Simplifying the Application for Student Aid Act

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I want to start by recognizing and thanking my friend and chairman, John Kline from Minnesota, for his leadership not just on this bill, but on the whole jurisdiction of Education and the Workforce. I want to also thank the folks on the staff, Mr. Chairman, of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Mr. Miller, and especially my friend Peter Welch for working with me on this amendment.

The underlying bill, Mr. Chairman, as you know, seeks to support innovation in higher education by reenvisioning how regulators and institutions have measured student progress and student aid. This bill, Mr. Chairman, sets up demonstration projects to study the effect of competency-based education.

Our amendment, Mr. Chairman, simply permits participation of dual enrollment programs to be included in the demonstration projects created. As the chairman knows, many students--in fact, I am reluctant to cite statistics, but I think it is well north of 1 million students across our great country--have benefited in dual enrollment classes.

In fact, Mr. Chairman, I live with a student that has benefited back home in Spartanburg, both at Dorman High School and, I know, Spartanburg High School. Probably other high schools have partnered with institutions of higher learning to prepare, Mr. Chairman, our children, number one, to be able to gauge the speed of the pitches in college--the pitchers pitch a little faster in college sometimes than they do in high school--but more significantly, and particularly for my daughter's friends, it enables them to go ahead and start getting college credit and reducing both their caseload and, more importantly, the cost when these children decide to matriculate.

The dual enrollment programs are widespread, and they deserve to be considered as part of the demonstration projects.

With that, Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

In summation, Mr. Chairman, I just want to thank, again, the chairman, the gentleman from Minnesota, for his willingness to entertain other peoples' ideas for his hard work and the full book of business that they do on Education and the Workforce, and particularly the women and men who work so hard on the staff, and my friend from Vermont who is always open to areas of consensus and agreement and working across the aisle.

Mr. Chairman, with that, I yield back the balance of my time.

I have an amendment at the desk, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I again want to thank Mr. Kline and all the hardworking folks on Education and the Workforce, the Members and especially the women and men of the staff.

The Upstate of South Carolina, Mr. Chairman, is home to several higher education institutions, public and private, large and small, and the issue of education affordability is front and center. And, frankly, Mr. Chairman, families are struggling trying to be able to plan for their kids' future.

I know that, both because I have the benefit of representing these families and I hear from them and I also know it anecdotally, Mr. Chairman. I have a 17-year-old daughter, and while she is blessed in many ways compared to her contemporaries, lots and lots of her friends come to the house from time to time. We preach to people that the road to prosperity is paved with hard work and education, but when this road is riddled with potholes called ``unsustainable debt,'' I don't know how we can expect them to get to the end.

You figure out what the cost of education is. In many of these instances, these children are the first ones in their family to try to go to school. And so they are looking at me. They have done well in high school. They have done everything we have asked them to do, and they are staring, in some instances, at massive amounts of debt just so they can do what we promised them that if you work hard and you get an education, the pathway to prosperity will be paved for you.

So against that backdrop, my friend from Vermont and I decided let's look at regulations and what impact they may have on the cost of higher education. Mr. Chairman, as you well know, you may conclude that a regulation is worth it. It may cost money, but it may still be worth it. That is fine. That is a separate analysis. But there really is no reason to not study the regulations themselves to see what impact they are having.

So I give a lot of credit to the gentleman from Vermont who approached me with his idea. I think it is a solid idea. I can't imagine any reason not to form a task force or a working group to study regulations and what impact, whether wittingly or unwittingly, those regulations are having on the cost of higher education.

With that, Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, in summation, reasonable minds can and I am quite certain will differ as to the propriety of certain regulations. I get that. I understand that. That is part of the beauty of our country. What I would think that all reasonable minds can concur on is that we ought to at least look at them and see what the numbers are. That will instruct and inform the debate as to whether or not the benefit is worthy of the cost.

So again, I want to thank Mr. Kline and the folks on E&W, and I especially want to thank, again, my friend from Vermont for always being willing to listen to other people's ideas. And usually the ones I have he improves and makes them better.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment, although I am in favor of it.

