Floor Statements

Mr. President, today I introduce with my colleague, Senator Grassley, the Prescribe-a-Book Act. I thank Senators Stabenow, Cowan, and Blumenthal for joining us as original cosponsors of this bipartisan bill.

Literacy skills are the foundation for success in school and in life. Developing and building these skills begins at home, with parents as the first teachers.

Our legislation would create a federal pediatric early literacy grant initiative based on the long-standing, successful Reach Out and Read program. The program would award grants on a competitive basis to high- quality non-profit entities to train doctors and nurses to discuss with parents the importance of reading aloud to their children and to give books to children at pediatric check-ups from six months to five years of age, with a priority for children from low-income families. It builds on the relationship between parents and medical providers and helps families and communities encourage early literacy skills so children enter school prepared for success in reading.

The pediatric literacy model implemented by Reach Out and Read has consistently demonstrated effectiveness in increasing family engagement and boosting children's reading proficiency. Research published in peer-reviewed, scientific journals has found that parents who have participated in the program are significantly more likely to read to their children and include more children's books in their home, and that children served by the program show an increase of 4-8 points on vocabulary tests. I have seen up-close the positive impact of this program on children and their families when visiting a number of Rhode Island's Reach Out and Read sites.

The Prescribe a Book Act would leverage federal dollars to expand pediatric literacy initiatives so that more young children reap the developmental benefits of having books at home and being read to by their parents. Federal grant funding for Reach Out and Read through the Department of Education helped build a successful public-private partnership that has been matched by tens of millions of dollars from the private sector and state governments. The Prescribe a Book Act would establish a formal authorization for activities modeled on this type of successful partnership.

I urge our colleagues to join us in cosponsoring the Prescribe a Book Act, and to work to include its provisions in the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Mr. President, today I introduce with my colleagues Senators Cochran, Murray, and Whitehouse, the Strengthening Kids' Interest in Learning and Libraries Act.

Since 1965, more than 60 education and library studies have produced clear evidence that school libraries staffed by qualified librarians have a positive impact on student academic achievement. Knowing how to find and use information are essential skills for college and careers. A good school library, staffed by a trained school librarian, is where students develop and hone these skills.

Our bipartisan legislation would reauthorize and strengthen the Improving Literacy through School Libraries program of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the only federal

initiative explicitly dedicated to supporting and enhancing our nation's school libraries. The key improvements to the program include ensuring that elementary, middle, and high school students are served; expanding professional development to include digital literacy instruction and reading and writing instruction across all grade levels; focusing on coordination and shared planning time between teachers and librarians; awarding grants for a period of three years; and ensuring that books and materials are appropriate for and gain the interest of students with special learning needs, including English learners.

The SKILLS Act would also strengthen Title I by asking state and school district plans to address the development of effective school library programs to help students gain digital literacy skills, master the knowledge and skills in the challenging academic content standards adopted by the state, and graduate from high school ready for college and careers. Additionally, the legislation would broaden the focus of training, professional development, and recruitment activities under Title II to include school librarians.

Absent a clear federal investment, the libraries in many of our high poverty schools will languish with outdated materials and technology, and in turn, students would be cut off from a vital information hub that connects them to the tools they need to develop critical thinking and research skills necessary for success. This is a true equity issue, which is why I will continue to fight to sustain our federal investment in this area and why renewing and strengthening the school library program is of critical importance.

I urge our colleagues to join us in cosponsoring the bipartisan Strengthening Kids' Interest in Learning and Libraries Act, and to work together to ensure that it becomes a part of the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Mr. President, let me first commend Senator Warren for her very thoughtful discussion on this increasingly important topic of student debt and her efforts to assist us in extending the current interest rate of 3.4 percent while we work on a much longer and much more thoughtful approach to reform. She will be at the heart of those efforts.

July 1 is a little more than 3 weeks away. Unless Congress acts, the interest rate on subsidized student loans will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, making college more expensive for more than 7 million students across the Nation, including more than 42,000 students in my home State of Rhode Island.

This will hit low- and moderate-income families the hardest. Indeed, 60 percent of dependent subsidized loan borrowers come from families with incomes of less than $60,000, while 80 percent of independent subsidized loan borrowers come from families with incomes below $40,000.

There is no reason to allow this rate to double, and there is no reason to rush to a long-term solution that would actually make the problem worse.

