Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act

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

Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of the Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act, a bill I introduced with Congressman Guthrie.

Mr. Chair, I want to thank Chairwoman Foxx, Ranking Member Scott, and Congressman Guthrie for their leadership on this bill. I would also like to thank the Education and the Workforce Committee staff on both sides of the aisle for their hard work to include the shared priorities of Members in this bill.

This bill shows that there are areas of bipartisan consensus in Congress.

Today, a college education continues to be a powerful force for economic and social mobility in our country. I know. Neither of my parents graduated from college. I worked my way first through community college, which opened the door to the university and then to law school.

I am pleased that Democrats and Republicans are working together to take a meaningful step toward addressing the student loan debt crisis, which is now shockingly close to consumer debt in this country.

This bill recognizes and addresses the clear need for enhanced financial counseling. More than 40 million Americans are struggling with student loan debt, and default rates are climbing.

At the same time, there is evidence that student loan debt is a drag on the broader economy. For many borrowers, student loan debt affects the ability to buy a home, to purchase a new car, or to afford childcare. Student loan borrowers may be unable to access capital to start a small business or they may put off saving for retirement.

That is why we need to help current and future students understand their rights and obligations as borrowers, and we need to help them forecast their obligations in the years after college so they can make informed decisions now for the years ahead.

One of the frustrations I have heard from former students in Oregon is that they didn't understand all of the jumble of terms in their loan agreement or all of the differences between Federal and private student loans. With this bill, students, whether they are sophomores or seniors, will have information about how much they have borrowed, what they are expected to borrow, how their loans will accrue interest, and what they can expect their monthly payment to be when they leave college. They will be better able to see their road to repayment.

Importantly, this bill provides annual counseling, so borrowers who don't graduate will still receive information about what to expect when they leave school and have to start repayment.

Borrowers will have more clarity about their monthly payments under two repayment plans: income-based repayment and the standard 10-year option. That is critical for students to see what those differences will be, and they will with this bill. Clarifying and streamlining this information will simplify the repayment process for borrowers and reduce default.

Borrowers will be reminded each year they don't have to borrow the full amount made available to them. They should consider grants, work study, and Federal loans before turning to private lenders.

Unlike current practice, borrowers will receive financial counseling before signing their master promissory notes, and they will be reminded that they can repay interest before it capitalizes.

For the first time, parent borrowers of student loans will be given virtually the same information about their loans that the students receive.

Additionally, this bill will extend counseling to Pell grant recipients so they understand the limits on eligibility for the grants and the circumstances under which they would be asked to repay their grants, helping students to avoid expensive surprises.

Finally, this bill does not interrupt the disbursement of financial aid, and it delivers enhanced student loan information in consumer- tested formats that check for students' understanding. It will make sure we provide personalized borrower information in a way that borrowers understand.

Mr. Chair, again, I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support, and I encourage all my colleagues to support the Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act.

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

Mr. Chair, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairwoman for her remarks.

This bill we are considering today is an important step to protect students and borrowers, but it is not a substitute for an update to the Higher Education Act.

We still have more work to do to invest in our Nation's students, our future leaders. We especially need to do more to keep higher education within reach for low-income students and working families.

We need to strengthen the Pell Grant Program, which has served as a foundation of support and opportunity for many Americans and helped them afford college.

We need to do more to address State disinvestment and partner with States. State disinvestment in higher education has also led to a rise in college costs, and we need to do more to make sure student loan borrowers have access to affordable repayment plans.

The Democratic proposal to update the Higher Education Act, the Aim Higher Act, will do all of this and more.

I am glad we are considering this bipartisan proposal today instead of the PROSPER Act, which would actually make college less affordable and accessible by cutting student aid by billions of dollars.

The Aim Higher Act, on the other hand, invests in students and makes higher education more affordable through robust funding in financial aid programs. It also addresses the rising cost of college through the creation of a Federal-State partnership to reduce

the student debt burden on families. It is a thoughtful package that deserves to be considered on the House floor.

