Miller Announces Next Steps on Student Loan Interest Rates
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, announced today that he is collecting signatures to force committee action on legislation (H.R. 2574) to reverse yesterday’s doubling of student loan interest rates. Today’s announcement comes after Chairman John Kline (R-Minn.) ignored a request from committee Democrats to take immediate action on the Keeping Student Loans Affordable Act of 2013, legislation introduced by Miller that would have prevented student loan interest rates from doubling.
“Chairman Kline’s failure to take timely action on this critical legislation is inexcusable but need not be the end of the story,” said Rep. Miller. “I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to sign this petition so that we can immediately roll back the rate increase on 7.2 million students while Congress works to find a long-term solution to the student debt crisis.”
Under a rarely used process triggered last Friday by four committee Democrats – Reps. Miller, Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), Rubén Hinojosa (D-Texas), and John Tierney (D-Mass.) – Chairman Kline had until the close of business yesterday, July 1st, the very day that student loan interest rates doubled, to announce a markup of the Miller legislation. Chairman Kline’s failure to schedule the bill for action means that committee Democrats can force a markup with the consent of just three committee Republicans, regardless of the chairman’s desires to block the legislation. The cost of H.R. 2574 is fully offset by closing a tax loophole.
“I invite each Republican rank-and file member of the Education and the Workforce Committee to step up and do what is right and sign the petition now. Millions of anxious students are watching to see if Washington Republicans are going to stonewall an interest rate fix, or take decisive action on their behalf,” added Miller.
Next Article