Speaker Boehner’s Comments on Student Loans Issue Not Based in Fact, House Democratic Members Write
Calls to work together to keep student loan interest rates low ignored for months by House Republicans
WASHINGTON – House Democratic leaders on education and public health issues wrote Speaker John Boehner today, challenging statements he made over the weekend on the pending doubling of interest rates on subsidized Stafford student loans. Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, Speaker Boehner said that “Democrats and Republicans for months have been working together to try to figure out a way to resolve the problem.”
“That statement did not appear based in fact,” Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) wrote. “House Democrats urged action months ago on the pending student loan interest rate hike and explained that we stood ready to work with all members of the Committee to get this legislative work done. There was no response to that letter.”
Reps. Miller and DeLauro continued: “It was only after President Obama took his case to the American people for stopping the interest rate hike that House Republicans took any action. And that action was not to work with House Democrats but to treat the interest rate matter as a political issue, rather than the serious economic issue it is for middle class and low-income families.”
Rather than working in a bipartisan manner to prevent the doubling of student loan rates for more than 7 million college students in a fiscally responsible way, House Republicans instead pushed through partisan legislation that would harm public health. The House Republican bill would eliminate an important component of the Affordable Care Act that has already helped families, communities and health professionals identify and prevent chronic disease.
“These prevention and public health initiatives will help reduce long-term health care costs for this nation,” wrote Miller and DeLauro. “Understandably, women's groups, public health groups, and even student groups came out in opposition to the Republican bill eliminating this fund.”
The Prevention and Public Health Fund has funded efforts to expand mental health programs, provide childhood immunizations, and promote breastfeeding. It has also been used to support health care workforce development and public health initiatives to combat diseases like obesity, diabetes and HIV/AIDS, and is slated to fund screenings for birth defects and breast and cervical cancer.
House Democrats have proposed to keep student loan interest rates low by eliminating billions of dollars in unwarranted tax subsidies to big oil. A vote on the Democratic bill was not permitted on the House floor.
The full text of the letter to Speaker Boehner appears below:
April 30, 2012
The Honorable John A. Boehner
Speaker of the House of Representatives
H-232 Capitol Building
Washington, DC
Dear Speaker Boehner:
We were surprised to hear your comments this weekend that “Democrats and Republicans for months have been working together to try to figure out a way to resolve the problem” of the pending doubling of interest rates on subsidized Stafford student loans. That statement did not appear based in fact.
We are attaching a copy of a letter to the Republican Chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee. It is dated February 10, 2012. In this letter, House Democrats urged action months ago on the pending student loan interest rate hike and explained that we stood ready to work with all members of the Committee to get this legislative work done.
There was no response to that letter.
Instead, in March, House Republicans passed a budget that would see interest rates double for students. When House Democrats attempted to amend the budget to stop the interest rate hike, Republicans on the House Budget Committee voted down the amendment. In addition to the interest rate hike, the Republican budget also poses increased financial burdens on college students, including drastic cuts to Pell Grants for over 9.6 million students and elimination of federal work study funding for 166,000 more students.
Earlier this month, the Republican chair of the higher education subcommittee publicly stated that she had “very little tolerance” for young people with student loan debt. And Republican statements in the press threatened that, if any action were to be taken on student loan interest rates at all, a freeze in the interest rate would have to be paid for by cutting other college financing, setting up a false choice for America’s students.
It was only after President Obama took his case to the American people for stopping the interest rate hike that House Republicans took any action. And that action was not to work with House Democrats but to treat the interest rate matter as a political issue, rather than the serious economic issue it is for middle class and low-income families.
After months of ignoring the issue, House Republicans brought forward a last-minute interest rate measure that House Democrats were not permitted to see until shortly before its consideration by the Rules Committee.
While the sudden House Republican proposal abandoned the earlier insistence that we take from one area of college financing to pay for another area, the proposal embraced a new false choice, hurting low-income and middle-income women and families to pay for interest rate relief for low-income and middle-income students. The last-minute bill completely eliminated the Prevention and Public Health Fund. Since House Republicans had already marked up the elimination of this fund earlier in the week, it was apparent that this “pay-for” was a goal unto itself. With the Republican proposal, the student loan interest rate issue was now being used as cover to attack public health funding, which includes programs critical to improving the health of women and children.
Over the last two years, this prevention fund has been used to support health care workforce development and local programs around the country to help prevent obesity, diabetes, and tobacco use. It has also funded efforts to expand mental health programs, provide childhood immunizations, and promote breastfeeding. These prevention and public health initiatives will help reduce long-term health care costs for this nation. Understandably, women's groups, public health groups, and even student groups came out in opposition to the Republican bill eliminating this fund.
In the end, although it passed, this last-minute Republican bill could not garner even a full majority of support from the House. Unfortunately, while House Democrats had introduced their own measure to stop the interest rate hike, paid for by ending tax subsidies to big oil companies, Members were not permitted to vote on that bill.
The House’s work is not done on this issue. We are far from having stopped the interest rate hike. We urge you to start working with House Democrats now to fashion a bipartisan bill that does not force false choices on the House or on the American people, especially on low-income and middle-income families who have already sacrificed a great deal in these tight budget times.
Sincerely,
George Miller
Senior Democrat
House Education and the Workforce Committee
Rosa DeLauro
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
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