John Kline

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the chairman of the Workforce Protection Subcommittee, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes now to the chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe).

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chair, I am very pleased to yield 4 minutes to the chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Rokita).

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5, the Student Success Act, and yield myself as much time as I may consume. The Student Success Act will take a critical step toward real reform of our education system. This legislation will restore local control, empower parents, eliminate unnecessary Washington red tape and intrusion in schools, and support innovation and excellence in the classroom. As chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, I've heard countless stories of the amazing progress being made in schools across the country. This success isn't due to heavy-handed dictates from Washington; rather, it reflects the work of dedicated parents, teachers, principals, superintendents, and State officials who decided the status quo is just not good enough for our kids. In dozens of committee hearings over the last few years, my colleagues and I have had the honor of speaking with many of these reformers. We learned about the groundbreaking programs and initiatives they've implemented to serve students more effectively. We listened to the ways they are working to hold schools more accountable, not just to the government but to their local communities and families. And we heard impassioned stories of how much more these dedicated reformers would do for our children if not for the slew of onerous Washington mandates and outdated regulations standing in the way. Our children deserve better. But instead of working with Congress to fix the problems in current K-12 education law, the Obama administration chose to go rogue, granting temporary waivers in exchange for implementing the President's preferred reforms. Thirty- nine States and the District of Columbia are now beholden to new Federal standards crafted without congressional consent, representing an unprecedented expansion of Federal control over our Nation's classrooms. It's time for a new way forward, Mr. Chairman, that starts with passage of the Student Success Act. This commonsense legislation reflects what we've learned from parents, teachers, and education leaders nationwide, and embodies four principles vital to a stronger education system in which all students have the opportunity to succeed. First, the bill before us today will reduce the Federal footprint in our classrooms. For too long, Federal overreach has tied the hands of American educators. The Student Success Act will put an end to the administration's convoluted conditional waiver scheme and take concrete steps to rein in the Secretary of Education's authority. The legislation also will eliminate more than 70 Federal programs, end the rigid Federal accountability metrics and overly prescriptive school improvement requirements, and grant States the freedom to develop their own plans to raise the bar, all of which will help ensure a more focused, streamlined, and transparent Federal role in the Nation's education system. Second, the legislation will restore local control by providing States and school districts the flexibility they need to spend Federal funds where they are needed. School leaders know best which programs and initiatives will have the greatest benefit for their students' achievement. We must support policies that encourage more local decisionmaking and allow these knowledgeable school leaders and administrators to do what they do best: educate America's children. Third, the Student Success Act recognizes a better education system cannot come without better educators. The legislation will eliminate Federal requirements that value credentials over a teacher's ability to educate students. Instead, States or school districts should develop their own evaluation systems based, in part, on student achievement, ensuring teachers can be judged fairly on their effectiveness in the classroom. Finally, the Student Success Act will empower parents. No one has a better understanding of a child's strengths and challenges than his or her parents, and no one--no one--is more invested in making sure their child achieves his or her full potential. H.R. 5 provides parents more freedom and choice by reauthorizing and strengthening the Charter School Program and improving tutoring and public school choice initiatives. We have an opportunity before us today, for the first time in more than a decade, to approve new K-12 education legislation in the House of Representatives. We have an opportunity to lend our support to legislation that will tear down barriers to progress and grant States and districts more freedom to think bigger, innovate, and take whatever steps are necessary to put more children on the path to a brighter future. I urge my colleagues to join me in taking this critical step toward real reform, and ask you to vote ``yes'' on the Student Success Act. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KLINE. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to a member of the committee, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chairman, I now yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Yoder).

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute now to a member of the committee, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Salmon).

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Nevada, Dr. Heck, a member of the committee.

Mr. KLINE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would now like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messer), a member of the committee.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining on each side?

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chairman, in an effort to balance the time here, I will reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chairman, I would now like to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schock).

