afternoon dealing with college tuition. one revising financial counseling requirements. and another measure up for debate would make changes and make permanent the tuition tax credits created in 2009. now live house coverage. will b in order. the prayer will be offered today by our guest chaplain, reverend thomas coys, saint james catholic church, lamont, illinois. the chaplain: heavenly father, i give you thanks and i ask your blessing upon all gathered here. lord, i beg you to enlighten us and i ask you to be merciful to our country as we strive to win that kind of peace that you desire. as these people debate the best ways to order our society, give them humble hearts to seek that order that flows from your supreme intelligence. help them to learn the lesson

that you tried to teach your chosen people in the time of samuel, the prophet, that to be the most favored nation in your eyes, that nation must be unlike other nations. lord, i pray for ministers of all faiths, that they may be protected from the penalties of -- assigned to law breakers who find it their duty to follow their conscience, save those who think it their duty to destroy america. put in our hearts a desire to build a nation unafraid to follow your commands. amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance today will be led by the gentleman from texas, mr. doggett.

mr. doggett: thank you, mr. speaker. let us honor our flag and our country. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the chair will remind the house that on july , officer at 3:40 p.m. jacob j. chestnut and detective john m. gibson of the united states capitol police were killed in the line of duty defending the capitol against an intruder armed with a gun. at 3:40 today, the chair will recognize the anniversary of this tragedy by observing a moment of silence in their memory. without objection, the gentleman from illinois, mr. lipinski, is recognized for one inute.

mr. lipinski: mr. speaker, i rise today to introduce our guest chaplain this morning, father thomas coys, pastor at saint james catholic church in lamont, illinois. fitting for a pastor who loves american history, saint james is founded in 133 and is a historic church, building completed in 1858. a long-time chicagoland resident, he attended saint mary elementary school in riverside, archbishop quigley preparetory seminary. he went on to receive two master's degrees from catholic university of america and from university of saint mary of the lake. father coys was ordained in 1985 and has become an important voice in the catholic community. in 2002 he authored the "ashes that still remain," it also

hosts a radio show on a winds of change radio in chicago. he learned to speak spanish while on a four-month mission in mexico. father coys' spanish is very much welcomed in ministering to a large speaking spanish-speaking population in the archdiocese. he's also very active in advocating for life and family issues, is involved in leading the catholic professionals of illinois. an avid cyclist, father coys has participated in numerous cycling fundraisers to fight multiple sclerosis, which has inflicted his brother john. this afternoon i dr. sk my colleagues so -- this afternoon i ask my colleagues to join me in welcoming father coys to the house of representatives and thank him for serving today as the guest chaplain. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to 15 further requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition? without objection, the

gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. for over a year, the ways and means committee has led an investigation into the i.r.s. targeting conservative individuals for their beliefs. we found that the i.r.s. subjected americans to harassment, going so far as to question the content of their prayers and their political beliefs. subjecting them to audits and leaking their personal taxpayer information. they worked on rules behind closed doors that would restrict the rights of groups to organize, to speak out and to educate the public. mr. camp: they destroyed over two years' worth of emails, emails that are key to the investigation. the i.r.s. has spent years denying, delaying and obstructing. the american people deserve some answers and i'm committed to ensuring they know the truth of really happened at the i.r.s. -- of what really happened at the i.r.s. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to

address the house for one minute, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. i rise today to express my deep sympathy for all those affected by the tragedy of flight mh-17. mr. quigley: it is unthinkable that a commercial airliner would ever be shot down by a surface to aramisle and that's exactly what happened in the part of ukraine controlled by russian separatists. the evidence seems to point to one perpetrator, one party intent on inflicting pain and .uffering upon the innocent ukraine's crisis has undoubtedly by fueled by russia and its opertivities. let this serve as a wakeup call to the international community. this conflict could end today. it is in poo mr. putin's hands. but until then i support the sanctions that the united states has already levied against russia and stand strongly with the people of ukraine in their struggle for autonomy and sovereignty. my heart will forever go out to all those lost in this horrific

act of war and the loved ones they leave behind. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. sessions: thank you very much, madam speaker. madam speaker, did you know that google keeps emails for seven years? google, a company, which is used for personal emails keeping your email longer than the i.r.s. well, that's at least what we're understanding now from the i.r.s. i think it's highly doubtble that these emails simply disappeared. and seeing the other claims by the i.r.s. that have turned out to be false, i believe this is also. i do not believe that they have lost them. first, the i.r.s. delayed in telling the american people through their report of the missing emails. they did not even acknowledge

what the problem -- the problem that occurred. second, the i.r.s. commissioner was, i believe, untruthful when he referred to these emails being missing. no, not in april as he first claimed but actually february 2, according to the i.r.s. deputy associate chief counsel, did he recognize that they were missing. madam speaker, i would say if google can keep emails for seven years, i think the i.r.s. should have to do the same and if they can't do their job, we're going to as members of congress and find out. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. garcia: mr. speaker, it's been 13 months, 13 months since the senate passed a bipartisan comprehensive bill. and yet the speaker has not let

that bill come to the floor. so we filed a bipartisan bill with almost 200 co-sponsors and still the speaker will not let that bill come to the floor. and why? well, first, they said that the republicans were working on their own bill. so we waited. and we waited for them to put it forward and nothing. then they said they needed more time. so we gave them more time and the republicans gave us nothing. then, then they said it was because the majority leader lost. and finally, finally the fault of not having a comprehensive immigration bill is on the children, the children at the border. we're suddenly scared of children at the border. mr. speaker, there is one person responsible for us not having comprehensive immigration reform and it is the speaker of this house. mr. speaker, give us a vote on comprehensive immigration reform. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina

eek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. there's a hunger in this country, madam speaker, for things that bind us together. mr. gowdy: americans agree the i.r.s. should never target citizens. americans agree that government should tell us the truth. the i.r.s. has offered eight different explanations for targeting our fellow citizens. if we, madam speaker, changed our story to government eight different times, we would be called inmates. we can't lie to government. therefore government should never be able to lie to us. we agree the president -- no president should ever prejudge the outcome of an investigation while that investigation is ongoing. no president should ever say there's not a smidgen of corruption while an investigation is ongoing. we agree government should play by the same rules that we play by. we have to keep our emails. we have to keep our receipts. we have to keep our records. why should it be any different

for the i.r.s.? and finally, madam speaker, if we want something in this country that unites us and binds us together, expecting more and better from the i.r.s. seems like a really good place to start. with that i would yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> to seek unanimous consent, mr. speaker, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> this week, even as the house has unanimously approved seven different bills to fight the scourge of chirne sex trafficking, -- children sex trafficking, it still persists. indeed, at the same time that our republican colleagues were speaking here on the floor about doing whatever it takes to protect vulnerable children, they were demanding that immigrant children be sent back immediately. mr. doggett: the support for exploited children, which existed across this aisle, must

extend to children who were born on both sides of the border. sadly, fear and his terry are creating a steady -- histeria . e creating a steady drumbeat exploited children should not be politically exploited. no, we cannot accept all of them. we're not asking for amnesty. but how about a little human decency, a little humanity? how about just following existing law and supplying the resources to see that it is effectively implemented? i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. poe: madam speaker, we have a saying in texas that one should practice what they preach. but the i.r.s. has released a video that states the importance of keeping good records. now, isn't that lovely?

maybe they should save the lecture for lois lerner and the i.r.s.. in the video, helen from the i.r.s. says, whether you're an individual or a business owner, you can avoid headaches at tax time by keeping good records during the year. keeping well organized records helps you answer questions if your return is selected for examination by the i.r.s. you should usually keep these records supporting your tax returns for three years. you must keep all employment tax records for at least four years after the tax is paid. are you kidding me? it's interesting, the i.r.s. expects americans to keep years and years of records but they lose, misplace, destroy and hide their own records. the i.r.s. says, oh, rules for thee, but not for me. a little more practicing and a little less preaching by the i.r.s. is in order. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for

what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, the average family income in stockton, california, has gone down 12% over the last three years. families are working longer hours for less pay. this is happening across the nation. wages are falling while the cost of living inches up. that's why democrats have a plan to put families first. first, let's put people to work now by fixing our aging infrastructure and providing tax incentives for hiring. then, let's create a work force of the future by providing universal early childhood education and give more pell grants to college students. mr. mcnerney: let's make sure that women make equal pay for equal work and that families have quality, affordable child care. i ask my republican colleagues, why aren't we doing these things right now? don't we -- don't the middle class families deserve some

help? and there are other critical issues facing -- languishing here such as immigration reform and action on climate change. we need leadership, not inaction. i challenge our republican colleagues to get to work now and start solving our nation's problems. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri seek recognition? . >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> i rise today to address an important issue, that is the scandal engulfing the i.r.s. lois lerner is a central figure in the scandal surrounding the i.r.s.'s decision to target certain groups of americans for scrutiny and other unequal treatment due to their political beliefs. now we have learned emails pertinent to this investigation are missing. in very suspicious circumstances involving multiple deletions of records in the fiscal loss of computer equipment.