First of all, I do want to thank Mr. Kline and Mr. Miller for bringing this bill to the floor, and I want to thank the staffs for working with Mr. Gowdy and me on this amendment and an amendment to follow.

One of the things that brought Mr. Gowdy and me together is the concern about the cost of education, and I know that has been a major concern for the Education and the Workforce Committee. But one of the dilemmas that we have is that, if we put more money in as taxpayers-- and I am a strong supporter of more grant and more aid for our colleges--but if every dollar we put in is a dollar increase in tuition, then the students are treading water and the taxpayers are treading water.

So what are some of the things that we can do to try and help give the flexibility to our institutions of higher learning the ability to actually accelerate graduation and, therefore, help potentially lower the cost?

Mr. Gowdy outlined what this competency-based learning amendment would do. It would reward students who have some ambition and get started early. It would allow college administrators to properly give credit for that serious effort on the part of students, and it might help reverse what has been a trend where a lot of students are taking more than 4 years to graduate and allow them the opportunity with their effort and discipline to graduate in less than 4 years. If you graduate in 3\1/2\ years, that is a significant savings to that family and that student who is borrowing money as a way of getting ahead in this society.

So I really appreciate the focus that the committee has had on this question and appreciate very much the work that Mr. Gowdy in trying to present to this body this amendment which will help, I think, facilitate the goal of making college more affordable. It is absolutely so essential to the young people of this country.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I would just say the same to Mr. Gowdy. I appreciate working with him on this and also on our Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment, although I am for the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, this question of college debt that my colleague, Mr. Gowdy, spoke about, that is brutal. It is not a red State-blue State deal, and it is not a Republican-Democratic deal. It is young people getting out of college with a mountain of debt, and they are starting out with the equivalent of a mortgage.

There has been an enormous amount of attention in this body to how to deal with that and a lot of debate about how to deal with it. I know Mr. Miller has been a champion on this cause along with Mr. Tierney on our side and, I know, Mr. Gowdy and Mr. Kline on the other side.

I have pushed back, to some extent, on our college administrators, because it is not just a matter of what taxpayers can afford to fund by way of grant and aid or what families can afford to put up from their hard-earned savings, it is a question of what will college administrators do to try to keep those tuition increases down. So we need the active participation of our college administrators.

When I talked to Mr. Gowdy, he talked to his folks, I guess the president of Clemson, and I spoke with the president of the University of Vermont and some of our other college leaders in Vermont, and they were somewhat resistant to the notion of our getting involved in what they saw as their job and made some complaints that regulations were causing them to have to spend money.

Now, sometimes that can be an excuse, but I think what Mr. Gowdy said is the right way to go. Let's take a look at them.

I happen to think there are times when you need law and you need regulation. Title IX has been a law that has done an immense amount of good for young women who want the full opportunity to be as athletic as young men, and that was a law that did real good. Sometimes regulations do good--but not always.

Instead of just having a debate about more regulation or no regulation, what Mr. Gowdy and I are saying is, hey, let's get the people who are affected by this from all sides, have them take a look at these things and come up with an analysis of this is working, this isn't working. Because as a person who is in favor of law and regulation in appropriate cases, I am against bad regulations that just get in the way of a good education and affordability.

So this doesn't stack the deck either way, but it does allow parties who are involved in having to deal with regulations to have a way of looking at them, assessing them, and making recommendations about them.

What I see as beneficial on this is that we are going to have this as a tool to get our college administrators more actively involved with us in what is, I think, an enormous challenge of our times, and that is make college affordable and sustainable for the hardworking families in your district, Mr. Chairman, and in my district and Mr. Gowdy's.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I thank my cosponsor, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

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

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. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate all the work that Chairman Kline and Ranking Member Miller have put into this bill.

My amendment today has to do with the issue of privacy. Listen, technology has been a great thing for America. It has allowed better communication and connectivity amongst our friends and our family members.

With email, cell phones, text, and pictures, we are able to share very intimate parts of our lives with those who are closest to us, but it is not always used with the purest of hearts. Many Americans, including many young Americans, have been concerned about the data collection that comes from the NSA about Americans' emails, texts, and phone records.