There are several long-term proposals on the table, with substantial differences. The House passed a bill that, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, would leave students worse off than letting the rate double. The President has, in fact, said he would veto this legislation, but if the House bill went into effect it would be worse than doing nothing, which I think is a strong argument to do something other than the House bill.

My Republican colleagues in this body have proposed a long-term solution that would expose students to unchecked interest rates in the future, there would be no cap, and their proposal would have students pay $15.6 billion more in interest payments for deficit reduction. I don't believe student loan borrowers should pay higher interest to reduce the deficit, nor do I think the Federal Government should be generating Federal revenue from student loan programs. We should not be profiting on the backs of these students, particularly as student debt explodes.

I have proposed setting interest rates based on the actual cost of providing the loans with a cap to protect students during periods of high interest rates.

Any long-term solution for student loans should leave students better off in the long run. The Republican proposals do not pass this test.

According to a recent analysis by the Institute for College Access and Success, the Senate Republican proposal would cost students entering college this fall and graduating in 2017 $2,200 more in interest payments. For a freshman starting in the fall of 2018 and graduating 4 years later, the increased interest payment would balloon to $6,700.

Make no mistake, the ``savings'' generated from the Senate Republican proposal means students pay more.

As I have come to the floor to discuss many times, with student loan debt eclipsing credit card debt and auto loan debt, we should take the time to thoughtfully and comprehensively address student debt and college costs.

How we set student loan interest rates is only one part of the solution. We need to address rising college costs as well. If we do not, even with grants and loans, families will be priced out of a college education and out of the middle class.

We need to ask more from States and from colleges and universities. I will be introducing legislation to revitalize the Federal-State partnership for higher education and to make sure colleges and universities have more skin in the game when it comes to student loans. These are big, complex issues, and we should work together to develop bipartisan solutions. But that work--that careful work, that thoughtful work, that thorough work--will take time--more than the 25 days we have between now and July 1.

Right now we can and we must take action to reassure students and families who rely on need-based loans to pay for college that the rate will not double on July 1.

I have worked with Chairman Harkin, Senator Warren, Leader Reid, and many of my colleagues to develop a fully offset 2-year extension of the current student loan interest rate. Instead of charging low- and moderate-income students more for their loans, the Student Loan Affordability Act will keep rates steady while closing loopholes in the Federal Tax Code.

Specifically, the bill would limit the use of tax-deferred retirement accounts as a complicated estate planning tool, close a corporate offshore tax loophole by restricting what is called earnings stripping by expatriated entities, and close an oil and gas industry tax loophole by treating oil from tar sands the same as other petroleum products. These are sensible measures in and of themselves, but when they will allow us to stabilize the student interest rate, they take on even more relevance and I think more importance. We should not be collecting additional revenue from students when we cannot or will not eliminate wasteful spending in the Tax Code, and we should not allow interest rates to double on July 1.

I hope all of my colleagues will support this commonsense 2-year extension that is fair to students and taxpayers, and I urge my colleagues to vote yes on the motion to proceed to S. 953, the Student Loan Affordability Act.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, On July 1, the interest rates will double for the most vulnerable students in our society. Access to college, which is fundamental to our growth, our prosperity, and individual advancement will be compromised for 7 million low-and moderate income students in this country.

Republicans have a long-term proposal, but they do not have a long- term solution because it is not just about interest rates, it is about college costs. It is about refinancing the huge amount of debt that families have today--not just families but students--debt they may never be able to pay off. First, we need the time to work on a long- term solution; but, second, we need to reassure vulnerable individuals and families that their rates will not double. Student debt today is the second largest debt for American households. We cannot let it go any further. Their proposal not only will not solve the problem because it doesn't deal with all aspects, but it will increase student debt for borrowers with financial need on July 1.

Instead, I urge passage of our proposal, the Student Loan Affordability Act.

Cloture Motion

Mr. President, today I pay tribute to Ms. Anne G. Murphy.

Ms. Murphy, a Rhode Islander by birth and a strong advocate for the arts, passed away in April at the age of 74.

Throughout her distinguished lifetime and career, Ms. Murphy worked to defend Federal investments in the arts. After graduating from Rhode Island College in 1959, she volunteered on the presidential campaign of Senator John F. Kennedy and taught elementary school in Rhode Island before relocating to Washington, DC to work on the staffs of two Representatives from Rhode Island, Congressmen John Fogarty and Robert Tiernan. While in Congressman Fogarty's office, she helped contribute to legislation that led to the creation of the National Endowment for the Arts, NEA.