mr. long: the missing emails only add to the i.r.s.'s gross misconduct and raise disturbing questions about the professionalism and newtality of bureaucrats -- new neutrality and bureaucrats. in may the house held lois lern in contempt of congress and called for an appointment of special counsel to investigate the i.r.s. the i.r.s.'s conduct appears widespread and almost certainly harmed the right of free speech which we cherish in this country. it is critical that congress discovers the full truth of what happened at the i.r.s. and the responsible individuals are held accountable for their actions. madam speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i ask to address the house for one minute and rerned. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. holt: madam speaker, the department of interior recently gantt process of developing --

began the process of developing an is offshore oil and gas leasing program. however the development of a five-year program isn't simply about which areas shoulding leased and drilled and which not. it's about whether drilling in new offshore fields is the way of the future. as a member of the safe climate caucus, i'm who are to ask, how will we address the imminent and multiple threats of climate change resulting from our overdependence on carbon fossil fuels? we could double down or triple or quad drupele down on the energy sources of the last two centuries. or we could take steps to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and have a sustainable energy future. the last few years have seen tremendous process ep in harvesting the renewable energy potential of our oceans. we should oppose the unwise expansion of offshore oil and gas leasing and drilling. >> for what purpose does the

gentleman from ohio seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you. have you ever tried to use the excuse the dog ate your home work? lois person lerner, the former executive -- low -- low he lerner, former executive of the i.r.s., used that excuse. the i.r.s. knew for months that the heart drives of hers and many other officials had conveniently been destroyed. government agencies are missing accountability. the american people have constantly been looking for answers as to why the i.r.s. chose to harass taxpayers based on their political beliefs and restrict their first amendment rights. mr. gibbs: the i.r.s. is currently tasked with enforcing the failing health care law and now they are attempting to regulate free speech. the double standard that plagues the i.r.s. must end. asking the americans for years of paperwork regarding their taxes is simply hypocritical when the i.r.s. is unable to produce information required of them. i know the investigations

conducted by various house committees will help to expose what really happened and work to prevent this kind of government overreach from occurring again. government needs to be transparent and accountable to the american people. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? mr. yarmuth: i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. yarmuth: madam speaker, today some of my colleagues from across the aisle unveiled their proposal to address poverty in america. it's ironic because tomorrow they will vote to push six million children deeper into poverty by excluding their low-income families from the child tax credit. i just wish they will explain what they'll do different from a current budget which is a hardhearted and direct attack on the poor. 2/3 of the cuts in the republican budget come from our social safety net including medicaid, nutrition assistance, and education. their budget ends the medicare guarantee and raises prescription drug costs for seniors. it raises the already overwhelming cost of college, and slashes investments in jobs

to rebuild our national infrastructure. and it does this to cut taxes by 1/3 for the well off and well connected. while tining to reward companies that ship our jobs overseas. madam speaker, cutting services for low-income americans, blocking a livable wage, and increasing health care costs isn't a path to prosperity, it's a promise of poverty. if we expect to have any hope of reducing poverty in generations to come, we need a strong safety net today and we need to invest in quality education and good jobs to create opportunities for the future. democrats promise to do that. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. wilson: madam speaker, the i.r.s. plays an essential role in the obama administration. they are responsible for enforcing the failing health care law. interfering with prespeech. handling nnses -- finances for the government. sadly it's become apparent this

organization is corrupt. and therefore unable to fulfill its duties to the american people. the house has revealed a clear record of i.r.s. harassment based on political belief. threatening jobs. claims of missing emails are inexcusable. proof of deliberate delinquency are apparent. the i.r.s. is entrusted with great responsibility, yet their actions disrespect the american people they are supposed to serve. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we'll never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. my sympathy to the family and friends of earl brown. a dedicated patriot of brooklyn baptist church. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. higgins: mr. speaker, i rise to express my serious concerns with the department of energy's proposal to transport liquid nuclear waste from ontario's chock river research reactor, the department of energy's savannah river site across

several states and through my district. unlike spent nuclear fuel which can be safely transported in solid form, in liquid form it is more radioactive and complicated to transfer. most concerning in the event of a spill, liquid highly enriched uranium would be difficult to contain. a major contamination in the buffalo region could potentially result exacting dire consequences on the great lakes, the niagara region, buffalo niagara population. mr. speaker, a plan that carries this level of risk should not be done without a thorough review. the department of energy must take -- undertake a formal environmental impact statement before proceeding. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. they say where there's smoke, there's fire, and as far as the i.r.s. is concerned, with their credibility they are engulfed in

flames. just this week i.r.s. staff testified at the oversight committee that they may still have some of lois lerner's missing emails despite earlier claims they were lost forever. mr. walberg: the ways and means committee discovered her hard drive was only scraffed. information that conflicts with the earlier statements that the data was unrecoverable. it's clear the i.r.s. refused to be fully forthcoming and their behavior continues to raise serious questions about potential criminal wrongdoing and the targeting of conservative groups. here in the house we are committed to oversight, transparency, and ensuring we get the answers we need in the pursuit of understanding what really happened. i yield back. >> for what purpose does the gentleman from iowa seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, i rise to speak out against the misguided efforts to reduce or redeal the renewable fuel standard.

the r.f.s. was act enacted in 2005 to improve our equipment, environment, and energy independence. mr. braley: moufer it's currently threatened by a e.p.a. draft proposal that would roll it back and is highlighted in a recent opt ed by senators chuck grassley and klobuchar, to protect its market share and profit at the expense of american consumers. as they wrote, quote, the federal law has helped displace oil imports, increased domestic energy security, create jobs in rural america, curb pollution with cleaner burning fuel, and lower price it's pump for consumers, end quote. in iowa bio fuels created 73,400 jobs, pumping $5 billion of wages annually into our economy. and $19.3 billion of economic activity annually. in the united states, it's $42.6 852,000 jobs, billion in wages, and $185 billion in economic activity.

why would we push back and go backwards instead of moving forward into the future? with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> as the saying goes, you can fool all of the people some of the team, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. a year into investigations regarding the i.r.s. improperly targeting applications submitted by conservative grops, the i.r.s. claimed to have lost low he lerner's emails to or from outside agencies or groups for a period of more than two years as a result of a computer crash. mr. griffith: not just here computer, but five others as well. i.r.s. commissioner has told us the hard drives on her computer and the others could not be restored and had been recycled.

as a former defense attorney, if a client told me this story, i would say, you can tell the judge and the jury whatever you want, but you're not fooling anybody. if that's your story, you're going to jail. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you very much, madam speaker. i rise today to thank the religious and faith-based communities in our nation that have come forward to demand that we treat the children coming to our country with love and respect. and not deny them their due process right. here's some of the words of the faith-based community themselves. this is from the evangelical table which includes the national association of evangelicals, the council for christian colleges and university, and many more. mr. vargas: they write. the anti-trafficking law is working according to its design. but religious leaders said, it

should not be changed to address the current temporary situation. we hear from rabbi asher knight of temple emanuel el in dallas. the question for us is, how do we want to be remembered? as yelling and screaming to go back? or as using the teachings of our traditions to have compassion and love and grace for the lives of god's children? and lastly, pope francis, writes, a change of attitude towards migrants and refugees is needed on the part of everyone. i hope we have that. i thank president bush for signing the law and standing by it in this moment. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition? mr. daines: unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. daines: madam speaker, imagine telling the i.r.s. you just lost your paperwork. or sorry, i accidentally deleted my tax forms, guess we won't be

getting those to you. how do you think the i.r.s. would respond? not well. the i.r.s. would find your actions inexcusable, paid back with fine or criminal punishment. when the i.r.s. asks the same of us, we are expected to let them off the hook. losing two year's worth of emails is not only unlikely but unacceptable. the i.r.s. would not accept that excuse from the people of montana and montanans would not expect that excuse from the i.r.s. this double standard is abusive, it's irresponsible. the i.r.s. holds a great deal of power over the individual lives of americans people and the requirements they ask of us, we are asking of them. as representatives of the people the i.r.s. is hurting, the house will hold the i.r.s. to the standards they hold the rest of america. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is

recognized for one minute. >> thank you. madam speaker, i rise today in support of an immediate cease-fire and cessation of hostilities between israel and the palestinians of gaza. in order to resume negotiations and create a more lasting peace and security for all parties to this tragic conflict. madam speaker, we must do all that we can to help these parties come to terms that put palestinians on fulfilling a path to legitimate independence, aspirations for palestinians. mr. nolan: as well as providing with the greatest certainty ensuring the survival and security of israel. i commend and strongly urge president obama and secretary kerry to continue their bold efforts in ending this war and i offer them my full support and i offer and ask my colleagues to do the same so that israel and

palestine may someday soon live side by side in peace with one another. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? . without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, the i.r.s. has a major credibility problem. last month i.r.s. commissioner told congress under oath that the agency had confirmed that backup takes -- tapes storing lois lerner's emails were destroyed. now we learn from i.r.s. officials that such tapes may in fact exist. last week the i.r.s. filed a declaration in federal court stating that lois lerner's hard drive was destroyed and the data contained on the hard drive was unrecoverable, yet testimony provided to the house ways and means committee by i.r.s. i.t. professionals suggest that the hard drive was merely scratched and data was in fact recoverable.