The legislation we are considering today, though not a comprehensive reauthorization, will protect students and families and make a real, positive difference for grant recipients and student loan borrowers.

Mr. Chair, I do urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Chairman, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

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

Mr. Chair, I want to again thank Mr. Guthrie for cosponsoring this legislation with me, and thank the leadership, both Chairwoman Foxx and Ranking Member Scott, for their support, and all of the staff. I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support for this legislation.

Mr. Roe from Tennessee mentioned his story, and it is not unlike mine, from a middle-class family, went through 7 years of higher education on my own, working my way through. I ended up with a very modest amount of student debt.

As I say, that is not what I am hearing from families today in Oregon, and I know my colleagues are not hearing that from their constituents across the country.

I also want to point out how the student loan debt crisis is affecting the workforce issues that we all talk about and care about.

An example is that there are many people who wanted to go into primary care. They are going through medical school. They wanted to go into primary care. I just had a conversation with one last week. Too many medical students are choosing higher paying specialties, not because that is where their passion or interest is, but because their student loan debt is so high.

I just had a great conversation on Labor Day with some firefighters in the district I am honored to represent. I thanked them for working, keeping our communities safe. They are concerned about student debt, and they are very concerned about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which, of course, is threatened under the PROSPER Act.

We need to come back to the table and talk about how we can preserve the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Today, however, I urge all of my colleagues to take this important step forward on this bipartisan legislation, the Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act. I encourage broad support for the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I thank my friend, the gentlewoman from New York, for her amendment. It improves the bill, and I support its acceptance.

Financing a college education can be a daunting process, especially for first-generation students. It can seem like there are things that everyone else knows but no one is telling them. If we are going to improve student counseling, we need to recognize this fact.

This amendment requires that as part of the annual counseling students receive, they be made aware, if their financial circumstances change, they can and should contact their financial aid office on campus. There they can seek someone with the professional background, judgment, and assistance to help them make changes to awards, or they may find out about other aid for which the student may be eligible.

Additionally, students may not know that while they are eligible for a certain amount of Federal aid, they are not required to take the full amount. Many debt-conscious students may prefer to fund a smaller portion of their education through loans but may not know that this is an option. This amendment clarifies that in cases where the student specifies they would like to receive less aid, that is an amount that is discussed in their counseling.

Again, I support the gentlewoman's amendment, and I urge a ``yes'' vote.

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

Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the gentleman from Minnesota for his amendment. It improves the bill, and I support its acceptance.

Students may be eligible for many different forms of financial aid, and in our effort to improve financial counseling, we should make sure that appropriate disclosures and information are being shared with the borrowers based on the type of aid they are receiving.

This amendment addresses Parent PLUS loans, loans that parents or guardians can take out to pay for the education of a dependent student. Parent PLUS loans have a higher interest rate than direct loans, and because they can cover unmet need up to the cost of attendance, the loan balance can grow rather quickly. As such, parents should be counseled that there may be other forms of aid that their student can take advantage of to help reduce the size of the Parent PLUS loan that is needed. A robust counseling program will also inform parents, as the gentleman stated, that there is no penalty to prepaying either the interest or the principal on these loans.

Again, Mr. Chair, I support the gentleman's amendment because it improves the underlying legislation, I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the gentleman from Georgia for his amendment. It improves the underlying bill, and I support its acceptance.

I rise in support of the amendment to clarify that institutions have the ability to provide additional financial counseling beyond the requirements established in the underlying bill while making sure that the additional counseling will in no way preclude students from receiving their aid on time.

Although the underlying bill does not prohibit institutions from providing this counseling, this amendment makes explicit the institution's ability to provide that additional support.

Institutions know their students and the individual capacity of those students, and it is important to provide this flexibility so schools can provide more counseling as needed.

Again, I support the gentleman's amendment, I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I am supportive of this amendment because it simply allows institutions to encourage in-person counseling, but I would be remiss if I did not state that this provision is not necessary. The underlying bill already permits institutions to provide either in-person counseling or use the consumer-tested online tool that would be created by the Department of Education.

