piling on mountains and mauntoins of debt and regulations but that's a fight for a another day. income-based repayment systems, we didn't touch on in this bill. there are interesting propose also we want to look at. at this point, we are trying to determine who will set interest rate the politicians here, or the market? so here's what we heard from the other side today. washington should be in charge of setting interest rates on student loans. washington should be in the business of creating confusion

and uncertainty for student loan borrowers. afree onhington cannot thousand serve the best interest of taxpayers. it's pointed out that the senate won't act. for many of us in this body, that's not a lot of news but july 1 is still july 1 and there's an incentive other there and i believe the senate must take action. i look forward to working with them to achieve the long-term solution that i think that we all need to see. it was pointed out that we have a variable rate. and the president has a variable rate but then his fixes. certainly under our law, when you graduate, if you're in a low-interest environment, you can consolidate those loans and fix them for the duration, however long you're taking to pay off those loans. if it's a high interest rate, you may not want to do that in

the other plan, you've already got a fixed rate. we believe we can work together, the only way we can continue to work together to solve this is to pass this legislation, pass it today, i urge my colleagues to reject the failed status quo and reject -- and embrace a responsible, long-term solution on behalf of students, families and hardworking american taxpayers. i urge my colleagues to support the smarter solutions for students act and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time for debate has expired. pursuant to house resolution 232, preprevious question is ordered. the question is on engrossment and third reading. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. third reading. the clerk: a bill to amend the higher education act of 1965 to establish interest rates for new loans made on or after july 1, 2013.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition? >> i have a motion to recommit at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: is the gentlewoman opposed to the bill? >> i am. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman qualifies. the clerk will report. the clerk: she moves to report the same back to the house forthwith with the poll lowing amendment, redesignate section 3 as section 4, and insert after section 2 the following new section, section 3, protecting students from the teaser interest rates that led to higher long-term costs. nothing in this act shall be construed to, one, authorize a student or parent borrower to be charged a teaser interest rate that entices the borrower with an initially low interest rate that subsequently skyrockets, dramatically increasing the total amount of interest rate due on a federal student loan for the student. two, authorize an increase in the total cost of post-secondary

education for students, three, authorize false advertising that hides the cost of any federal student loan -- the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will suspend. mr. kline: i reserve a point of order. the speaker pro tempore: the point of order is reeverybodied the clerk will continue. the clerk: false advertising that hides the true cost to a -- of a student loan to a parent or student borrower. the total amount of interest that a borrower mayo on such loan and the number of queers a borrower may take to pay back such loan or four, limit the secretary of education to include in any disclosure related to interest rates that a secretary is required to provide for a borrower for a loan made under part d of the higher education act of 196520 u.s.c. 1087-a or at prior to the disbursement of such loan, a, an explanation that the applicable rate of interest for the loan is

a variable interest rate and how such variable rate may affect the cost of attending a higher -- an institute of higher education or b, interest on a total amount of -- >> i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the reading. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to dispensing with the reading? the clerk will suspend. the gentlewoman from arizona is recognized for five minutes in support of her motion. . mess sinny ma: thank you, mr. speaker. this is a final amendment to the bill and will not kill it or send it back to committee. i oppose h.r. 1911. while it's bad enough that student loan interest rates are set to double on july 1, this bill actually makes interest loan rates even worse for our students. by allowing interest rates to rise dramatically on their loans, this bill steals from students and forces them to pay for congress' debt. that's absolutely unacceptable.

the higher interest rates in this bill will force graduates who are just beginning to plan their lives. it will force them to pay an estimated added $1,200 each year to the government over five years. that is in in addition to what they are already expecting to pay. not only that the interest rate is not guaranteed, so they can't even plan for this bad news. when you buy a car, you know what your interest rate will be for the life of the loan. future graduates who are starting a family, looking for work, and hoping to contribute to our communities, these graduates should at least have the same reassurance about their investment in their hard work as they would have when buying a car. it is congress' duty to stop student loan interest rates from increasing by july 1. and it is outrageous that we would force students to pay for the debt that congress has

created. hardworking students shouldn't have to pay for congress' mistakes. two weeks ago i shared the story of one of my students at arizona state university. he and his wife worked their way through college to pay for school and put food on the table for their kids. he also took out student loans in order to make it. he has debt that he and his wife will pay for decades to come. students of mine will make about $30,000 a year when entering the work force. they can't afford to pay down congress' debt in addition to taking care of their families. when ariel asks me to tell congress not to make matters worse for families like his, and then congress responds with this so-called solution, we have failed him and his family. my motion to recommit would help students. my amendment includes a truth in lending requirement that stops teaser rates.