mr. desantis: of course the i.r.s. has identified roughly 80 individuals of interest in the investigation and yet now they tell us that as many as 19 of them may have suffered lois lerner-style hard drive crashes. mr. speaker, the troubling part about this is the american citizen would never be able to get away with these types of explanations. it is intolerable to have one set of rules for the i.r.s. and one set of rules for the rest of us and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. creating opportunity for hardworking american families and reigniting the american dream should be the top priority of this congress. mr. kildee: but instead we are about to embark on a one-month legislative recess as the house republican leadership continues

to block action on legislation to create jobs and to grow the middle class. legislation awaiting action in an up-or-down vote is piling up. legislation to raise the minimum wage, to renew emergency unemployment insurance, to pass comprehensive immigration reform, to rebuild our crumbling roads, bridges and ports. enacting a manufacturing policy so that we can make things in america, voting on paycheck fairness to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work, passing all these policies would jump start -- jump-start the middle class and expand opportunity for all americans. but instead, instead of taking those up, we're about to leave town for a month of undeserved time off. we should get to work on the work of the american people. they expect that from us and they deserve nothing less. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.

for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. as an american small business owner, i deliver to my accountants each and every year tremendous sums of information that's then used to compile a tax return. mr. scott: i have no doubt that five c.p.a.'s given the same information from any taxpayer would calculate five different tax liabilities, yet when the i.r.s. comes calling, every american is guilty until they prove their innocence. make a mistake or lose a eceipt, you're guilty. they will put you in jail and leave your family in the ditch. but when the i.r.s. gets caught cheating, they lie to congress, take the fifth and destroy the evidence. if they get away with this, what and who is next? i can't help but think, madam speaker, that we must be getting close to george or well and what he described -- or we will and what he described in his -- orwell, and what he

described in his know vell, while we're all equal, some are created more equal. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california eek recognition? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, in this country we reach the consensus that victims of human trafficking should be provided help. that consensus was north, south, east, west, conservative, liberal, democrat, republican, human trafficking victims need protection. ms. lofgren: now there's a discussion of truncating that protection. and we must say that would be wrong. we know, especially for child

victims, that special care must be taken to elicit the facts of what has happened. and the idea that we would short circuit that process for children who are human trafficking victims at our border is unconscionable. now we have received a letter from the national association of immigration judges telling us the ground truth. that special care must be taken for child victims. these are not the same as other cases. i would ask unanimous consent that the letter from the national association of immigration judges be made a part of the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. lofgren: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, it's become apparent that the federal agencies operate by one standing principle, do as i say, not as i do.

the i.r.s. has shown a blatant disregard for the truth and it's apparent there's something to hide. mr. bentvolio: madam speaker, i look to the other side and i have to ask, where is your outrage? why have none of my democratic friends been willing to look at the i.r.s.'s actions and say, you know what, this is bigger than partisan politics, something's wrong here and we need to protect the rights of americans? are you so committed to government power that you're unwilling to stand up and do the right thing? our job is to protect the rights of the people, not take them away. it's time we remember that in this chamber. thank you, madam speaker, i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, tom brokaw said the targeting of 298 conservative groups by the i.r.s. was outrageous and called for a complete investigation and thorough house cleaning.

mr. duncan: he said, this is not a conservative or liberal issue, it really is about trusting your government. chris matthews said there was obvious targeting of conservative groups and said about lois lerner pleading the fifth, why, if you have nothing to hide, why doesn't she sit in that witness stand and answer truthfully? tom brokaw and chris matthews are certainly not political conservatives. one of the leading capitol hill newspapers today asks, what about the hard drive? and says, the i.r.s. in federal court this past friday said lois lerner's hard drive was wiped clean by the i.r.s. and sent to an outside disposal company to be shredded. thousands of missing emails, which just happened to include those going from the i.r.s. to the white house, all over this nation people have seen that there is one standard for ordinary citizens and another for employees of the i.r.s. and friends of those in the white house. we need a much simpler, fairer tax law, madam speaker, that would allow us to do away with the politicized i.r.s. altogether. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.

for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one inute. >> madam speaker, on yull 24, 1998, 16 years ago today, two capitol mrs. men were killed in this building -- policemen were killed in this building in the line of duty. mr. olson: at 3:40 p.m., in -- the same man shot officer jacob gibson in the back of the head. he died where he fell. he was directing families to the restrooms when he was killed. the insane man ran into the office of the majority leader, tom delay. my predecessor in congress.

mr. delay's bodyguard, detective john gibson, was shot . despite being mortaly wounded, he returned fire and brought he shooter down. today both officer chestnut and in ctive gibson lie forever arlington national cemetery. may they always rest in peace. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does -- the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause it-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the

senate on july 24, 2014, at 10:43 a.m. that the senate agreed to senate joint resolution 40. signed, sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota rise? mr. kline: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 4984. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. kline: pursuant to house resolution -- the speaker pro tempore: the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 4984. the chair appoints the gentlewoman from tennessee, mrs. black, to preside over the ommittee of the whole.

the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 4984 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill to amend the loan counseling requirements under the hire education act of 1965 and for other purposes. the chair: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the first time. the gentleman from minnesota, mr. kline, and the gentlewoman from oregon, ms. bonamici, each will control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in strong support of the empowering students through enhanced financial counseling act and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. kline: thank you, madam chair. every family knows the cost of pursuing a higher education is out of control. it's felt intensely each and every day by countless americans, by parents who worry how they will put their kids through college, by students who fear they will be left with a pile of debt, and no job prospects. by working men and women who

hope a degree will let them reach the next wrung on the economic ladder. we know solutions to the college cost problem must ultimately come from states and institutions. but there are things congress can do right now to keep the dream of a postsecondary education within reach. helping students find the right institution is one way we can make a difference. yesterday the house passed with strong bipartisan support the strengthening transparency in higher education act. the legislation will arm students with the best information available in a format that is easy to understand, information that includes key facts such as an institution's costs, completion rate and student loan debt. students and families currently face a tsunami of information that is mostly confusing, conflicting and unnecessary. that bill streamlines the information and how it is delivered, enabling students to be smart shoppers in the college marketplace. however, picking an institution is only half the challenge. families then have to figure out how to pay for it.

and far too many are unprepared to make those tough decisions. some students choose loans and debt, when other assistance in the form of grants and scholarships are readily available. and these do offer student loans often have no real concept of what they're getting into or what it means for their future. clearly current policies promoting financial literacy are coming up short. this is why i'm pleased to support the empowering students through enhanced counseling act. this includes a series of reforms that will help students and families make wise financial decisions about their postsecondary education. for example, the bill ensures borrowers, both students and parents, receive annual counseling that reflects their personal situations and requires consent each year before receiving a federal loan. the legislation also makes sure low-income individuals who rely on pell grants are informed about the terms and conditions of their grant. the bill also delivers more

robust counseling upon graduation, requiring that information on a bore -- information be provided. finally, the legislation directs the secretary of education to maintain a consumer-tested, online coubling tool that will help -- counseling tool that will help institutions put this important information into the hands of those who need it. madam chairman this legislation is part of a broader effort to strengthen our nation's higher education. neather this bill nor the bills passed earlier this week are silver bullets to challenges we face. however, by working together we can begin to make a difference in the lives of students and families and that is precisely what the house is doing. i want to thank the bipartisan authors of the legislation, representatives guthrie, richard hudson and bonamici. i urge my colleagues to support the bill and reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentlewoman from oregon is recognized. ms. bonamici: thank you. i rise today in support of the empowering students through

enhanced financial counseling act. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. bonamici: i would like to start by thanking chairman kline, ranking member miller and congressman guthrie for their leadership on this bill. which will improve the financial counseling that student of students -- loan borrowers will receive. i'm grateful for this step toward protecting student loan borrowers. i also want to thank the education and work force committee staff on both sides of the aisle for their hard work to include members' shared priorities in a bill that has earned tremendous bipartisan support. . the need for enhanced financial counseling for students is clear. more than 40 million americans are carrying more than $1.2 trillion in student loan debt, and default rates are climbing. at the same time, there's evidence that student loan debt is a drag on the broader economy. borrow he struggling with debt may delay purchasing a new car,