H.R. 1635, the underlying bill, was written intentionally in this way to provide flexibility to institutions. Some institutions will be able to provide high quality in-person counseling, but underresourced institutions may find it difficult to do so.

This is why the bill contains provisions to have the Department of Education create a standardized tool to ensure at least a base level of quality within and across institutions. Because the success of in- person counseling is informed not only by the content but also by the individual providing the counseling, this online tool will make sure that students receive the same caliber of counseling regardless of where the counseling is provided or who provides the counseling.

To confirm effectiveness, the tool will be tested by students, financial aid advisers, advocacy organizations, and other stakeholders.

Again, in-person counseling would be fine and best for some students when the institution can provide it, but having that flexibility is important as well.

Mr. Chair, I do urge support of this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. As someone with a consumer protection background, I thank her for her amendment.

It has already been stated during the debate that there is close to $1.5 trillion in outstanding student loan debt. It should be no surprise that there are companies and individuals poised to make money on the backs of student borrowers through fraudulent means.

In recent years, there has been an explosion of third-party debt relief scams targeting student loan borrowers. These businesses claim that, for a fee, they can cut through the red tape for borrowers and get their student loan house in order. They misrepresent services, make promises they can't keep, and charge for activities that cost nothing.

State and Federal consumer protection groups have already started cracking down on these groups. State attorneys general, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have either sounded the alarm or conducted enforcement actions targeting these fraudulent companies.

We should use this opportunity in this bill when conducting loan counseling to remind students that their loan servicer is paid through the Department of Education to provide assistance with these services free of charge. They should be wary of any third-party company attempting to facilitate repayment of their Federal student loans.

It is a commonsense addition to the bill, and I thank the gentlewoman for offering the amendment.

Again, I support this amendment, and I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1635.

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak today in support of H.R. 1635, the Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act, which I introduced earlier this Congress with my friend, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon.

As the school year begins, high school seniors across the country are trying to figure out their next steps. Many of these students will ultimately decide to attend a traditional 4-year university or community college program.

Parents and students know too well that the cost of college tuition has climbed dramatically over the last decade. I know that many families are worried about how to afford a college education. As college tuition has risen, student loan debt has surged to more than $1.4 trillion, surpassing both national auto loan debt and credit card debt.

This should be a concern to everyone, not only to those with loan debt to their names. Many borrowers are entering the workforce with overwhelming debt that will play a role not only in their own lives, but in the health of the American economy as a whole.

Student loans can, of course, play a positive role in helping students attend college when they borrow mindfully and responsibly. Unfortunately, many students enter into binding loan contracts with their respective universities without fully appreciating the gravity of the financial decision they are making and the consequences it can have on their futures.

A recent survey of current students and new graduates with a high level of debt found that more than 40 percent had no recollection of having received financial counseling, even though current law requires that students receive entrance counseling before receiving their first loan.

It is vitally important for students to be equipped with all the facts of their loan agreement so they can finance their postsecondary education responsibly and with eyes wide open. The Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act is designed to improve financial aid counseling for students receiving a Pell grant or a Federal loan. H.R. 1635 increases the timing, frequency, and content of mandatory student loan counseling.

Under current law, borrowers are required to receive counseling only when they arrive on campus and upon graduation, which makes it easy for borrowers to lose sight of just how much debt they are acquiring each year and the responsibility they bear to pay it back. H.R. 1635 requires financial counseling for students and parents who participate in Federal loan programs before they sign the dotted line on their loans. After that, students would participate in annual counseling so they can continue to understand their financial obligations and how new loans would affect their payments later on.

The importance of annually providing information was dramatically reinforced in a recent year when Indiana University reported they were able to reduce undergraduate Stafford loan disbursements by 11 percent--11 percent--or $31 million, by telling students annually what their monthly payment would be after graduation before the students took out loans for the next school year. This was more than a fivefold decrease in outlays compared to public schools nationally.

