OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Interest Rate Reduction Act

Floor Speech

Date: April 27, 2012
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Higher Education

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Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 4628, the Interest Reduction Act. At a time when 7.4 million low- and middle-income students are counting on Congress to extend the current interest rate on federal student loans, the majority has brought to the floor a partisan bill that would take billions of dollars away from the Prevention and Public Health Fund in the Affordable Care Act.

Mr. Speaker, the Prevention and Public Health Fund is a critical part of health care reform. Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, the Fund has already been used to:

Improve prevention services in low-income and underserved communities;

Expand mental health programs, including suicide prevention efforts;

Invest in public health workforce development;

Provide vaccines to underserved and underinsured children and adults, and provide support for state and local systems to promote and track immunization; and

Promote healthy diets and active lifestyles.

The GOP bill to extend the current interest rate on federal student loans would permanently end this vital program--cutting off basic preventative care services to millions of Americans.

We must extend the current interest rate on federal student loans, but not on the backs of women and children who will benefit from the prevention fund. This bill takes a short-sighted and misguided approach to solving the issue at hand.

If this body fails to act responsibly to extend the current interest rate on student loans, students who take out the maximum $23,000 in subsidized student loans will see their interest increase an additional $5,200 over a 10-year repayment period and $11,300 over a 20-year repayment period.

By extending the current interest rate, we are making an investment in our country's future--our economy depends on an educated citizenry to out-compete and out-innovate the rest of the world. Maintaining access to a quality and affordable education is central to preserving America's status as a center for academic research and technological innovation.

I urge my colleagues to vote against this politically-motivated legislation that will threaten the long-term well-being of women and children, and request that a more serious alternative be considered.

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