a home, or new appliance. they may be unable to access capital to start a business or they may put off saving for retirement. of course the solution to the mounting burden of student loan debt will require a number of changes. we'll need to address rising tuition and need to do a better job of granting existing borrowers access to affordable repayment plans. but we also must help current and future students understand their rights and obligations as borrowers. and we need to help them forecast their obligations in the years after college so they can make informed decisions now and for the future. one of the frustrations i hear frequently from former students is that they didn't understand the jumble of terms and products in the student loan market when they were borrowing. many didn't ask questions until after they left college. what kind of loan? will they need to begin repayment? what will their monthly payments be? and what repayment plans will be

available? that's why i'm especially pleased that h.r. 4984 goes beyond entrance counseling for borrowers and requires annual counseling for student loan borrowers. under this bill, students whether they are sophomores or seniors will have information about how much they have borrowed, what they are expecting to borrow to complete their education, how their loans will accrue interest, and what they can expect their monthly payments to be when they leave college. they'll be better able to see their road to repayment. importantly, providing annual counseling means that borrowers who couldn't graduate will still receive information about what to expect when they leave school and enter repayment. borrowers will have more clarity on their monthly payments under two repayment plans. income-based repayment and standard 10-year option. streamlining this information will simplify the repayment process. borrowers will be reminded each year that they don't have to borrow the full amount made available, and they should

consider grants, work study, and federal loans before turning to private lenders. and unlike current practice, borrowers will receive the financial counseling before signing their promissory note, and they'll be reminded thee can pay interest before it capitalizes. h.r. 4984 will provide for the first time important disclosures to parents who borrow for their children. parent borrowers of student loans will be given virtually the same information about their loans as students receive. anti-bill will extent counseling to bell grant recipients so they understand the eligible for pell grants and the circumstances in which they would be asked to repay their grants. finally, this bill delivers enhanced student loan information in consumer tested format. the check for students' understanding. will it ensure we provide personalized borrower information that the borrowers understand. madam chair, there's another reason why this bill is so important right now. recent consumer complains

suggest that some debt settlement companies are using predatory practices to target student loan borrowers. these firms target low-income and minority borrowers, but also americans getting back to public service careers. like firefighting, teaching, and law enforcement. these firms are reportedly charging thousands of dollars to enroll borrowers in federal income-based repayment programs. a program that borrowers can enroll in for free. until we can address these predatory practices directly, this bill will go a long way ensuring that students fully understand their elinlibility for income-based repayment. in short, the empowering students to enhanced financial counseling act will help power grant recipients and student loan borrowers. it will help the borrowers anticipate their monthly payments and plan their road to repayment. this will make a real positive difference and i ask my colleagues to join me in supporting h.r. 4984. thank you. i reserve the balance of my

time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. klein: i'm now pleased to yield to a key he member of the committee, the gentleman from kentucky, mr. guthrie, three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky is recognized for three minutes. mr. guthrie: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 4984, the empowering students through enhancement financial counseling act. first i want to say thanks to my friend from oregon, ms. bonamici, for putting together a coalition on both sides where we can come together to address a problem that faces so many of the people that sent us here to represent them, and to the chairman we passed three or four bills, in a bipartisan manner, the president signed a bill that passed this committee this week as well. it shows that he's putting together where we can find common ground tole solve problems that affect the people that sent us here to represent him. we appreciate him for that. to address this bill with the rising cost of attaining a college gree, many students need

financial assistance to make that dream a reality. this bill will increase financial literacy by reforming the current glines to require annual counseling for student borrowers. in doing sorks students will be empowered with the knowledge necessary to understand what they are borrowing, which financial options to draw from first, the impli case of their future debt load, and repayments scenarios. june, 2014 report from the federal reserve bank of new york reported that less than 50% of survey respondents to student debt have what they considered a high loan literacy. current federal law only requires colleges and universities provide financial counseling to student borrowers at the beginning of their studies. in short, these students get a quick snapshot of their loan obligations. after all, of this they have committed to the first year's loans, and then again once they have accrued their entire loan burden. making matters worse, these counseling sessions tend to be broad and not based on information specific to the borrower.

many of today's students do not have a clear picture of what their financial obligation will look like upon graduation. and aren't necessarily given any opportunity to make decisions for that course. will this bill make a difference? we have an example. indiana university, being from kentucky i have to admit, indiana university has begun a process of educating students annually prior to accepting their aid package for the following year. similar to our efforts in this bill. it was found that federal undergraduate stafford loan disbursements dropped by 31 $31 million, or 11% from the previous year. that is five times a decline in national average. they didn't take out too much excess debt. through this bill we hope to expand upon what institutions like indiana university are doing and reform the current guidelines to require annual counseling for student borrowers

and ensure students are empowered with the information they need to take control of their financial futures. i encourage my colleague, and i appreciate the bipartisan support and particularly my friend from organizeon for working together, and encourage my colleagues to support this meaningful legislation so we can arm students with the financial knowledge needed and will help lower their debt burdens. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentlewoman from oregon is recognized. ms. bonamici: i'm pleased to recognize the gentlewoman from arizona, a champion for access to higher education, ms. sinema, for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman arizona is recognized for three minutes. ms. sinema: thank you chairman kline, mr. gustry, and ms. bonamici for working together to find common ground on this bipartisan legislation. madam chair, i rise in support of h.r. 4984. this legislation enacts commonsense safeguards and reforms to make financial counseling more effective for students and their families.

specifically this legislation ensures that student loan recipients receive comprehensive information on an annual basis. terms and conditions, as well as the individual responsibilities throughout the life of their loans. as an adjunct professor at arizona state university, i frequently hear from my students about how difficult it is to effectively manage their student loans. one year ago i brought stories from my own arizona state university students to the house floor to demonstrate how student debt impacts their futures and our community. one former student in my district, brandy, faces over $100,000 in student debt. while this legislation will make it easier for her to understand the terms of her loan, we shouldn't fool ourselves. because this legislation will not make repaying her loan any easier. it won't provide relief from rising interest rate, and it doesn't take meaningful steps to address the skyrocketing cost of higher education. so together we must do more here

in congress to create quality, affordable, higher education opportunities for american students. while this legislation is no substitute for a full re-authorization of the higher education act, it is a good step forward. it doesn't yet provide a meaningful solution that addresses the rising cost of college, but it is very important that we stand today and make the important start to ensure students are fully informed about their loans and student debt. i relied on pell grants, academic scholarships, and federal loans all through my schooling, just like my arizona state university students do today. i know that students need guidance and assistance to manage their student debt. i talk to young people excited to share their ideas and thoughts with me about how to solve some of our world's biggest problems. but it concerns me when i see these same young students are daunted by the prospect of an expensive education that they want but fear they can't afford.

rising college costs are putting higher education and the american dream out of reach for too many hardworking american families education is the key to economic growth, job creation, and for many, a clear pathway out of poverty. i know this because education was the key to my own path from poverty to the middle class. so i urge my colleagues to pass this legislation and continue working together to make college affordable for arizona students. thank you, ms. bonamici, for yielding and for your work. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentlewoman from oregon reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. the gentlewoman from oregon is recognized. ms. bonamici: i'm pleased to recognize a colleague from the education and work force committee, the gentleman from new york, mr. bishop, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. bishop: thank you very much, madam speaker. i thank my colleague for yielding. i rise in support of h.r. 4984,

and i want to commend congressman guthrie and congresswoman bonamici, for their efforts in bringing this bill first to our committee and then to the floor and i particularly want to commend the bipartisan nature with which this legislation has been developed and hopefully it will pass today with the same support that it passed out of the education committee. my other hope is that we can take this same bipartisan spirit that attends this legislation and apply it to the really, really important work that we have before us with respect to higher education and re-authorizing the higher ed act. that is specifically seeing to it that collectively we work together to see to it that the student financial aid programs embodied in title 4 of the higher ed act are re-authorized and in fact strengthened and

that they remain as robust as they need to be to ensure that students have he continue -- continue to have access to the educational institutions of their choice. and frankly title 4 is imperiled. and i hope that we can work on that. let me be specific about at least one program in title 4, that's the perkins loan program. we have had the perkins loan program since 1958. it was passed in the wake of america's shock that we were beaten into space by the russians, and so there was an effort to make it easier for the young men and women of this country to pursue higher education. that goal by the way and that need that existed in 1958 still exists today. and yet under current law if we do not act, the 2015-2016 academic year will be the last year that the perkins loan will be in existence. our students across the country borrow $1.4 billion a year under

the perkins loan program. this is a very -- can i have an additional minute? ms. bonamici: i yield an additional minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one additional minute. mr. bishop: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. $1.4 billion a year will be taken out of the student aid portfolio. at a time when students can least afford for that to happen. given declining incomes and rising college costs, students are caught in a squeeze where they are unable to meet the expenses that a higher education demands. we simply cannot let this happen. i very much hope that, again, on a bipartisan basis, we can renew not just this program but we can also overcome what appears to be a policy directive of our friends on the other side to squeeze the student financial aid programs. the budget -- budget resolution that passed the house of