In addition to making the counseling an annual event, this bill would require the counseling to include recommendations to students to pursue all available grant, work study, and scholarship assistance prior to taking out loans, as well as provide them with information about the differences between Federal and private loans in bankruptcy. Exit counseling would include information about the borrower's remaining loan balance as well as what to anticipate throughout repayment of the loan.

The legislation would also require borrowers to affirmatively provide consent each year before receiving additional Federal loans instead of automatically receiving the full offered amount every year.

The bill also equips low-income students with enhanced information about the terms and conditions of the Pell Grant Program by providing annual financial counseling to all grant recipients. The counseling will include information about the expenses the grant

covers, the level of assistance the students are able to receive, and ways to seek additional assistance in the case of changing financial circumstances. Under current law, Pell grant recipients are not required to receive any counseling.

This bipartisan legislation will help America's students and families borrow responsibly and understand their aid package better so that new graduates have the very best chance of success upon graduation.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx), the chairwoman of the full committee.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Estes).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe), my good friend from the eastern part of the great State of Tennessee and the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Ferguson).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg), my good friend.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen), my good friend.

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

Mr. Chairman, this is important. It is a first step, but it is a big step and an important step as we look at what is going on in the cost of our higher education.

Mr. Chairman, I know that, in our beloved Commonwealth, our Governor and our legislators are trying to deal with the demands on the budget, and they are working hard on it. But in the meantime, the costs to go to school in our Commonwealth and across the country have increased. Students have to rely more on Federal subsidized loans and Pell grants.

We hear stories, like the one that Dr. Roe talked about, of people leaving professional school with a six-figure debt. But we hear about an awful lot of people who have $6,000, $7,000, and $10,000 worth of debt. They have to drop out, and they have no degree, and they have a hard time paying it back.

This bill lays out, through the course of their time in school, for each year, what their payments will be, and it walks them through what they really need. Do they need to take out the full loan?

Back when colleges weren't that expensive, I remember people saying: Take out the full loan; that is the cheapest money you will ever have. Well, it becomes the most expensive money you have ever had over time, as interest rates build up and other things move forward.

This bill is to make sure students are aware. It is something we agree on. We do it bipartisan. I expect a big bipartisan vote, and we do work together. There are issues that we have differences of opinion on, and there are issues that we have similar opinions on.

When I was home in my State in August, people would say: Can't you find things to work together on? And we do, as a matter of fact, on most of the things we do. It is just not what tends to get out into the news.

So I appreciate the hard work of my friend from Oregon, and I appreciate the hard work of our committee.

Mr. Chair, I urge the passage of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition to this amendment, but I do not intend to oppose it.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment will provide borrowers with critical information on aggregate loan limits, which is particularly important for transfer students, as my friend just explained. This disclosure will encourage borrowers to thoughtfully plan their college expenses and will help students make informed decisions when transferring schools.

I thank my colleague for offering this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support it and the underlying bill.

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

Mr. Chairman, this amendment will help students see an estimated monthly student loan payment broken down by all income-driven repayment plans for which the student is eligible.

I support this amendment because students need to see the full range of possibilities available to them so they can make informed choices about what they borrow and how they will repay the funds.

I thank my colleague for offering the amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support it and the underlying bill.

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

Madam Chair, I rise to claim the time in opposition to this amendment, but I do not intend to oppose it.

Madam Chair, this proposal will make sure students are warned about third-party debt relief companies that prey on borrowers.

They frequently provide inaccurate or misleading information and often charge excessive fees for services that can be received without cost through federally contracted student loan servicers. As my friend said, Federal student loan servicers employ dedicated professionals equipped to help borrowers navigate the loan repayment process and provide the assistance they need free of charge.

This amendment will ensure borrowers are armed with the information they need to better protect their finances and help make wise decisions as they begin to repay their Federal student loans.

I thank my friend from Washington for offering this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support it and the underlying bill.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to be here. We all support veterans.