After leaving Capitol Hill, Ms. Murphy continued serving in the arts arena. She worked at both the NEA and the Public Broadcasting Service, and then joined the American Arts Alliance, where she served as executive director in the 1980s and early 1990s. As the leader of this major arts advocacy group, now known as the Performing Arts Alliance, Ms. Murphy defended arts programs from budget cuts and other attacks.

Ms. Murphy also served on the board of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and was a co-chair of the annual Washington Project for the Arts Gala. During the 2000s, she served as the director and co-chair of the nonprofit digital technologies research organization, Digital Promise.

I know how proud Congressman Tiernan remains of the important work that Anne did while working in his office and in her endeavors that followed in the arts community, and I want to share and echo his sentiments. We remember and thank Anne for her tireless efforts to support and protect federal investment in the arts. We are all beneficiaries of her advocacy.

Mr. President, we rely on our public schools to prepare the next generation for success as citizens, workers, and innovators. We have asked educators to raise the bar and educate all students to internationally competitive college and career-ready standards. To achieve these goals, we need to focus on the professionals who have the greatest impact on student learning at school--teachers and principals.

Today, I am pleased to be reintroducing the Educator Preparation Reform Act with Representative Honda to improve how we prepare teachers, principals, and other educators so that they can be effective right from the start. We have also reintroduced the Effective Teaching and Leading Act to support teachers, librarians, and principals currently on the job through a comprehensive system of induction, professional development, and evaluation.

The Educator Preparation Reform Act builds on the success of the Teacher Quality Partnership Program, which I helped author in the 1998 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The legislation we are reintroducing today places specific attention and emphasis on principals with the addition of a residency program for new principals.

Improving instruction is a team effort, with principals at the helm. This bill better connects teacher preparation with principal preparation. The Educator Preparation Reform Act will also allow partnerships to develop preparation programs for other areas of instructional need, such as for school librarians, counselors, or other academic support professionals.

The bill also revamps the accountability and reporting requirements for teacher preparation programs to provide greater transparency on key quality measures such as admissions standards, requirements for clinical practice, placement of graduates, retention in the field of teaching, and teacher performance, including student learning outcomes. All programs--whether traditional or alternative routes to certification--will be asked to report on the same measures.

Under our legislation, states will be required to identify at-risk and low-performing programs and provide them with technical assistance and a timeline for improvement. States would be encouraged to close programs that do not improve.

The Educator Preparation Reform Act refocuses the state set-aside for higher education in Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act on technical assistance for struggling teacher preparation programs and the development of systems for assessing the quality and effectiveness of professional development programs. At the same time, it allows for activities to support the development and implementation of performance assessments to measure new teachers' readiness for the classroom and enhance professional development in the core academic areas.

We have been fortunate to work with many stakeholders on this legislation. Organizations that have endorsed the Educator Preparation Reform Act include: The Alliance for Excellent Education, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, American Council on Education, American Psychological Association, Association of American Universities, Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, First Focus Campaign for Children, Higher Education Consortium for Special Education, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of State Directors of Special Education, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Science Teachers Association, National School Boards Association Opportunity to Learn Action Fund, Public Education Network, Rural School and Community Trust, Silicon Valley Education Foundation, Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, The Higher Education Task Force, National Association of Elementary School Principals, and National Association of Secondary School Principals.

I look forward to working to incorporate this legislation into the upcoming reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act. I urge my colleagues to join in this effort and support this legislation.

Mr. President, today I am reintroducing the Effective Teaching and Leading Act to foster the development of highly skilled and effective educators.

In the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, ESEA, building the capacity of our Nation's schools to enhance the effectiveness of teachers, principals, school librarians, and other school leaders must be among our top priorities.

Decades of research have demonstrated that improving educator and principal quality as well as greater family involvement are the keys to raising student achievement and turning around struggling schools. To strengthen teaching and school leadership, the Effective Teaching and Leading Act would amend Title II of ESEA to provide targeted assistance to

schools to develop and support effective teachers, principals, school librarians, and school leaders through implementation of comprehensive induction, professional development, and evaluation systems.

Every year across the country thousands of teachers leave the profession--many within their first years of teaching. An estimate by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future of the nationwide cost of replacing public school teachers who have dropped out of the profession is $7.3 billion annually.