representatives freezes pell grants at $5,700 for the next 10 years. that means 10 years from now if that were ever to take on the force of law, the buying power of the pell grant will be see veersly diminished. that same budget resolution essentially eliminates the seog program and puts enormous restrictions on the college work study program. these are programs that are absolutely essential to students' ability to finance their education. i very much hope we can work together to see to it that they remain as robust as they need to be. i thank the chairman. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from oregon reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: we have no other speakers on this side and i'm prepared to close so i'll reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from oregon is recognized. ms. bonamici: thank you. h.r. 4984, the empowering students through enhanced financial counseling act, will give student loan borrowers a much better understanding of their road to repayment. it does this by helping

students track the amount they borrowed, predict monthly payments and access affordable repayment plans. as i've mentioned, this bill is not a cure-all for the problems student loan borrowers face which include rising tuition and opaque servicing contracts. but the bill serves a very important purpose and it's especially important because of the cost of college and the challenges of managing student debt. greater transparency about what it means to borrow student loans will help students anticipate their obligations and advocate for their rights as borrowers. and perhaps greater transparency will elevate the conversation about the underlying need to address college costs. again, i want to thank chairman kline, ranking member miller, and representative guthrie, for their bipartisan effort on this important bill. it's been delightful to work with them. i look forward to more bipartisanship in the education and work force committee, and i ask all of my colleagues to join me in supporting h.r.

4984. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: thank you, ma car -- madam chair. i want to thank my colleagues from the committee, the principal authors of this bill, ms. bonamici, mr. hudson and mr. guthrie, for their fine work here. and for the spirit of enthusiasm and bipartisanship which they have brought to this effort. and i would remind all of my colleagues, as we move forward towards re-authorizing the hire education act -- higher education act, this is absolutely not the whole thing, but it is another important step down that road. so i urge my colleagues to support this important legislation and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. all time for general debate has expired. pursuant to the rule, the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. in lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on education and work force,

printed in the bill, it shall be in order to consider an original bill for the purpose of the amendment under the five-minute rule, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of a text of rules committee print 113-53. that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. no amendment to that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except those printed in part b of the house report 113-546. each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report by the member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equal request divided and controlled by the proponent and opponent, shall not be subject to the amendment and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the uestion. it is now in order to consider amendment number 1 printed in art b of house report 113-546.

for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? mr. kline: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 1 printed in part b of house report 113-546 offered by mr. kline of minnesota. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 677, the gentleman from minnesota, mr. kline, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: thank you, madam chair. i rise in support of the manager's amendment. this amendment has brought forth -- is brought forth in close cooperation with the ranking member of the committee, our friend, jorges miller. thisle amendment -- george miller. this amendment will improve the information provided to first-time student loan borrowers and clarify that borrowers must accept their loan annually after they have completed their counseling. the amendment will also require the director of the institute of education sciences to conduct a study of the impact and effectiveness of the student loan counseling

required under this act. this amendment ensures borrowers are getting the information they need prior to making their final decisions on how to pay for their college education. it also ensures policymakers have information on how well financial aid counseling is working, prevent overborrowing and what can be improved to make it even more effective. the underlying bill, which received unanimous support coming out of the committee, will deliver students and parents the tools and information they need to borrow and repay their student loans in a responsible way. this amendment improves the bill. i urge my colleagues to support this amendment and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from oregon seek recognition? ms. bonamici: i rise to claim time in opposition to this amendment but i do not oppose the amendment. the chair: without objection, the gentlelady from oregon is recognized. ms. bonamici: thank you, madam chair. the manager's amendment, which i support, and encourage my colleagues to support, helps bolster counseling for first-time borrowers, so that

they are fully aware of the financial -- financing they may be required to use over their entire college education. the manager's amendment also ensures that students needing to borrow a student loan receive counseling before they sign the master note. and i'm also pleased that this manager's amendment includes my proposal for the department of education to do a comprehensive study on the impact and effectiveness of current student loan counseling practices. so we know what actually works. we owe it to student loan borrowers and higher education institutions to find out if the counseling requirements affect borrowers' understanding and their decisions. in particular be, we need to know if the programs we -- in particular, we need to know if the programs we create in congress improve outcomes for students, will this help more students earn degrees, borrow less, successfully enter repayment? and we need to know in these outcomes benefit equally students of different races, ethnicities, genders and income

levels. i urge my colleagues to vote yes op on this amendment so that -- on this amendment so that students can have more and better and high-quality information about their student loans. thank you, madam chair, and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: i'm prepared to close if the gentlelady will yield back. the chair: the gentlewoman from oregon is recognized. ms. bonamici: i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: thank you, madam chair. i thank the gentlewoman from oregon for her support of this amendment. she is a principal author of the underlying legislation and her support of this amendment is very helpful. i urge all my colleagues to support this amendment and the underlying bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from minnesota. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, the amendment s agreed to.

it is now in order to consider amendment number 2 printed in 13-546. f house report 1 for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition? mr. kilmer: thank you, madam chair. i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 2 printed in part b of house report 113-546 offered by mr. kilmer of washington. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 677, the gentleman from washington, mr. kilmer, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. kilmer: thank you, madam chair. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. kilmer: thank you, madam chair. rise today as someone who went to college with the help of grants and loans and the support of a family and a community that had my back. and it's in that spirit that i rise today to offer an amendment designed to help students and borrowers get

access to more information about sound financial practices. we know that financial literacy is important. it helps provide people with a road map for making sound financial decisions. to avoid or get out of debt. to prepare for emergencies. and to save for a brighter future. studies have found that 20-somethings have an average debt of $45,000. primarily from student loans, but also from car loans, mortgages and credit card debt. when the organization for economic cooperation and development provided an international financial literacy test, american students ranked below average. we need to do more to promote financial literacy. and it's particularly important that students who are getting federally supported loans are getting the tools that they need to keep their finances on track. we need to support resources that teach students financial literacy. and provide them with the tools that they need to improve

decision making and strengthen their household budgetses. helping more student -- budgets. helping more students shore up their financial management skills also has a direct impact on the economic and financial stability of our country. congress took a critical step forward in providing these resources by creating the financial literacy and education commission as part of the fair and accurate credit transaction act of 2003. legislation that passed the house with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed into law by presidents george w. -- by president george w. bush. the financial literacy and education commission developed resources that help consumers better understand financial products. it offers guidance on how to financially prepare for and respond to major life events. it gives tips on savings and borrowing and deterring fraud. the amendment that i offer today would direct universities and the department of education to provide students with information about the financial

management resources provided by the financial literacy and education commission. for many students, a student loan is the first loan of their lives. if students consider the financial assistance that they need to get a decent education, it's critically important that they have the information they need to responsibly manage their finances. i particularly want to applaud the ongoing work and leadership in promoting financial literacy by the co-chairs of the house financial and economic literacy caucus, including representative hinojosa, who has been a strong advocate of financial literacy initiatives, and played a critical role in creating this commission. i'm also pleased to be joined by my colleague from alabama, mr. bachus, who sponsored this legislation to help create this commission. and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama seek recognition? mr. bachus: i claim the time in opposition although i am not opposed. the chair: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. bachus: thank you. i want to commend the gentleman from washington, mr. kilmer,

for what i consider a straightforward, commonsense amendment. this is an amendment to the fair and accurate credit transaction act, what we commonly call the fact act. now the fact act is known for the free -- for the free credit report and the requirement on the three main credit reporting gencies to amend their records if you notify one of an error. they have to make an examination and then correct it. but financial literacy was also important part of the fact act. because you have your credit report, but if you don't have good financial literacy, it's not going to be a good credit report. so in 2003, the subcommittee, which i chaired at that time, passed this in the full

committee and we had bipartisan support. judy biggert, who is no longer with us, from illinois, i think was one of the leaders on our side. but there were many on both sides. what this does, there's an excellent -- a commission was formed without almost any cost to the people. and it did a lot of good research on financial literacy, how to avoid bad financial decisions, debt load, what different financial products were there, where to turn in case of an emergency, and it's called money.com. it's an excellent resource. what we found, and mr. kilmer did a lot of work on this, is that -- and mr. hinojosa and others -- is that people are not utilizing that and colleges and universities, when students ally for loans -- apply for loans, they're not directing to

that site, which can actually save them money up front. so what this does, it engages the colleges and universities and simply encourages them to have their students take advantage of them. and i'll close by simply saying, or i'll reserve the balance of my time in case any other speakers on my side wish particularly there's an urgency today because we all know about student loans, that students are leaving school with high debt loads and hopefully, as a result of this amendment and other steps that are being taken in this important legislation overall, they can avoid, the students in the future, can avoid some of the mistakes and not graduate with such heavy debt loads. so with that i will reserve the balance of my time. but it is refreshing to have a bipartisan measure.

