John Tierney

Mr. TIERNEY

Mr. TIERNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise on this particular occasion to thank my family, my friends, my colleagues, and the voters of the Sixth Congressional District of Massachusetts for giving me the unbelievably wonderful opportunity to represent that district here in this venerable body, the House of Representatives. I have been privileged to witness history and to participate in its making. My focus has always been on social justice and opportunity for all. I know that we have worked assiduously to try to make that happen every day that I have served here. I am also appreciative of the fantastic staff who have worked with me over the years, who have done so much to make sure that the work we did reflected those values, and worked every day to make sure the constituents of the Sixth District were well served. I also want to say that the delegation from Massachusetts deserves particular recognition on that. I am always appreciative of their support. And having served with the unbelievable legend, Senator Edward Kennedy, for years was a particular privilege. Madam Speaker, from making college more affordable and accessible to making sure that people had the opportunity in the workforce to get the skills they needed to perform and have a job that paid them well enough to support their family, to making sure we had oversight in foreign affairs and to making sure when people are contracting on contingent operations that they take care not to have waste, fraud, and abuse in the work that is done; from watching the taxpayers' dollars to making sure that people in this country got a fair shake and that somebody stood up not just for the banks and not just for the large corporations but for every single family in this country, making sure that their government worked for them, I have been proved, I have been honored, I have been privileged, and I thank, again, my constituents, my family, my friends, and all of my colleagues here in the House.

Mr. TIERNEY

Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill. It won't kill the bill, and it will not send it back to committee. If this amendment is adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. Mr. Speaker, there are 5 legislative days remaining until this House recesses for the August district work period. It is unacceptable that the House would recess without taking meaningful action on one of the most important issues confronting students and parents and middle class families in my district in Massachusetts and all throughout the country--student loan debt. Throughout this week, I have offered amendments and motions that provide student loan borrowers the opportunity to refinance their existing high-interest loans to a lower rate, much like homeowners and businesses are often able to do. It would help them save thousands of dollars over the life of their loans. It would serve as an economic stimulus, as the savings generated from the refinanced loans would increase students' discretionary funds that would likely be reinvested and spent at local businesses, and it would help reduce the deficit. It would also enable tens of millions of Americans to pursue their goals and move forward with their lives. I continue to hear from those whom I represent who share their personal stories. They tell me what a priority student loan refinancing is for them and their families. A young woman from Reading, Massachusetts, emailed me this morning, and she said: My husband and I, already struggling to make ends meet, scraped together enough money to make my loans current, but the payments are almost too much to bear. With the cost of living steadily rising and our incomes staying flat, it is becoming more and more difficult to provide for our family let alone pay back these loans at exorbitant rates. Being able to refinance them would be a godsend to myself and my family. Another woman from Danvers, Massachusetts, emailed me today as well, and she said: I am not looking for a magic solution to make my loans just disappear. It was my decision to take them out, and it is my responsibility to repay them, but lowering my interest rates would lower my monthly payments. I could breathe a little easier whenever my 9-year-old car makes a funny noise in knowing there is a little bit of cushion in my bank account for a mechanic. I could get my wisdom teeth out and still be able to afford to eat. I could finally start to think that maybe having a child just might be possible for me after all. Mr. Speaker, these women are our customers, and this House should be in the business of serving their interests. Unfortunately, our Republican colleagues have denied or defeated all of our efforts to allow for student loan refinancing. Mr. Speaker, we are not deterred, and we won't give up. We are here again today, fighting for students and their families. The motion I am offering today simply requires that students know what they would owe if they were permitted to refinance their loans just like consumers can do who refinance their mortgages right now. Let's be clear. Voting against this motion is a vote to hide from students the significant benefits that refinancing would afford. Let's give them the information and allow them to decide for themselves if they, like the women I mentioned from Reading and Danvers, support student loan refinancing. I believe they do, Mr. Speaker, and I believe, if this were brought to the floor of the House, that we would have a majority in favor. I urge support for the motion. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TIERNEY. I am, in its present form.

Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. TIERNEY

Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill. It will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If this amendment is adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. Mr. Speaker, student loan debt is at a crisis level in this country. Outstanding student loans now total more than $1.2 trillion, surpassing total credit card debt, and every year, students are taking on more. An estimated 71 percent of college seniors had debt in 2012, with an average outstanding balance of $29,400 for those who borrowed to get a bachelor's degree. My constituents--and I am sure the constituents of my colleagues--are calling, emailing, posting on Facebook, and even approaching me on the street to share their stories about how they have been buried in student loan debt. This debt is causing them to put on hold other life decisions, such as whether or not they can move out of their parents' home, whether or not they can buy a car, purchase their own home, get married, or even consider starting a family. A young woman from Boxford, Massachusetts, wrote to me and said, ``I pay more than the minimum balance every month. I sacrifice daily for my loans. I live at home, have a 50-minute commute to work every day because I cannot afford to live on my own or even with roommates . . . I cannot have the dreams that I have dreamed of all my life. I'm 23, and I'm already telling myself that I can't own a house, that I will probably never have children because I can't afford to bring them into the world and take care of them when I can't even afford to live myself . . . That's what I live with every day. The anger, depression, and disbelief that I am forever stuck.'' Parents are calling and writing to me about the anxiety and concern they have about the debt their sons and daughters have accumulated. Some parents have even delayed their own retirement or made early withdrawals from their 401(k) to help with their children's student loan debt. A mother from Middleton, Massachusetts, wrote to me and said, ``I have two children with multiple student loans. It is difficult enough to graduate, find a job in the field they desire, and to pay loans, rent, bills, et cetera. Please do all you can to make sure rates are not increased. My children may never afford to buy a house and live the American Dream because of college student loan debt.'' Mr. Speaker, those are just two examples from my district. I am sure there are untold others throughout this country. Millions are suffering this particular situation all across the Nation. We need to start listening to them. We need to start taking action on their behalf. This motion is a modified version of the legislation that I filed in the House with Congressman George Miller. It has over 130 cosponsors and the support of dozens of respected organizations. Senator Elizabeth Warren filed its counterpart in the Senate. This motion is the functional equivalent of allowing for the responsible refinancing of student loans. We allow homeowners and car owners to refinance their loans to a lower interest rate. Student loan borrowers should be able to do the same with their high interest loans--converting them into lower interest loans. Particularly right now, when interest rates are so low, they should be able to take advantage of that fact. When you get right down to it, Mr. Speaker, the real question is: Whose side are we on? Are we on the side of the young woman from Boxford and the others of her generation who feel ``forever stuck''? Are we on the side of the mother from Middleton and the millions of Americans just like her who are concerned about their children's future? Let's support this motion and show them we are on their side. Let's support this motion and show the tens of millions of students, graduates, parents, and middle class families, who would be able to refinance their loans at a lower interest rate and get their life started, that we are on their side. Mr. Speaker, it is time to stand up and be counted. I ask Members to support this motion, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, in its current form, I am.

Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. TIERNEY

Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I did file an amendment to this bill that would be considered today. Quite simply, what it does is provide existing student loan borrowers the opportunity to responsibly refinance their high-interest debt to a lower-interest obligation, like homeowners and car owners are able to do all the time. The amendment is based on legislation that I filed here in the House and my colleague, Elizabeth Warren, filed over in the Senate. We have over 130 cosponsors here in the House and dozens of respected educational groups and diverse organizations in support of this measure. The amendment would help students and parents save some real money. In fact, the Congressional Research Service says that a middle class undergraduate student with an average loan debt would save over $4,000 over the life of the loan and a typical graduate student would save more than $2,500 and the parent who borrowed money to help pay for their child's education would save more than $3,500. Mr. Speaker, these are real savings, real dollars, and no doubt, they are going to be directly invested back into the community. The Center for American Progress estimated that refinancing just the Federal student loans, not the parents' loans on that, would pump $21 billion back into the economy. It helps taxpayers too. The Congressional Budget Office--nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office--said that, over 10 years, it would save taxpayers $22 billion. So the proposal is a good deal for taxpayers, it is a good deal for students and parents, and it is a good deal for the economy. The real question here is: Why isn't there an urgency to move this legislation? Because the benefits to the economy are huge and the savings for taxpayers are real--despite all this, the Republican leadership blocked this amendment from coming to the floor for consideration today. By blocking that amendment, the Republican leadership has denied every Member in this Chamber the ability to vote on this important measure and show that they are standing with the people--with the students, with the parents, with the economy at large for people who want to take benefit of this legislation. Worse, by blocking this amendment, the Republican leadership denies relief to tens of millions of college students and parents and middle class families across the country who would benefit from the provisions of the bill that we would offer. Mr. Speaker, that is unacceptable, but unfortunately, it is becoming more and more common in the House here, as it looks like Republicans refuse to stand with middle class families and those that aspire to the middle class, instead of putting politics before everything. Instead of debating my amendment and the provisions of it that would help middle class families, Republicans are finding some way to sue the President of the United States. If you were to take that measure and ask the public: Would you rather have some relief and allow people to be able to write down and refinance their loans to a more reasonable interest rate as parents, as undergraduate students, graduate students, and parents of students-- would you rather do that, or would you rather pursue some suit against the President which doesn't make any sense and isn't going to have any effect and doesn't work to get them real relief in things that matter to them in their lifetime today? We are not doing what we should be doing this afternoon, Mr. Speaker. We should be putting politics aside. We should be allowing this amendment. We should rely on every Member of this House to vote on it. I believe that we would get a strong bipartisan vote of support if we did that. I ask my colleagues to not vote on the previous question, to allow us to insert this amendment, and move forward.

Mr. TIERNEY

Mr. TIERNEY. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. TIERNEY. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TIERNEY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).

Mr. TIERNEY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt). (Mr. HOLT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. TIERNEY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott).

Mr. TIERNEY. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Loebsack).

Mr. TIERNEY. As I understand section 225, the definitions that you mentioned are as you stated.

Mr. TIERNEY. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. TIERNEY. Madam Speaker, at this point in time, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis) to engage in a colloquy.

Mr. TIERNEY. Madam Speaker, at this point, I would like to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Connecticut, Joe Courtney, who has been a strong member of the committee and an advocate of workforce investment for some time.

Mr. TIERNEY. Madam Speaker, at this time, I would like to yield 1 minute to our colleague from Oregon, Suzanne Bonamici.

Mr. TIERNEY. At this time, I would like to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Colorado, Jared Polis.

Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), who is the ranking member of the committee and, as the chairman of the committee has said, is no stranger to this issue. He has been a champion of the Workforce Investment Act and its improvement all along. (Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. TIERNEY. I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman.

Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland, Steny Hoyer, our Democratic whip.