There are proven and well-documented strategies to support teachers that will keep them in our schools. Evidence has shown that providing teachers with comprehensive mentoring and support during their first two years of teaching reduces attrition by as much as half and increases student learning gains. The Effective Teaching and Leading Act would help schools implement the key elements of effective multi- year mentoring and induction for beginning teachers.

The bill also significantly revises the definition of ``professional development'' in current law to foster an ongoing culture of teacher, principal, school librarian, and staff collaboration throughout schools. All too often the available professional development still consists of isolated, check-the-box activities instead of helping educators engage in sustained professional learning that is regularly evaluated for its impact on classroom practice and student achievement. Effective professional development is collaborative, job-embedded, and informed by data.

It is also clear that evaluation systems have an important role to play in educator development. Through Race to the Top, ESEA waivers, and other initiatives many states and school systems are focusing on reforming their evaluation systems. When evaluation is done right, it provides educators with individualized ongoing feedback on their strengths and weaknesses and offers a path to improvement. The Effective Teaching and Leading Act would require school districts to establish rigorous, fair, and transparent evaluation systems that use multiple measures, including growth in student achievement.

Principals and school leaders also play a leading role in school improvement efforts and managing a collaborative culture of ongoing professional learning and development. Research has shown that leadership is second only to classroom instruction among school-related factors that influence student outcomes. As such, this bill would provide ongoing high-quality professional development to principals and school leaders, including multi-year induction and mentoring for new administrators.

Recognizing the importance of creating career advancement and leadership opportunities for teachers, the Effective Teaching and Leading Act supports opportunities for teachers to serve as mentors, instructional coaches, or master teachers, or take on increased responsibility for professional development, curriculum, or school improvement activities. It also calls for significant and sustainable stipends for educators that take on these new roles and responsibilities.

The bill also requires school districts to conduct surveys of the working and learning conditions educators face so this data could be used to better target investments and professional development support.

Improving teaching and school leadership is not simply a matter of sorting the good teachers and principals from the bad. What is needed is a comprehensive and integrated approach that supports new teachers and leaders as they enter the profession; provides on-going professional development that helps them improve and their students achieve; and that fairly assesses performance and provides feedback for improvement. This is the approach taken by the Effective Teaching and Leading Act.

I worked with a range of education organizations in developing this bill, including the Alliance for Excellent Education, American Federation of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers; American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; National Association of Elementary School Principals; National Association of Secondary School Principals; National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; Learning Forward; the National Commission for Teaching and America's Future, and the New Teacher Center. I thank them for their input and support for the bill.

I thank Congressman Mike Honda of California for introducing the companion bill in the House. I encourage my colleagues to cosponsor the Effective Teaching and Leading Act and work for its inclusion in the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Mr. President, we rely on our public schools to prepare the next generation for success as citizens, workers, and innovators. We have asked educators to raise the bar and educate all students to internationally competitive college and career-ready standards. To achieve these goals, we need to focus on the professionals who have the greatest impact on student learning at school--teachers and principals.

Today, I am pleased to be reintroducing the Educator Preparation Reform Act with Representative Honda to improve how we prepare teachers, principals, and other educators so that they can be effective right from the start. We have also reintroduced the Effective Teaching and Leading Act to support teachers, librarians, and principals currently on the job through a comprehensive system of induction, professional development, and evaluation.

The Educator Preparation Reform Act builds on the success of the Teacher Quality Partnership Program, which I helped author in the 1998 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The legislation we are reintroducing today places specific attention and emphasis on principals with the addition of a residency program for new principals.

Improving instruction is a team effort, with principals at the helm. This bill better connects teacher preparation with principal preparation. The Educator Preparation Reform Act will also allow partnerships to develop preparation programs for other areas of instructional need, such as for school librarians, counselors, or other academic support professionals.

The bill also revamps the accountability and reporting requirements for teacher preparation programs to provide greater transparency on key quality measures such as admissions standards, requirements for clinical practice, placement of graduates, retention in the field of teaching, and teacher performance, including student learning outcomes. All programs--whether traditional or alternative routes to certification--will be asked to report on the same measures.

Under our legislation, states will be required to identify at-risk and low-performing programs and provide them with technical assistance and a timeline for improvement. States would be encouraged to close programs that do not improve.