Under this bill, every veteran receives the same enhanced counseling provided to all borrowers. Looking at the study and before we determine the right elements of a new study to ensure we are providing the best service, we should pause and, I suggest, work with our Veterans' Affairs Committee to make sure we address the totality of the issue.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the underlying bill's support. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the motion to recommit and support the final bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1049 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, during consideration of this resolution all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Torres), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1049, which provides a structured rule for consideration of H.R. 4606, the Ensuring Small Scale LNG Certainty and Access Act, and a structured rule for H.R. 1635, the Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act. These bipartisan bills provide commonsense changes that will strengthen our economy by removing unnecessary regulatory burdens and improving financial counseling for our students.

Student loan debt in our country hit a record high of $1.5 trillion in the first quarter of this year, Mr. Speaker. Furthermore, both the number and size of student loans are increasing, while the repayment rates are decreasing. Students are not receiving the proper counseling when they enroll in Federal aid programs. This has the potential to cost them immense amounts of money.

Right now, schools are only required to provide entry and exit financial counseling to students who receive Federal loans. Often, the counseling offered does not give students a realistic understanding of their anticipated finances and income during their studies and after graduation, or information about other Federal aid programs they could turn to before a private loan.

By enhancing the financial counseling offered and expanding it to students who receive Pell grants and to the parents of students who take out Federal loans to pay for their children's education, students will better be able to manage their finances and maximize their opportunities, saving themselves and the taxpayers money every single year.

Mr. Speaker, we provide over $120 billion of Federal student aid every year, without providing adequate education and support about how to use those funds. This must change. With this bill, we will begin to give our students the tools and resources necessary to ensure they put themselves in the best financial position for the future. H.R. 1635 does just that.

Additionally, the rule we are considering today makes in order several bipartisan amendments that are aimed at making this good bill even better.

The rule that we are debating this afternoon, Mr. Speaker, also provides for consideration of H.R. 4606, the Ensuring Small Scale LNG Certainty and Access Act. This rule makes in order two Democrat amendments to this bipartisan bill which also will help strengthen our economy and create more American jobs.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, the United States is now the world's leading producer of oil and natural gas. And my home State of Wyoming ranks sixth in production of crude oil, and eighth in natural gas production. However, despite the important and even monumental efforts by the Trump administration so far, uncertainty and burdensome regulations still stifle operations and further growth.

Currently, the Natural Gas Act does not specify an amount threshold for the Department of Energy's lengthy regulatory process for the exportation of liquefied natural gas. This means that producers wanting to export a small amount of gas are forced to go through the same process as major producers.

By providing greater regulatory certainty and a clear timetable for the

process of exporting small amounts of LNG, we will better enable exporters to move forward with capital-intensive projects that create American jobs.

We also are able, Mr. Speaker, through this bill, to preserve existing environmental laws and ensure that small-scale export facilities receive the proper review.

Wyoming's petroleum industry directly employs over 7,000 people, with an annual payroll of over $668 million, contributing over $900 million to our economy.

The small scale LNG export market is a growing sector of our economy with immense potential that can further expand the economic benefits the petroleum industry yields to my State and to the Nation. This bill will open up markets where large-scale exports are simply not economical and help jump-start growth in this important industry.

H.R. 4606 places small-scale exports on a level playing field with exports to free trade agreement nations. Many of our neighboring countries are forced to rely on unstable or unfriendly nations for their energy needs because the regulations we currently place on our small-scale LNG exporters makes exporting to these nations uneconomical.

Mr. Speaker, by reducing these regulations, U.S. LNG exports can play an important role in rebuilding parts of the Caribbean devastated by hurricanes in 2017, as well as provide a stable source of energy. It will also prevent our neighbors from having to turn, potentially, to our adversaries to meet their energy needs.

Mr. Speaker, we are in the midst of an energy boom that is revitalizing our economy. It is also putting us in a position where we can greatly assist our neighbor countries by providing them a stable source of energy and offering support in the event of a natural disaster.