Mr. KLINE. I yield myself the remainder of my time. Mr. Chairman, it has been 12 years since anybody in either body-- House or Senate--has had a chance to come to the floor in either Chamber and vote on education policy. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act has been overdue for reauthorization since 2007. When our colleagues on the other side of the aisle were in the majority or since we've been in the majority, neither party has been able to bring legislation to the floor in either body. Our children deserve better. We've been in a situation for years now in which the Congress of the United States--House and Senate--has abdicated completely to this administration its responsibility for establishing public policy. This administration has been issuing conditional, temporary waivers to suit its idea of what education policy ought to be, not what the legislative body and not what the people we represent say it ought to be. Our children deserve real reform of the Nation's education system. We can't allow these conditional waivers or temporary fixes or political infighting and an impasse here--whether the Democrats or the Republicans are in charge--to keep us from our fundamental responsibility to improve what is now, I believe, universally recognized to be a flawed law. By passing the Student Success Act today, we can help ensure that teachers, principals, superintendents, and State and local officials have more opportunities to build a more responsive and effective education system that better meets the unique needs of every student and, in fact, yes, of businesses. A vote for this bill demonstrates our heartfelt commitment to reform, proving to families nationwide, Mr. Chairman, that the House of Representatives will not stand by and allow the administration to micromanage our classrooms or to defend the failed status quo. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 5, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the rule and the underlying legislation. As the attention of the American people turned to celebrating the July 4th holiday, the Obama administration quietly announced through a blog post on the Treasury Department's Web site it would delay enforcement of a vital part of the President's health care law--the employer mandate. The reason for the delay? According to administration officials, the Federal bureaucracy needs more time to get it right. Let's be honest: no amount of time or bureaucratic tinkering will ease the pain ObamaCare is inflicting on workplaces across the country. The employer mandate will destroy jobs, whether it's implemented a year from now or 10 years from now. In fact, Mr. Speaker, jobs are already being lost and employees' work hours are being cut today because of the law. That's the difficult reality facing workers and job creators from my home State of Minnesota and across the country. It's part of the reason we are stuck in a jobs crisis with 12 million Americans searching for full-time work. Even union leaders are beginning to realize how the health care law they supported is hurting workers. And the quote from my colleague, Mr. Burgess, laid that out very clearly. They were promised, as all Americans were promised, if they liked their health care, they could keep it; and they're finding out that's simply not true. The delay of the employer mandate is the latest confirmation of the fatally flawed nature of ObamaCare and the need to dismantle it. That is why I support the proposal to delay the employer mandate for 1 year, as well as a bill the House will also consider today to delay enforcement of the individual mandate. In less than a year, individuals who fail to purchase government- approved health insurance will be forced to pay higher taxes. It isn't right, Mr. Speaker, to deny American families the same relief available to American businesses. The American people didn't ask for this government takeover of health care, and they don't want it. Let's give every family and business the reprieve from ObamaCare they deserve. I urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying legislation.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. The Kline-Hunter- Andrew-Polis amendment ensures the students I serve in Minnesota and throughout classrooms around the Nation are treated equally and given the same opportunities to enlist in the Armed Forces. Currently, students who earn a high school diploma from charter schools, home schools, schools that use blended learning models, and other means of virtual education are required to score significantly higher on the Armed Forces Qualification Test than students enrolled in traditional secondary schools. This policy, continued by the Department of Defense, disregards congressional intent established in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. Mr. Chair, as you know it is imperative that the recruiting and selection policies for enlistment are not only fair and consistent, but also in step with the evolution of the way our nation's students achieve a high school diploma. Despite studies that show education credential tiers do not consistently reflect the attrition patterns of recruits, DOD continues to insist where you receive your education is the single best predictor of your ability to successfully adapt to service. The bipartisan Kline-Hunter-Andrews-Polis amendment would put DOD back in line with the law and require them to set recruitment and enlistment policies that end this discriminatory requirement. As Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, a member of the Armed Services Committee, and a retired Marine Colonel, I have a unique and fortunate position to ensure the young men and women enlisting in our Armed Forces have the best opportunity to support the defense of our nation. Mr. Chair, the continuous innovation in education requires the adaptation of our recruiting policies. I urge my colleagues to support the dream of military service for all patriotic Americans who simply want the chance to be able to raise their hand and pledge to defend our nation without unnecessary burdens. I urge my colleagues to support the Kline-Hunter-Andrews-Polis amendment.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1911.

Mr. KLINE. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1911, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act. We're here today to address a crisis of Washington's own making. Several years ago, Congress decided politicians, not the free market, were better equipped to set student loan interest rates. Politicians set a fixed rate of 6.8 percent for all loans and then decided to advance legislation based on a campaign promise that would temporarily phase this rate for subsidized Stafford loans down to 3.4 percent. Last summer, with the expiration of the lower rate scheduled for July 1, 2012, debate about student loans reached a fever pitch. The President began touring college campuses, calling on Congress to prevent the increase that his own party set in motion back in 2007. As I said at the time, no one wanted to see interest rates double-- particularly at a time when one out of every two college graduates was struggling to find a full-time job. But we need to move away from a system that allows Washington politicians to use student loan interest rates as bargaining chips, creating uncertainty and confusion for borrowers. When Congress approved legislation to temporarily stave off the Stafford loan interest rate increase, my colleagues and I lent our support with the promise that we would use this time to work toward a long-term solution that better aligns interest rates with the free market. The Smarter Solutions for Students Act accomplishes this goal by simply moving all Federal students loans, except Perkins loans, to a market-based interest rate system. This responsible legislation builds upon a proposal that was actually put forth by the President earlier this year. The Smarter Solutions for Students Act is a narrow piece of legislation that will provide a lasting solution to the problem facing the Federal student loan program. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, some critics would rather kick the can down the road and simply extend the current arbitrary rates at a taxpayer cost of roughly $8 billion. They want to continue the failed status quo and leave politicians in charge of setting rates. Earlier this week, The Washington Post called it a ``weird fact'' that student loan interest rates: Aren't pegged to anything real, just to the whims of Congress, which inevitably uses student loans as political playthings. Students deserve better. They shouldn't have to watch as Washington holds their interest rates hostage each election year. They shouldn't have to deal with the uncertainty that comes with waiting for politicians to cobble together another temporary fix to keep interest rates in line with the market. We have an opportunity today to get politicians out of the business of setting student loan interest rates. We have an opportunity to provide students with more stability in the long run by putting an end to quick fixes and campaign promises, and we have an opportunity to build upon common ground with the administration and advance a bipartisan solution that's a win for both students and taxpayers. I urge my colleagues to support the Smarter Solutions for Students Act. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve a point of order.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Dr. Roe), the chairman of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 232, I call up the bill (H.R. 1911) to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish interest rates for new loans made on or after July 1, 2013, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.