The Educator Preparation Reform Act refocuses the state set-aside for higher education in Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act on technical assistance for struggling teacher preparation programs and the development of systems for assessing the quality and effectiveness of professional development programs. At the same time, it allows for activities to support the development and implementation of performance assessments to measure new teachers' readiness for the classroom and enhance professional development in the core academic areas.

We have been fortunate to work with many stakeholders on this legislation. Organizations that have endorsed the Educator Preparation Reform Act include: The Alliance for Excellent Education, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, American Council on Education, American Psychological Association, Association of American Universities, Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, First Focus Campaign for Children, Higher Education Consortium for Special Education, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of State Directors of Special Education, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Science Teachers Association, National School Boards Association Opportunity to Learn Action Fund, Public Education Network, Rural School and Community Trust, Silicon Valley Education Foundation, Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, The Higher Education Task Force, National Association of Elementary School Principals, and National Association of Secondary School Principals.

I look forward to working to incorporate this legislation into the upcoming reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act. I urge my colleagues to join in this effort and support this legislation.

Mr. President, today I am reintroducing the Effective Teaching and Leading Act to foster the development of highly skilled and effective educators.

In the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, ESEA, building the capacity of our Nation's schools to enhance the effectiveness of teachers, principals, school librarians, and other school leaders must be among our top priorities.

Decades of research have demonstrated that improving educator and principal quality as well as greater family involvement are the keys to raising student achievement and turning around struggling schools. To strengthen teaching and school leadership, the Effective Teaching and Leading Act would amend Title II of ESEA to provide targeted assistance to

schools to develop and support effective teachers, principals, school librarians, and school leaders through implementation of comprehensive induction, professional development, and evaluation systems.

Every year across the country thousands of teachers leave the profession--many within their first years of teaching. An estimate by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future of the nationwide cost of replacing public school teachers who have dropped out of the profession is $7.3 billion annually.

There are proven and well-documented strategies to support teachers that will keep them in our schools. Evidence has shown that providing teachers with comprehensive mentoring and support during their first two years of teaching reduces attrition by as much as half and increases student learning gains. The Effective Teaching and Leading Act would help schools implement the key elements of effective multi- year mentoring and induction for beginning teachers.

The bill also significantly revises the definition of ``professional development'' in current law to foster an ongoing culture of teacher, principal, school librarian, and staff collaboration throughout schools. All too often the available professional development still consists of isolated, check-the-box activities instead of helping educators engage in sustained professional learning that is regularly evaluated for its impact on classroom practice and student achievement. Effective professional development is collaborative, job-embedded, and informed by data.

It is also clear that evaluation systems have an important role to play in educator development. Through Race to the Top, ESEA waivers, and other initiatives many states and school systems are focusing on reforming their evaluation systems. When evaluation is done right, it provides educators with individualized ongoing feedback on their strengths and weaknesses and offers a path to improvement. The Effective Teaching and Leading Act would require school districts to establish rigorous, fair, and transparent evaluation systems that use multiple measures, including growth in student achievement.

Principals and school leaders also play a leading role in school improvement efforts and managing a collaborative culture of ongoing professional learning and development. Research has shown that leadership is second only to classroom instruction among school-related factors that influence student outcomes. As such, this bill would provide ongoing high-quality professional development to principals and school leaders, including multi-year induction and mentoring for new administrators.

Recognizing the importance of creating career advancement and leadership opportunities for teachers, the Effective Teaching and Leading Act supports opportunities for teachers to serve as mentors, instructional coaches, or master teachers, or take on increased responsibility for professional development, curriculum, or school improvement activities. It also calls for significant and sustainable stipends for educators that take on these new roles and responsibilities.

The bill also requires school districts to conduct surveys of the working and learning conditions educators face so this data could be used to better target investments and professional development support.

Improving teaching and school leadership is not simply a matter of sorting the good teachers and principals from the bad. What is needed is a comprehensive and integrated approach that supports new teachers and leaders as they enter the profession; provides on-going professional development that helps them improve and their students achieve; and that fairly assesses performance and provides feedback for improvement. This is the approach taken by the Effective Teaching and Leading Act.

I worked with a range of education organizations in developing this bill, including the Alliance for Excellent Education, American Federation of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers; American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; National Association of Elementary School Principals; National Association of Secondary School Principals; National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; Learning Forward; the National Commission for Teaching and America's Future, and the New Teacher Center. I thank them for their input and support for the bill.