The current unnecessary and overly burdensome regulations on small LNG exporters prevent us from taking full advantage of this unprecedented growth in our energy production and industry. H.R. 4606 allows us to address this issue and to provide an additional boost to our economy.

Mr. Speaker, the bills that will be considered under this rule are bipartisan bills that will help strengthen our economy and support our students. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this rule that will allow consideration of H.R. 4606 and H.R. 1635, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the Rules Committee, Mrs. Torres, for her comments today.

I think that Mrs. Torres and I both agree that Congress needs to ensure that we are playing our constitutional role, and that is why I find it particularly surprising that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to further empower the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is a completely unaccountable and, I would argue, unconstitutional agency.

In fact, statutorily, Mr. Speaker, with the regulation of student loans under the Higher Education Act, Congress has charged the Department of

Education with this obligation and responsibility, not the CFPB, and that is where we think it should belong. We don't think that the answer to congressional oversight and to increasing congressional oversight is to give further power to a completely unaccountable Federal agency.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Higgins).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Johnson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I again would like to thank my colleague from the Rules Committee for her work and her participation in this debate.

I hope that the minority leader of the United States Senate, Mr. Schumer, might have been listening to her arguments just now, and I would just recall for our colleagues that it was the Democrats in the Senate, led by Mr. Schumer, who shut the government down earlier this year, not the Republicans.

Mr. Speaker, it was the Democrats in the House and the Senate who walked away from the negotiations on the budget deal that we finally were able to strike, but not before they refused to show up for at least one meeting at the White House.

So it is the case that the Republicans are in control of this body. It is the case that we have a majority in the Senate. As my colleague knows, we don't have 60 votes in the Senate, and so Mr. Schumer and the Democrats in the Senate are able to gum up the works pretty extensively.

But as for us in the House, we have, Mr. Speaker, been successful in passing all 12 appropriations bills. We have been successful in passing the necessary appropriations bills without the help of the Democrats in order to make sure that we are providing the funds that we need to keep the government open and keep the government functioning.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to participate in a good-faith manner, particularly in the coming weeks as we deal with the Defense Appropriations bill once again on this floor, and just remind them how important it is that we make sure that our men and women in uniform receive the funds that they deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank both the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Johnson) and my colleague from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie) for their important and hard work on these bills. We must continue to roll back the regulatory burdens that make doing business in our country so difficult.

We also have to give our students the tools they need to maximize their opportunities for success and to understand the financial liabilities that they are undertaking when they receive these student loans. We don't want them to have a future that is diminished by the burden of unnecessary debt that they can't repay once they graduate.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the rule and passage of the underlying bills.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

As we return to the Capitol this week, there remains countless crises which demand our attention: children still separated from their families; children being murdered on school grounds, while this body stands idly by doing nothing, turning a blind eye to gun violence.

We have trade wars started by this President which are raising the cost of businesses in our communities and putting some companies out of business.

Finally, the government runs out of funding at the end of the month, the end of this month, Mr. Speaker. We find ourselves facing yet another Republican government shutdown.

But instead of funding the government and averting a shutdown, the majority has decided that these two bills are the best use of our time. That is right. The majority believes that the best use of what precious legislative time remains, 10 days, is to codify a DOE rulemaking that was just recently finalized.

Why don't we provide some meaningful oversight over this administration?

We have agency after agency attacking our Nation's workers, students, homeowners, and the health of our environment. We have a President who is starting trade wars and, reportedly, is itching to start real wars.

But instead, all the majority is interested in doing is bringing unnecessary bills on the margins, such as the ones that we are considering today.

The first bill, H.R. 4606, will codify into law a Department of Energy rulemaking that went into effect less than 3 weeks ago. H.R. 4606 is a solution in search of a problem. The current approval process is working.