We have just learned recently about the information that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is collecting on the American citizenry. They are collecting information on nearly 600 to 800 million credit cards in America.

They are also teaming up with FHFA to form a database that collects information on Americans about their race, their religion, their sex, their payment history, their credit scores, the number of children that they have, their date of birth, their Social Security number.

They have access to all of this information, and I think most Americans would say that is too much information for the government to have.

It just doesn't happen in government though. It also happens in the private sector, without Americans' permission or consent.

My amendment is narrowly focused on this demonstration project, but it requires those schools, universities, and colleges who participate that when they enter into an agreement with an outside company and that outside company can actually sell the personally identifiable information of students to third parties--whether it is for advertisement or just basic data collection for research--they actually have to give notice to the students that their information is going to be sold, and they have give an opportunity for the students to opt out, that their information not be sold to third-party vendors.

This is about empowering students, giving them the power and control over their personally identifiable information, and if they choose to have it sold, so be it. They give permission, just like when they make a post on Facebook or they send a tweet on Twitter, but if they don't give consent, let's not allow schools to take their information and sell it without their permission.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment in support of our students across the country.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Listen, I would just make the point to my good friend from Colorado, this is common sense.

If you are able to take a poll of university students--college students and say: Listen, there is an amendment on the floor today that would give you power over your personally identifiable information so schools can't sell it and it can't be used for advertisement or data collection, would you support that amendment, to empower you with your personally identifiable information?

I think the answer would be a resounding ``yes.'' And I have worked with the committee to narrowly tailor this amendment specifically for this demonstration project.

Frankly, I am one who believes this should apply to colleges and universities across the board empowering students. I think if you talk to 20-year-olds and 24-year-olds around the country and what they think about the NSA infringing upon their privacy, they are the ones that were outraged by it.

So I think this makes sense. I guess I am disappointed in the opposition. I believe in our youth in America. I believe they should have the right to their data and how their data is used. So I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, with that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to, first of all, thank the gentleman from Arizona, Congressman Salmon, as well as Chairman Kline and Ranking Member Miller for their work in bringing this very important bill to the floor.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment would allow entities receiving funds under this bill to report the number and percentage of students who are able to find employment in a field relating to their program or course of study and would allow the director of IES to provide technical assistance to such entities upon request.

Basically, my intent is to give situational awareness to both educators and students and also an understanding of how well our dollars being spent in terms of educating both our young people and people who are looking for a second career, looking for other job opportunities, so that they know that their time and effort will be well spent.

I am proud to be joined in offering this amendment by my good friend and colleague, Congressman G.T. Thompson from Pennsylvania, as cochairs of the bipartisan Career and Technical Education Caucus.

Representative Thompson and I are committed to providing all students with the information necessary to make informed career decisions.

Many of the students who will be served by this bill are nontraditional students, working parents, students with full-time jobs, and many others who are seeking a different education than what a traditional 4-year curriculum affords, so these are the very people who would benefit the most from clear and accessible career market information.

It has become obvious that high school diplomas are really no longer sufficient training for the modern job market, and while not every job will require a college degree, some sort of postsecondary education will be necessary, and students, Mr. Chairman, deserve accurate information to help them find the career pathway that best fits their goals and abilities.

My amendment will help these students by encouraging schools to report on the number of students who are able to use their education to find a relevant career, data that students will be able to use in the coming years to inform their own decisions and choose an academic path that will lead to a well-paying job.

This amendment has been scored by the CBO as budget-neutral and will not result in any additional spending.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his comments and the exceptional work that he does and that we do collaboratively with respect to career and technical education, and I appreciate his cosponsorship of this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, again, in closing, this amendment would help to give situational awareness to students, to educators, and to all those who want to understand, is the time and effort, the investment that people are making worth that investment, and is it a clear path forward, particularly for those who are looking for a new career or who are looking to, as we do right now, trying to close the skills gap that we have not only in my home State of Rhode Island, but across the country, as people are trying to get the right skills for the right jobs that are good paying going forward.

This will give them the data to understand the best career paths to follow, where it would be best to invest their time and their energy, as well as their resources.

So with that, I urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.