teaser rates start low but then skyrocket without warning and costs thousands of dollars more for students in the future. this amendment also requires the government to tell students the true cost of their loans, including the amount of their interest payment. this amendment allows students to plan for their future. mr. speaker, i yield to the gentleman from california, representative george miller. mr. miller: i want to congratulate the gentlewoman for offering this motion to recommit. i think she goes right to the heart of the matter, and that is the uncertainty that is being presented by the legislation on the floor today. other members tried to deal with this issue of uncertainty, mr. heck from nevada tried to deal with this uncertainty by making -- providing incentive for those students who borrowed money and were able to pay four years on steady payments to give them incentive to continue to do that. mr. rice of south carolina sought to have a lower rate. this lower rate isn't chiseled

in granite. this isn't the market rate. this is the choice of the republican members of the committee to choose these rates. mr. rice thought in this time couldn't we have the lower rate begin? but the rules committee turned that out. as obama's plan was offered and they turned that out. now we are stuck. that's why we need this motion to recommit. to do as the the gentlewoman from arizona has said, to protect the students from the escalation of their interest rates. to protect the students from the escalation of the cost of college. these are families and students -- companies and colleges create calculators to try to show students what it will cost over four years. this legislation takes all of that certainty out for families. how they set money aside. how they save money. how they borrow money. those calculators don't work with this variable rate. and this variable rate can go on and on and on. and that's the problem here. this is a big choice for most families. i appreciate for some families,

not a deal. got enough money. where i live my family, people around me, my neighbors, this is a big choice to make a commitment. to finance the education of your children. that's why this motion to recommit for the gentlewoman from arizona is so important to have truth in lending for america's students, truth in lending for america's families, and to get rid of the rates that will just punish them and crush them into the future as they graduate from college and seek to participate in the american economy and career of their choice and the talent we need as a nation. i want to thank the gentlewoman very much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from minnesota, do you wish--still maintains the point of order? mr. klein: i would like to -- mr. kline: i would like to withdraw my point of order and rise in opposition to the motion. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. we are trying to get to a

long-term solution on how student loan interest rates are set. i believe the process for that is to pass the underlying legislation here, talk to our senate colleagues, get them to act so that we can come together and come to a long-term solution. the gentlelady's motion puts washington squarely back in the middle of setting student loan interest rates. it's the wrong thing to do. i urge my colleagues to vote no on the motion and yes on the underlying bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit. the question is on the motion. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the noes have it. the motion is not agreed to. miss cinema: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yaints are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 8 and clause 9 of rule 20, this 15-minute vote on the motion to recommit

will be followed by a five-minute vote on passage of the bill if ordered, and approval of the journal if ordered. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 194, the nays are 223. the motion is not adopted. the question is on passage of the bill. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the gentleman from california. mr. miller: on that i ask a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 221, the nays are 198. the bill is passed. without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland seek recognition? mr. hoyer: i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order or one minute. the speaker pro tempore: members will clear the well.

please take your seats or take your conversations off the floor. again, the house will be in order. will all members clear the well, take your seats or take your conversations off the floor. especially for those in the back of the chamber. please take your seats or your conversations off the floor. he house will be in order. once again take your conversations off the floor. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. hoyer: i thank you very much, mr. speaker. i know that members want to catch planes and i will be brief. i did want to take this opportunity, from time to time we in sadness see one of those

people who has served this institution very well and served me both in my role as majority leader and as democratic whip, but i wanted to rise at this point in time to say thank you. i know you want to join with me. austin burns, who is leaving, as my floor director, and valued friend and staff member. at the same time i want to thank those on speaker boehner's staff, on majority leader cantor's staff, and on whip mccarthy's staff who have worked so well and positively with austin burns for helping us to do our job better. obviously there were differences from time to time, maybe all the time, but i thank you for that. and austin, i want to thank you for the service you have given to this institution, to your country, to me, and to all the members who appreciate very much

your advice and counsel. thank you very much. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. without objection, fifment voting will -- five-minute will continue. the question on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal which the chair will put de novo. the question son agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. it in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. and the journal stands approved. the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that when the house adjourns today it adjourn to meet at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: thank you.