However, by enshrining this rule into law, the majority is, in essence, saying that all small scale exports of LNG are always and will always be in the public's interest and will continue to be so. This is shortsighted and, if it turns out to be wrong, it will be much harder to correct this policy once it becomes law than if it were to remain a current DOE rule.

In addition, we are considering H.R. 1635, the Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act.

I wish to credit my Republican colleagues. This is a bipartisan bill. This is an example of what can be done when bills are given full hearings, a markup, and represent the consensus of the people's House.

Unfortunately, the benefits of this bill are mitigated by actions from this administration that make it harder for students. For example, this past February, Republicans on the Education and the Workforce Committee passed the PROSPER Act.

The so-called PROSPER Act is a highly partisan reauthorization of the Higher Education Act that cuts nearly $15 billion from Federal student aid, leaving students with more expensive loans that are more difficult to repay; more expensive loans for young Americans with the highest interest rates in nearly a decade.

And just last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's student loan ombudsman, whose job was to protect student borrowers from predatory lending practices, resigned, resigned from his position. In his resignation letter, Seth Frotman wrote that the Trump administration has ``turned its back on young people and their financial futures.''

Mr. Frotman also stated that under the leadership of Acting Director Mulvaney, ``. . . the Bureau has abandoned the very consumers it is tasked by Congress with protecting'' and that Director Mulvaney has ``. . . used the Bureau to serve the wishes of the most powerful financial companies in America,'' not surprising to me.

Mr. Frotman wrote that the Bureau has failed student loan borrowers.

While this bill may help, H.R. 1635, in no way, reverses the damage this administration has caused our students.

Congress is supposed to be a check on the administration, not a rubber stamp.

The rule we are considering makes in order two amendments to H.R. 4606 and seven amendments in order to H.R. 1635.

I am deeply disappointed that my two amendments were not made in order to H.R. 1635. My amendments would have helped students who have suffered from the closure of schools or school branches.

When schools close, it is the students who are the real losers. They are saddled with debt and left having to navigate a complicated process for loan relief.

The two amendments I offered would have streamlined the process for students to have their loans discharged, ensuring that bureaucracy didn't slow down providing these students the relief that they need, and fixed the Pell grant process to make sure that students wouldn't be limited in pursuing their educational goals at a new institution. These are bipartisan ideas, which have been reviewed by the current administration.

I am disappointed that the House wouldn't even allow an open process; however, I am certainly not surprised. After all, this is the most closed Congress in our Nation's history. I hope that we can aim to do better and give our constituents a real debate in this House.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, as the cost to attend college has continued to rise, so has the amount of debt students and their parents have had to take on. According to the Federal Reserve, the outstanding loan debt stands at approximately $1.5 trillion and climbing. This debt load has hampered the ability of young graduates to buy their first home, a car, or start a small business.

Congress needs to do more to help students and their parents deal with the student loan crisis. This is why I rise today to offer my colleagues on the other side of the aisle the opportunity to pass a comprehensive bill to ensure that every student has a path to a debt- free degree or credential that leads to a rewarding career.

Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 6543, the Aim Higher Act. This thoughtful proposal invests in our students, making higher education more affordable while also addressing the rising costs of college.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney) to discuss our proposal.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

The House is currently scheduled to be in session for just 10 days before funding for the government runs out--10 days. And while the House has passed partisan appropriation bills, none of them have been signed into law. If Congress fails to act, it will be the third time the government has shut down in 2018 alone--the third time.

Let me remind my friends on the other side of the aisle that the Republican Party is in charge of the House. The Republican Party is in charge of the Senate and the White House. President Trump is again playing games, and without leadership from this House and our colleagues in the Senate, his desire for a government shutdown will cause real people pain and hurt our growing economy.

Three thousand Federal workers in my district have heard President Trump tell them that they are the reason that we are in debt. Three thousand workers in my district and 2 million nationally are wondering if they will be furloughed, while corporations and millionaires get massive tax cuts.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose the previous question and the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Torres for her leadership and Ms. Cheney for her hard work on the Rules Committee.