the chair: the gentleman from alabama reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. kilmer: thank you, madam chair. i yield one minute to the gentleman from oregon, mr. -- the gentlewoman from oregon, ms. bonamici. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. bonamici: thank you, mr. kilmer, for yielding. rise in support of the kilmer-hinojosa-bachus-petri-ts ongas amendment. this will ensure that students are aware of important consumer information tools of the financial literacy and education commission. created by the treasury. we know that students often lack basic financial literacy, which makes it hard for them to make thoughtful decisions on complex financial products. and financial institutions may be providing information that's designed to steer young people into account has to may not be best for them. providing important consumer information in an unbiased way can increase financial literacy of students and may help reduce college costs, that's exactly what this amendment accomplishes. i urge my colleagues to vote yes on this amendment so students can be equipped with better and more comprehensive

financial literacy tools. thank you, madam chair, i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman from washington reserves. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. bachus: i'd like to recognize mr. petri and ms. tsongas' contributions in helping mr. kilmer with this amendment. there may be others. but i'll yield back the balance of my time if there are no other speakers on this side. the chair: the gentleman yields back. mr. bachus: i want to express to the full committee chair, i appreciate you supporting this amendment. the chair: the gentleman from alabama yields back. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. kilmer: thank you, madam chair. i want to close by thanking mr. bachus, not just support of this amendment but his career of work on behalf of financial literacy, not just working on behalf of our students but the a families. -- but the families. i want to thank the chair and

the ranking member and their staff for working with me on this amendment. as someone that couldn't have gone to college without the assistance of financial aid, i am hopeful that this will take a meaningful step toward providing young people the tools they need to live financially responsible lives. and with that i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from washington yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from washington. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. mr. kilmer: madam chair, i request a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from washington will e postponed. it is now in order to consider amendment number 3 printed in part b of house report 113-546. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? mr. murphy: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 3

printed in part b of house report 113-546 offered by mr. murphy of florida. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 677, the gentleman from florida, mr. murphy, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. murphy: thank you, madam chair. i rise today to support giving students and families the resources needed to make informed decisions about both their education and their finances. i want to congratulate the gentleman from kentucky, mr. guthrie, for his great work on this bill. also want to thank the chairman, mr. kline, and ranking member miller for working in a truly bipartisan process on this legislation to provide students with commonsense, personalized financial counseling without one of the -- for one of the greatest investments a student can make, an investment in their education. i offer this amendment to complement to better inform students not only the costs but

the benefits of completing their education. with tuition grants outpacing grants and scholarships, american students and their families rely on loans to access higher education. coupled with increased enrollment, student debt has ballooned to $1.2 trillion, greater than credit card debt for the first time in history. last summer we came together to pass bipartisan legislation which decoupled student loan interest rates from the whims of washington and provided students and families a certainty needed to make long-term plans for the future. the bill before us today continues that mission by giving students the information they need to understand the rights and responsibilities that come along with investing in their higher education. for me students -- for many students, these loans are the most costly experience, failing on giving them the information they need to manage their debt

does not just impact the delinquent borrower but also the taxpayers. simile, having the students understand the lifetime costs they are incurring will help get student debt under control. a college degree is still generally one of the best investments students can make. for example, the average income for young adults with a bachelor's degree is just over $50,000. with only 4.9% unemployment. the dropoff for individuals who do not finish is steep. around $13,000 per year of income and a much higher unemployment rate of 7%. we do not want students failing to complete their degree simply because they fear taking out additional loans. that is why i'm putting forward this reasonable amendment to improve the underlying legislation by simply adding the inclusion of income and employment data for the purpose of educational attainment.

this information would strengthening the counseling required by improving students' perspectives as they take charge of their future and their finances. madam chair, this major potential earnings reduction combined with hefty student loan and repayment is a recipe for financial disaster. that is why it is so important that students and families have the full picture when making decisions regarding investments in higher education as the underlying bill offers. i urge my colleagues to support this simple, yet important amendment, to make sure students can make the best decisions possible while understanding the full impact of student loans they take out. i yield the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from florida. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. he amendment is agreed to.

it is now in order to consider amendment number 4 printed in 546. b of house report 113- for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. sanchez: madam chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 4 printed in part b of house report 113-546 offered by ms. loretta sanchez of california. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 677, the gentlewoman from california, ms. loretta sanchez, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from california. ms. sanchez: thank you, madam chair. and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. sanchez: madam chair, we all know that higher education success in the line of in these united states. it is one of the most important things we can invest in. we just recently saw studies that showed that in fact if you

have a four-year degree you're going to make still significantly more than if you just graduated from high school. and you can imagine that in today's world at least where i have in california, the innovation state, a masters or a doctorate is really what you need to have. so the value of a degree is very, very important, but we also see, of course, the student debt increasing. students get out of their bachelor's and they have a mound of debt. then, they're trying to decide how to get a master's or get a ph.d. or a profession and it's just very, very difficult. one of the most vital programs that we have is the pell grant program from the united states to help them. but let's face it. it is very difficult to understand all the ends and outs of how to get a pell grant, how you use it, the purpose, how many units you can

take, what you can't take, how long it can take you, etc., etc. and so it's another burden that we're putting on the students and the families when they don't really get the good picture of how you use that program. would help to really spell out for students and families how that pell grant would be used. my amendment would simply require institutions to better counsel transfer students on their maximum pell grant eligibility and the effect it may have as a result of credits in courses that don't transfer to another institution. now, i know that at least in california when we look to go into university now we say, ok, let's first do the first two

years, the least expensive place to do it is our community college which, by the way, are the gems of our community. they do incredible work. but sometimes when students get there and they're using the pell grants, they also might have, for example, some remedial classes. they might have to brush up on their english or they might have to brush up on their math. and while they're using that pell grant, and then those units don't transfer to that four-year university they go to and so the student ends up miscalculating what it's really going to cost them to finish off their diploma. and so this amendment simply looks to make these types of obstacles obvious and transparent to possible transfer students. so as to have the clearest view of their degree timelines and the impact on their financial aid. let's ensure that students have

the clearest information, that they get it upfront, that they understand how they're going to get this done, and when we do that we'll be just a little bit further along to get in fact a lot of these students, some of them first-timers out of their families who are trying to achieve getting a diploma from a university. we're still miles away from getting that achievement gap closed in many of our communities. i know we've been working on it for a long time now in orange county, california, but this will be a little piece of trying to get that. and while i'm at it, i'd like to thank congressman guthrie and congressman hudson and congresswoman bonamici who have championed and in good faith have worked on this bill. wish we could get the higher education act. this is the first step. i reserve the balance of my time, madam chair. the chair: the gentlewoman reserves.

for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? mr. kline: madam chair, i'd like to claim time in opposition to the amendment although i do not oppose the amendment. the chair: without objection. mr. kline: thank you, madam chair. i just want to make the point that i'm supporting all of the amendments offered today, but i want to take this opportunity with this particular amendment to thank the gentlelady from california because this amendment makes sure that these students in this confusing world which we're trying to help sort out get a clear explanation that their pell grant availability is limited to 12 months and will not reset if they transfer. that's the kind of example of the confusion that's out there and that's one of the reasons we insisted on putting counseling for pell grant recipients, not just loan recipients, in the base bill but her language brings absolute clarity to this issue. i thank her for that. i support this amendment and the other amendments and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. s. sanchez: madam chair, i

yield back the balance of my time and ask my colleagues to vote for this amendment. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from california. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. he amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 5 printed in art b of house report 113-546. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? mr. cohen: thank you, madam speaker. i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 5 printed in part b of house report 113-546 offered by mr. cohen of tennessee. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 677, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes and the chair recognizes the gentleman

from tennessee. mr. cohen: thank you, madam speaker. this amendment is very simple. it would add an explanation of how federal and private student loans are treated in bankruptcy , the disclosures contained in the underlying bill. unfortunately, too many students lack basic financial literacy and if they don't have the rights and responsibilities when it comes to student loans it can lead to serious consequences for their financial future. that's why i'm pleased to support this legislation that mr. kline has offered and he's done such a good job of bringing together a bipartisan bill here and the financial counseling it requires. however, one area that is not in here is the erasing of student loans in bankruptcy. while bankruptcy is something never to be taken lightly, our system does allow an honest but unfortunate debtor the opportunity for a fresh start if their financial situation is desperate enough. and most people assume that their students loans can be discharged along with any other consumer debt during bankruptcy proceedings, but that's not the case. under current law, borrower

must continue to pay back their loans when imposing undue hardship on their and their dependence. a practice that is insurmountable. there are certain exceptions. for example, for principal policy reasons, we exempt child support, taxes, criminal fines and intentional torts. in 1978, congress added federal student loans to this list. this protects federal student loan programs and the taxpayer dollars that fund them from fraud and abuse by borrowers. this also made sense because federal loans offer certain protections to ease the burdens on debtors like fixed interest rates and opportunities for deferments, income-based repayments and forebearance. but in 2005, the bankruptcy protection act was passed and the bankruptcy protection was extended to private loans which are not required to have an and often do not have -- in fact, private lenders market directly to students, luring them into