I thank Congressman Mike Honda of California for introducing the companion bill in the House. I encourage my colleagues to cosponsor the Effective Teaching and Leading Act and work for its inclusion in the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

I ask unanimous consent to be recognized in morning business after Senator Graham has completed his remarks.

Mr. President, before I begin my remarks, I ask unanimous consent that at the conclusion of my remarks, Senator Chambliss be recognized for up to 10 minutes to speak as in morning business.

Mr. President, July 1 is less than 7 weeks away, and unless we act the interest rate on need-based student loans will rise from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent.

Student loan debt is second only to mortgage debt for American families. Now is not the time to add to student loan debt by allowing the interest rate on need-based student loans to double.

I have worked with Chairman Harkin, Leader Reid, and many of my colleagues to develop a fully offset, 2-year extension of the current student loan interest rate. Instead of charging low- and moderate- income students more for their student loans, the Student Loan Affordability Act will keep rates where they are while closing loopholes in the Federal Tax Code. We should take up this legislation and pass it without delay.

I know many of my colleagues, including myself, are working on longer term solutions that more effectively reflect market rates--but my concern is, frankly, that we will run up against this July 1 deadline and we will not have the long-term solution in place. We have to do something. That is why I urge us to pick up this legislation as quickly as possible.

Our first priority must be to reassure students and families that the interest rate will not double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1. We have to do that. Then we can work toward a longer term solution. We also owe it to them to commit to a full and thoughtful process for devising this longer term solution, to develop an approach that will set interest rates and terms and conditions on all student loans that will be more reflective of market rates, but also more beneficial to students and their families who are borrowing this money.

Senator Durbin and I have put forward a long-term proposal that would set student loan interest rates based on the actual cost of operating the program so the Federal Government would not be offering student loans at a profit.

There are other long-term proposals on the table. Some of them, such as the one reported out of the Education and the Workforce Committee in the House today, could actually leave students worse off than they would be if the rates were to double. We need to take the time to fully consider comprehensive solutions to our student loan debt crisis-- solutions that will make college more affordable, not less so. Rather than rushing to overhaul the Federal student loan program without fully considering the impact on students and college affordability, the Student Loan Affordability Act will secure low interest rates until Congress can act on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Without swift congressional action, more than 7 million students will have to pay an estimated additional $1,000 for each loan. These are the students who need the help the most.

Sixty percent of dependent subsidized loan borrowers come from families with incomes of less than $60,000, while 80 percent of independent subsidized loan borrowers come from families with incomes below $40,000.

Unlike Republican proposals that would balance the budget on the backs of students by charging them higher interest rates or make students vulnerable to exorbitant interest rates in the future, this legislation which we are

proposing will help ensure that college remains within reach for students who rely on Federal loans to pay for their education. This legislation is fully paid for.

Specifically, the pay-fors would be limiting the use of tax-deferred retirement accounts as a complicated estate planning tool, closing a corporate offshore tax loophole by restricting ``earnings stripping'' by expatriated entities, and closing an oil-and-gas industry tax loophole by treating oil from tar sands the same as other petroleum products.

We should not be collecting additional revenue from students when we can eliminate wasteful spending in the Tax Code, and we should not allow--not allow--the interest rate to double on July 1.

I hope all my colleagues will support, as the first step, the 2-year extension until we can truly come up with a thoughtful, comprehensive approach to long-term student lending in the United States.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 16, 2013, at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 16, 2013, at 10 a.m., in room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 16, 2013, at 12 p.m., in room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 16, 2013, at 9:30 a.m., in SD-G50 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to continue its executive business meeting.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 16, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. in room 428A Russel Senate Office building to conduct a roundtable entitled ``The Impact of Mandatory E-Verify on America's Small Businesses.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 16, 2013, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Science and Space of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 16, 2013, at 10 a.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

First, Mr. President, let me rise to commend Senator Murray for her extraordinary leadership on the Budget Committee and in so many other ways in the Senate. She did a remarkable job in bringing together a

budget that responds to the urgent need we see in the United States today to create jobs, to strengthen the economic recovery and, in fact, to provide more momentum to this recovery, much more.

In my State of Rhode Island, despite certain gains, we are still at roughly 9 percent unemployment. This is unacceptable. We have to do more.

The first step on that path is to move this budget to conference. That is what Senator Murray has spoken about, and that is what is so critical. Fifty-three days ago, under her leadership, the Senate passed a budget. The budget invested $100 billion in a targeted jobs and infrastructure package that would start creating new jobs quickly. And that is what my constituents need. Indeed, when I go back to Rhode Island that is what people are asking about: Where are the jobs?