>> i ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a co-sponsor of h.r. 1773. the speaker pro tempore: 1773? >> 1773. the speaker pro tempore: without bjection, so ordered.

the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. cleep leave of absence requested for mr. clyburn of south carolina for today, mr. culberson of texas for today, mr. gibson of new york for today, and mr. lewis of georgia for today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the requests are granted. he house will come to order. members will take their conversations off the floor. the chair will now entertain requests for one-minute

speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: so ordered. mr. thompson: during the 2013 state of the union address, president obama stated that every day we must ask ourselves, and i quote, how do we attract more jobs to our shore, and how do we make sure that the hard work leads to a decent living? end of quote. this week, the house considered and passed h.r. 3, the northern route approval act, legislation approving the keystone x.l. pipeline despite estimates showing thousands of new jobs resulting from the project, the administration has delays a-- delayed approval, despite the democrat-led senate passing an amendment recommending aprufle, the administration delayed

approval. despite a more rigorous screening process than other prompts, the administration delayed approval. it's time for the president to move from asking the jobs question to answering it. he can do so by ending the bureaucratic delays blocking approval of keystone x.l. and moving forward with this vital project that will bring thousands of high paying jobs to america's shore. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. the house will be in order. please take your conversations off the floor. the gentleman is recognized. mr. andrews: i thank the speaker. i rise today as a member of the safe climate caucus, to say that -- mr. holt: i rise to today as a member of the safe climate

caucus to say we have passed two million parking lots per million of cardon dioxide for the first time in human history. perhaps for the first time in several years. his is indeed a milestone. but it should not be a breaking point. we have done damage to our climate through human activity. if we continue to fill our climate with carbon and other chemicals we will continue to see changes to the planet. we have seen how human actions, especially unregulated con sums of fossil fuels can harm our planet and upset human welfare as we have seen with historic droughts, fires, floods and superstorms more and more. yesterday, the house again voted to approve the keystone x.l. pipeline a project that represents a long-term reliance on fossil energy and would commit us to a path toward

irreversible global warming and climate change. the political decisions we make today will decide the future. we must reduce our dependence on conventional fuels and redirect ur policies. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my rashes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. on memorial day we take time to honor all those who sacrificed so much to secure our nation's freedom, peace, and prosperity. this week, i came together with a bipartisan group of my freshmen colleagues to lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier at arlingtonton national cemetery. we paid respect to our nation's fallen heroes, especially those known only to god. mr. roth fuss: in my opinion -- mr. rothfus: in my opinion,

there's no more american place than arlington. no words are necessary for the countless rows of white markers speak volumes. it is important to remember those who rest just four miles from here. there we find what holds our country together. the book of wisdom teaches that the souls of the rachese are in the hand of god and no torment shall touch them. they are at peace. what comfort, indeed, for our fallen heroes. i thank the speaker and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from florida seek recognition? without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for one inute. ms. brown: thank you -- >> thank you, mr. speaker.

a georgetown university study shows that a college graduate earns over $1 million more over a lifetime than a nongraduate. yet today our college students are graduating with debt despair instead of job security. that's why barbara malloy called my office, she's a single mom, elementary schoolteacher, she's got a son james in his freshman year of college. ms. frankel: she is very, very worried she won't be able to afford to keep our son in college because they're wracking up tens of thousands in debt and mr. speaker, that's why i posed today's plan -- i oppose today's plan. i think we have to do better. we need to find a way to reduce the cost of college, not raise the cost of college. i hope that we can in a job. isan way do a better thank you, mr. speaker.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition? >> i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. poe: mr. speaker, they are from every state and territory, they are of all races, both sexes, they are from farms, ranches, and cities. they are rich and poor, but generally, they are young. they all, to a person, are volunteers. the all-american volunteers. volunteers to defend america. some have gone off to war in iraq and afghanistan. some have returned, some have returned with the wounds of war, and some have returned with an american flag draped over their coffin. here are 37 warriors from the second congressional district in texas who died protecting us from the forces of evil in