unaffordable loans and saddle them with debt for decades to come. that's why i introduced an legislation and while the consumer protection bureau provides a study saying this should be modified, that, however, is not the issue here. the fact remains this is the law and students should know that their loans, federal and private, can only be discharged in bankruptcy in exceptional circumstances. that's why i produce -- proposed this small refinement to the underlying legislation to under they understand the hurdles they may face in wiping the slate clean. i thank mr. kline for allowing this and the rules committee for allowing this amendment to be in order. i urge my colleagues to support it and i reserve the balance of y time. mr. kline: i rise to claim time in opposition to the amendment, although i do not oppose the amendment. the chair: without objection. mr. kline: thank you, madam chair. i think again this amendment is underscoring the many issues

that students and their parents and families are facing as they go into this postsecondary education adventure. some of them are really coming off of jobs, the last thing they're thinking about is bankruptcy or the size of their loan. most of them don't even know what bankruptcy is or many of them don't know, maybe i'm a lot -- maybe they're smarter than i was at that time. so this amendment makes it clear that they understand the the rules etween under student loans if they don't pay it or if they can't ay it and under other loans. again, without this sort of explanation, they wouldn't have any idea that their loans were not dischargeble and bankruptcy , except as the gentleman says in some unusual circumstances.

that's why this sort -- says, in some unusual circumstances. that's why this sort of financial counseling early and often is going to be very careful. because this isn't a simple matter of taking out -- we'll use a car loan as an example, a set of amount, interest, set amount you pay back over a number of years. folks understand how that works. student loans, merged with all sorts of other programs, or state programs and pell grants and so forth, it's no wonder that students are graduating, stepping out and oh, by the way, they can't find a job because the economy is in so much trouble, so they had such high expectations when they stepped into their college experience or their postsecondary experience and then came out, found out that the jobs weren't available, and they had this confusing mess that they have to deal with and then the last thing that they ever gave any thought to was this whole notion of bankruptcy. so i thank the gentleman for his amendment and i reserve. the chair: the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from tennessee is

recognized. mr. cohen: i thank mr. kline for his explanation and his support. he's up river from us but that's where the mississippi river starts before it becomes so beautiful on the bluffs of the city of memfills. i yield back the balance of my time -- memphis. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: thank you. i can't now pass it up. there is quite a bit of difference in the mississippi river between the gentleman's district and minnesota. in fact, you can step across the mississippi river in minnesota and i don't think that's true in fact, i'm absolutely positive that's true nowhere else. it's always interesting when we have guests come to our great state and we ask them if they'd like to step across the river, they're disbeliefing until we take them up there and literally it's no wider than this desk. we're trying to figure out your student loans and grant studies, i wish it were as easy as getting across the

mississippi river. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment of the gentleman from tennessee. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, the amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 6 printed in art b of house report 113-546. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. hahn: madam chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 6 printed in part b of house report 113-546 offered by ms. hahn of california. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 677, the gentlewoman from california, ms. hahn, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california. ms. hahn: thank you, madam chairwoman. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. hahn: thank you. i'm proud to support the legislation that we're considering today and i applaud

my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for coming together to work on this important bill. as we've been hearing, it is critical that we provide our nation's students with the information they need to make informed decisions about what college they should attend and how they should pay for it. i think the authors of this bill did a great service, including a provision to provide students with information about the student loan default rate for the school they plan to attend. however, i believe that this legislation does not provide the students with the national student loan default rate across all schools, making it harder for them to have an accurate understanding of where their perspective school stands nationally. i've introduced a simple amendment to provide student loan borrowers with the latest national average default rate for all schools.

so, if this amendment passes, each student as they are applying for their student loan will know what the default rate for student loans is at the school they're choosing to attend, versus the national default rate for student loans. and i believe that this will allow students to better determine whether an institution has a record of delivering a quality education that's right for them. by providing students with more tools in their pursuit of education, students will be able to make more informed choices and save taxpayers the cost of more federal student loans going into default. students in my district and around the country know the burden of student loan debt all too well and giving our students all of the information will give them a better chance of being able to repay their loan and build a successful future.

thank you and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time -- the gentlelady's time has expired -- the gentlewoman's time has expired. -- the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. the gentlewoman is recognized to close. ms. hahn: thank you. and, mr. chairman, and my colleague, ms. bonamici, i applaud you on your work on this strong and important piece of legislation and i urge all of my colleagues to vote yes on my amendment. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from california. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. he amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 7 printed in art b of house report 113-546. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition?

mr. peters: -- mr. peters: i have an amendment at the desk. the clerk: amendment number 7 printed in house report 113-546 offered by mr. peters of michigan. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 677, the gentleman from michigan, mr. peters, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. peters: thank you, madam chair. i rise today to offer an amendment that builds on the existing language in this bill to strengthen protections for american students. my amendment ensures students have the information that they need to make important financial decisions that can impact their lives long after graduation. as you may be aware, combined student loan digit in our nation has topped -- debt in our nation has topped $1 trillion and the unfortunate reality is that many of those students who do not know the enormous harm that defaulting on that debt can cause to them. nearly 15% of the student loan borrowers default within three years of graduation and this

can have serious consequences on their ability to rent an apartment, purchase a car or a house or even obtain future employment. i applaud the spirit of this bipartisan legislation to provide enhanced financial counseling services to our nation's students and i look forward to voting in favor of it. my amendment will make a very simple adjustment, to ensure the full effectiveness of the bill. my amendment will simply require that all student borrowers receive an explanation of the impact of a delinquency and default on a loan to their credit score, including the borrower's future ability to find employment or purchase a home or car. it is important for students to have this information when they first receive the loan. for many recent graduate, the idea of a credit report or credit score may seem very abstract. my amendment simply ensures that the impact of delinquencies or default are explained in very concrete terms.

recent graduates are the top in their fields, but all too often fall behind when it comes to financial literacy, which can have a lasting impact on their lives and can it -- and it can also take a toll on our economy. for more than 20 years as worked as a financial advisor, helping families plan for their future, and it's important that all of our graduates understand how decisions they make today will affect them and their families down the road. when they're finding a job, buying a car or renting or trying to own a home. we need to promote financial literacy when it can do the most good, before a borrower gets in trouble. as we continue to make college more affordable for our student, i believe this legislation and my amendment to it are both commonsense steps in the right direction that we can act on immediately. i look forward to a strong bipartisan vote on this bill and i hope the senate takes up this important legislation in a timely manner. i urge my colleagues to join me in support of this amendment and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time.

the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california -- michigan. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. nd the amendment is agreed to. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? mr. kline: madam chair, i move that the committee do rise. the chair: the question is on the motion the committee rise. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly, the committee rises. the speaker pro tempore: madam chair. the chair:, the committee of the whole, having had under consideration h.r. 4984, directs me to report that it has come to no resolution

thereon. the speaker pro tempore: the chairman of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports that that committee has had under consideration h.r. 4984 and has come to no resolution thereon. for what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma seek recognition? >> madam speaker, by direction of the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 680 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 128, house resolution 680, resolved that upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the house h.r. 3393, to to

amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to consolidate certain tax benefits for educational expenses and for other purposes. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on ways and means now printed in the bill, modified by the amendment printed in the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution, shall be considered as adopted. the bill as amended shall be considered as read. all points of order against provisions in the bill as amended are waived. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill as amended and on any further amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except, one, one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on ways and means, and, two, one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. section 2, upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the house the bill h.r. 4935, to amend the internal revenue code of

1986 to make improvements to the child tax credit, all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. in lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on ways and means now printed in the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of rules committee print 113-54 shall be considered as adopted. the bill as amended shall be considered as read. all points of order against provisions in the bill as amended are waived. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill as amended and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one, one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on ways and means and, two, one motion to recommit with or without instructions. section 3. a, in the engrossment of h.r. 3393, the clark shall, one, add the text of h.r. 4935 as passed by the house as new matter at the end of h.r. 3393.