Mr. Speaker, in 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Higher Education Act, he said that it meant ``that a high school senior anywhere in this great land of ours can apply to any college or any university in any of the 50 States and not be turned away because their family is poor.''

Unfortunately, 53 years later, the promise of an affordable education is out of reach for millions of students. In May of this year, America's outstanding student loan debt surpassed $1.5 trillion.

With the cost of college education and the debt needed to afford it growing each year, Americans are demanding action to lower the crushing costs of higher education; and thus it is imperative that we pass a comprehensive update to the Higher Education Act which deals with the full menu of Federal policy that will keep higher education affordable.

Unfortunately, the majority has failed to bring HEA to the floor in that long overdue rewrite, and today we are only left with the Financial Counseling bill that we are going to vote on, which is just a sliver of what we need to do to build America's future workforce.

In 2008, the last HEA was negotiated under then-Chairman George Miller and passed the House and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. Fast-forward to last December, the majority introduced the misnamed PROSPER Act, a misguided attempt to update HEA that guts $15 billion from Federal student aid and diverts taxpayer money to low- quality, predatory programs.

Unlike 2008, this bill squeaked out of the Education and Workforce Committee on a party-line vote. Fortunately, that bill has not seen the light of day ever since.

In the absence of any movement on a long overdue update of HEA, I am pleased to report that committee Democrats stepped into this vacuum and introduced the Aim Higher Act, a comprehensive approach to higher education. Under the Aim Higher Act, every student will have the opportunity to earn a quality, debt-free degree or credential that leads to a rewarding career.

This bill makes a number of changes to higher education to make degrees more affordable and easier to pay off. It provides 2 years of tuition-free community college to every high school graduate through Federal-State partnerships, incentivizes States to reinvest in their 4- year public colleges and universities, and makes Federal financial aid more generous to keep pace with increased tuition costs.

Additionally, knowing that 4-year college isn't for everyone and that our workforce needs are changing, our bill allows students to use their Pell grants for quality, short-term certificate programs that provide an accelerated path to the workforce.

As I mentioned before, our student loan debt is at the highest level it has ever been, $1.5 trillion. That is the highest amount of consumer debt outside of mortgages. This debt burden is a drag not on just the student graduate or a family, it is a drag on our entire economy that impacts when or if a buyer can buy a home, start a family, get a small business off the ground, or change careers.

Today, many interest rates for student loans are often far higher than other consumer borrowing, yet, like other forms of debt, student loans cannot be refinanced as interest rates drop, saddling 25 million borrowers with thousands of dollars in extra debt. Our bill fixes that and will allow students to refinance their loans to more affordable rates.

Looking at the nationwide shortage of teachers and primary care doctors, our bill preserves the effective Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which the PROSPER Act abolished, to encourage talented individuals to pursue careers in high-need fields.

It also expands the program to address challenges in our farming communities, where the average farmer age is now 58 years old and new farmers entering the field have drooped by 20 percent.

The Aim Higher Act isn't just focused on cutting the cost of higher education; it is also focused on improving the quality of higher education. It cracks down on predatory institutions that waste student and taxpayer money by peddling expensive, low-quality programs.

Our veterans who have earned their GI Bill benefits through service and sacrifice are frequent targets and victims of fraudulent schools, as Mrs. Holly Petraeus, the wife of General David Petraeus, crisscrossed America a couple years ago as a representative of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau to warn veterans of these rip-offs.

And finally, the Aim Higher Act gives students the tools they need to

graduate on time. We invest in campus childcare for student parents, subsidized housing for homeless and foster youth, faculty training for students with disabilities, and community centers to help student veterans transition to civilian life.

Policy is defined by priorities. Instead of spending limited resources on a tax cut for those who don't need it, we believe that we should invest in our children and in the future of our economy. That is what the Aim Higher Act does.

Mr. Speaker, I hope you will join us in pushing for a higher education system that puts the promise of quality, debt-free degrees and a rewarding career within the reach of all Americans.