afghanistan and iraq. you see, they are very diverse. they are all races, they are young, they are old, they are from privates to colonels, enlisted, to even west point graduates. they are all from different bramples of the service. so this memorial day, we remember them all. those who gave all. and we thank their families for giving america their sons and their daughters. for the worst casualty of war is to be forgotten. and that's just the way it is. i ask unanimous consent to submit into the record the 37 warriors killed in afghanistan and iraq if the second congressional district of texas. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? without objection the gentleman to is recognized for one minute.

>> thank you, mr. speaker. there are few things americans enjoy more than watching the sunday football with their friends and family. but the excitement of football, the clashing of helmet the tackles, can cause long-term health damage to our nation's athletes. last may, junior seau, a former miami dolphin, one of the top linebackers in nfl history, sadly took his life after battling debilitating depression from repeated head trauma. last season alone, we saw high profile players sent back into the game immediately after suffering concussions. mr. garcia: this is unfair to athletes, their families, and it is also unfair to taxpayers, since they pick up the cost when the athletes can no longer afford the cost of their injuries. the nfl has the power to ensure

that this american pastime becomes safer. thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to congratulate patrick henry college's moot court team on their fifth consecutive national championship this year. the team boasts two two-time national champions as well as a national orator champion who holds the record for the most points earned in the history of the league. patrick henry college, p.h.c., has won a total of seven national moot court championships and built a strong reputation for success success nationwide. i thank the team coaches, dr. michael farris, founder of p.h.c., and dr. frank gleason for their investment in these

young people. at a time then we're asking the government to get out of the way, p.h.c. is a shining example of what can happen when freed from the government purse strings. mr. modos: from day one, the college has not accepted federal money. i congratulation the school for the example it has and will continue to -- mr. meadows: i congratulate the school for the example it has and will continue to set. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from texas seek recognition? without objection. the gentlelady is recognized. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, as we leave here today, many of us will anxiously return to our constituency to be able to celebrate and pay tribute to soldiers, those who have fallen, and of course, those who are now veterans. as i look out and will look out into the vast audience at the houston veterans cemetery, i can

tell you that i'll see an array of america, families who have come to say thank you to the fallen, but those who have no relatives at that particular site are just being american and as we have as members of congress are sent to the podium to say thank you and talk about the work we have done, the beautiful sunshine will shine on those faces and we will feel that america is a country that really understands the love and affection for our soldiers and those who are on battlefields. i want to thank the city of jacinto city who will be placing flags to honor our soldier and i want to thank the community of the heights where i will place flags at the world war ii memorial and draw the community together. it is a day when we bond as americans because we are not of any party, of any region, of any political persuasion. we are simply americans saying thank you to the soldiers. god bless you to america. for those who have fallen. we will never, never forget you and never do it any day of our

lives. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to honor the heroic efforts of deputy chris jones of the crer see county illinois sheriff's department. on april 23, he pulled a 67-year-old woman from a car that was being swallowed by floodwater. at 8:42 in the evening, deputy jones received a call to alert him of a driver in distress on state highway 100 and when he arrived on the scene he tried to make verbal contact with her but her car was submerged in watter that covered the hood and part of the trunk. she was unable to respond. mr. davis: he proceeded to enter the water where he found the driver still conscious and assisted her from the vehicle. he learned the woman had been

trapped for around 40 minutes. because of his valiant efforts an service to jersey county, i'm proud to honor the actions that deputy chris jones took on april 23 of this year. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman rom kentucky seek recognition? without objection the gentleman is recognized. >> mr. speaker, the i.r.s. has broken faith with the american people. the agency responsible for administering our tax code has admitted targeting americans for their political beliefs. american families across the country are disappointed and fearful. they are disappointed that the administration that promised home and change has used its enforcement power as a political weapon. mr. barr: they are fearful of a government that's expanded under president obama at an alarming rate. they are disappointed that our pren