two, conform the title of h.r. 3393 to reflect the addition of h.r. 4935 as passed by the house to the engrossment. three, assign appropriate designations to provisions within the engrossment. and, four, conform provisions for short titles within the engrossment. b, upon the addition of the text of h.r. 4935, as passed by the house, to the engrossment of h.r. 3393, h.r. 4935 shall be laid on the table. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized for one hour. mr. cole: madam speaker, for the purpose of debate only i yield the customary 30 minutes to my friend, the gentleman from colorado, mr. polis, pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cole: during consideration of this resolution all time yielded is for the purposes of debate only. madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks . the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

mr. cole: madam speaker, on wednesday, the rules committee met and reported a rule for consideration of two measures, h.r. 3393, the student and family tax simplification act, and h.r. 4935, the child tax credit improvement act of 2014. the resolution provides a closed rule for consideration of these two measures as is customary with tax legislation. in addition, the resolution provides 60 minutes for debate equally divided between the chairman and ranking member of the committee on ways and means or both h.r. 3393 and h.r. 4935. it provides for a motion to recommit on each bill. the bill combipes both h.r. 3393 and h.r. 4935 before sending to to the other body. madam speaker, the tuition prices -- with tuition prices continuing to climb, more americans are struggling to

plan for and pay for higher education. it's hard to pay for colleges with 15 complicated, overlapping process. we need to simplify tax benefits so families can actually use them, and we need to get our economy back on track so students and families are earning enough to afford a good education. h.r. 3393 takes a good first step. it takes four current tax benefits for higher education, the american opportunity tax credit, the hope scholarship credit, lifetime learning credit, and the college tuition deduction into a new simplified and most importantly permanent tax credit. in addition, h.r. 3393 also includes strong anti-fraud provisions requiring taxpayers to include on their tax return the name and taxpayer identification number of the student and the employer identification number of the

applicable higher education institution. in addition, this rule provides for consideration of h.r. 4933, which modernizes and improves the child tax credit. originally created in 1997 to help ease the financial burden that families incur when they have children, this credit has failed to keep pace with the cost of raising a child. initially, it provided a maximum credit of $400 per child. however, under the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, this credit was expanded to $1,000 per child, was made partially refundable and was indexed for inflation. unfortunately, some of these good changes expired in 2010. i would note for my colleagues that even with these increases since 1960, the cost of raising a child has increased by approximately 4.4% a year. h.r. 4933 would index the child tax credit for inflation, eliminate the marriage penalty

and would require an individual to include their social security number on their tax return to claim the refundable portion of the child tax credit. current estimates suggest that t least $13 billion in refundable tax credit payments are made each year. this provision would help to combat that growing number. madam speaker, the cost of raising children increases every year, but the current child tax credit fails to take these increased costs into account. in addition, the current tax credit penalizes married couples. by making these commonsense changes, we can ensure that credit truly serves its intended purpose. madam speaker, i encourage my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying legislation which continues our targeted approach to updating, improving and modernizing the tax code. and with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves.

the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: i thank the gentlelady for recognizing the great state of colorado where we hope to have you visit in my district and perhaps ski in vale and enjoy our temp rate summertime. i thank the gentleman for yielding me the customary 30 minutes and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. polis: i want to rise in support of these two bills. these two so-called extender bills which have now been among several that this body has considered are all unpaid for. instead of allowing amendments on these bills, they are brought before us under an entirely closed process that blocks efforts by either democrats or republicans to come up with new and better ways to improve the effectiveness of these tax cuts

or to provide offsetting cuts to expenditures or closing other revenue loopholes that would pay for these tax cuts. so essentially, this is not a real proposal before us today. i think that the child tax credit, student family tax act are widely popular on both sides of the aisle. the real policy discussion is how we pay for them. that's the real discussion. that's what the house and senate will negotiate. that's what the president will negotiate. i'm happy to work with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to come up with corresponding cuts so that these can be paid for. but under this closed rule, we're not even able to have a discussion of that. we're considering yet another set of unpaid for tax extender bills that will add to our deficit. now, at the beginning of this year, chairman camp put forward a true revenue-neutral comprehensive tax reform bill. that was a real attempt to not

add to our ballooning deficit and reduce taxes. to be clear, this is not. while i oppose this bill, i certainly support the intention of the american opportunity tax act, which is to provide incentives for people across the country to pursue higher education, and i look forward to the real discussion of how we pay for it. money doesn't grow on trees. students can receive a maximum of annual credit of $2,500 for to help them pursue their dreams of achieving a postsecondary education, which is more important than ever to have a chance of succeeding in the 21st century work force. i'm pleased the american recovery and reinvestment act authorized with undergraduate and graduate students to pay for their studies. i'm glad that the republicans support the recovery and reinvestment act. that's a positive development for americans across our country if my home district of colorado, i'm pleased to have two flagship research universities, colorado state university and university of colorado at boulder, which are leading the way in

undergraduate and graduate education in research that benefits our communities and our health. students at these universities shouldn't have to spend their time wondering how the tax code will affect their ability to pay for books and tuition. they should be learning. they should be engaged in research and innovation to grow our economy and not have to play the guessing game about what congress does. which this bill unpaid for only furthers. now, this bill would take away educational benefits from the majority of students today. by replacing the hope scholarship credit and eliminating the life-long learning credit, we will harm adult learners and those who might have lost their job in one sector and trying to get training in another sector to try to go in another sector so they can improve their life station. many students use the lifetime learning credit which has no limit on the number of years that can be claimed are low-income americans, out-of-work americans, folks who we want to get back to work so they're not relying on

government programs. madam speaker, why would we remove a tax credit that provides incentives for adults to learn at a time in our economy where it's more important than ever to do so? we need to recognize the changing demographics and ensure our tax system aligns with the real needs of 21st century learners. that's why the higher education associations, including the american association of state colleges and universities, the american council on education, the association of american universities all oppose this legislation. these colleges and universities want to make higher education more affordable, not just for traditional students but for life-long learners as well. i applaud my colleagues for recognizing the challenge of college affordability. i applaud my colleagues for basing program on expiring provisions of the american recovery and reinvestment act. i was proud that the house passed the advancing competency-based demonstration project today that i co-authored with representative

sam mon by 414-0. how wonderful that the republican and democrats were able to come together around a practical method to reduce cost and improve the quality of college. while this legislation would provide much-needed relief for some students, it's far from making college more affordable for everybody. unfortunately, the legislation called for under this rule would actually increase our federal deficit by approximately $95.6 billion over 10 years. let's have a real discussion about making college more affordable. let's have a real discussion about paying for it. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: thank you, madam speaker. i yield all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks time -- myself myself. -- i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cole: thank you, madam speaker. i want to begin by thanking my friend. we do conceptually on quite a bit in terms of the tax code. i think both of us individually and both sides collectively honestly want to do things that make it easier for people to pursue a higher education. certainly i think we're all

interested in eliminating the marriage penalty as well. so i think we're moving broadly in the same direction even though we have some disagreements. i will point out my friend it's not unusual that tax legislation would come to the floor in a closed rule. as a matter of fact, it's almost always the way it's done simply because you have to be able to score the items and you have to understand what the real cost of tweaking is. so whether republicans or democrats are in control, closed rule is usually the order of the day on any tax legislation. i appreciate my friend's concern about the deficit. that i'm quite sincere. now, i do also always like to point out to my friends when they were in the majority for four years in a row the deficit got greater each year. since we've been in the majority the deficit has gotten smaller. not only do we have a rhetorical concern about the deficit, we've demonstrated over and over again that this current majority is very, very serious about dealing with it

and we'll continue to do that by reining in on spending and putting forward thoughtful reform proposals by i believe we've done. i'd also point out to my friend -- and i think he would agree with me on this -- this is a vehicle. this is not going to be the final product. my friend's exactly correct when he says there will be negotiation. our concern has been what's been going on on the other side of the rotunda, so to speak, there hasn't been very much serious work. we think they'll look at the extenders package in terms of fax relief and try to jam that through without any thoughtful pruning and without making elements of it which have been approved over and over and over again and which are clearly popular on a bipartisan basis permanent. and so that's what we're trying to do. i think we're constructing a platform to go into negotiation with the senate and i suspect what emerges will be somewhat different than what either side goes in with. that's pretty normal in the

legislative process. but i think the concepts here that we're moving forward on are correct. and i think have broad popular appeal and bipartisan support. these are provisions -- and we've done this over several bills now -- that have both parties approved overwhelmingly time and time again on a -- you know, sort of yearly basis. and we want to take those things and make them permanent. i suspect in that process some things are less popular might be jettison. but, again, that's for the negotiators to decide. we're simply trying to get to that conference. we're marking out what our position is. we recognize the senate will have to do the same thing and from there we'll move and perhaps at a later point in this process we can find ourselves actually on the same side. so with that, if i may, madam speaker, i'd like to yield my good friend from the state of georgia, my fellow rules committee member and r.s.c.

president now five minutes to make whatever remarks he cares to. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for five minutes. mr. woodall: thank you very much, madam speaker. i thank my friend from oklahoma for yielding me the time. the rules committee has a tough job and it's interesting to hear folks down here talking about both their agreement on tax reform and deficits and their agreement about what a rule ought to look like. i've kind of gotten a little bit of both of their passion with me today, madam speaker, because ways and means bills do have to come to the floor under a closed rule. you know, the way the rules work, if you have an open rule and anything that's relevant to the underlying bill you can discuss. so when you bring a tax bill to the floor, suddenly the entire tax code becomes available for amendment and you can imagine what a brouhaha that would be. i would enjoy that debate. i'd thoroughly enjoy that debate but it would never, ever end. in the so with our spending bills. when our spending bills come to the floor they come under a completely open processwe