The budget would begin, in this jobs and infrastructure package, to repair public roads, bridges, and help prepare workers for the 21st century. All of these things are essential to our present economic need for job creation, our future productivity, and our future ability to compete in an increasingly competitive global economy. Our budget path, as laid out by Senator Murray, would end the economically damaging sequester and make the tough and balanced choices we need for sound fiscal policies.

Now the House Republicans also passed a budget. The next step in regular order is to go to conference. Admittedly, the House Republican budget stands in stark contrast to our budget, and it is clear we have a lot of work to do to reach an agreement. For example, the House Republican budget calls for a total of $4.6 trillion in cuts, it voucherizes Medicare, it would leave the sequester in place, and it calls for tax cuts that benefit the wealthiest Americans.

I believe these and other choices in the House Republican budget would be a very bad deal for the people of Rhode Island. These are the kinds of differences that must be and can only be resolved effectively in conference. Again, the first step to do that is to appoint our conferees, to go to conference, and to begin the difficult discussions and negotiations to provide the American public the answers they are looking for.

So it is past time we move to conference with the House. And I hope there is a real chance that Senate and House Democrats can negotiate a bipartisan agreement with our Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives, and with our Republican colleagues in the Senate that will move the country forward.

Unfortunately, despite the insistence over months and months and months by Republicans in the House and in the Senate that we go to regular order, that we pass a budget--that was the biggest problem they were talking about for many months, last year and the year before. Now here we are looking for regular order, and they are looking the other way and block us from moving forward and conferencing the Senate and House budgets. That can't go on. We have to get to conference. We have to take the next step.

We can't delay. We have 11.7 million Americans out of work and looking for jobs. We have to address the sequester.

As Senator Murray just said, yesterday the Secretary of Defense announced hundreds of thousands of civilian personnel will be furloughed, civilian personnel that support from our military forces. That will not only disrupt their lives, which is the first great toll, but it will also disrupt the efficiency and the ability of the Department of Defense to fully and capably carry out its mission. These are critical issues.

We have to make sure, again, that the full faith and credit of the United States is not jeopardized by another manufactured crisis over the debt ceiling, which is once again on the horizon.

We have to deal very soon with all of these issues. The logical and appropriate step is to go to conference. We have a lot of work to do.

Let me also say I am encouraged that I have heard that Leader Reid is prepared to call up for a vote the nomination of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This is critical because a well-regulated marketplace is not only good for consumers, it is good for companies. That is something that could add to this economic recovery, this certainty, this knowledge that consumers will have the information they need.

Also, I presume and hope that very soon we will have a vote with respect to the pending doubling of the student loan interest rate. Last year we avoided this by pushing it forward a year. We have another deadline facing us July 1. We have to make sure students don't face another crippling increase in interest rates they pay on student loans.

Student loans are a huge burden on the generations that are coming up. In fact, it could delay our economic progress by a decade or more as students can't buy homes and form households because they are saddled with the debt. So we have to work on that too. We just can't lurch from crisis to crisis.

The first thing to do, the immediate thing we should do, is to invoke regular order. Let's go ahead, let's go to conference. Let's start dealing with the issues that affect the people of America. Let's start serving their primary concerns--creating jobs and a stable economy--and doing that through regular order and the procedures that we have adopted and used for decades.

I yield the floor.

Unanimous Consent Agreement--S. 954

Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act with Senator Durbin to offer a long-term approach to setting student loan interest rates.

Congress must take swift action to prevent the doubling of the interest rate on need-based loans on July 1, 54 days away. We also need a new mechanism for setting interest rates on all federal student loans for the long term so that students and taxpayers are protected, and we need to take the time to get it right.

In April, I introduced the Student Loan Affordability Act to keep the rate on subsidized loans at 3.4 percent for the next 2 years. This would give Congress time to debate a long-term solution as part of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

Today, I am introducing legislation with Senator Durbin and Congressman Tierney and Congressman Courtney to overhaul the mechanism for setting the interest rates on federal student loans. Instead of setting a numerical rate in law, which quickly becomes out of sync with the economic and interest rate environment, or locking borrowers into a fixed rate with no opportunity to refinance when rates drop, our proposal will offer adjustable rate loans for students and parents with the protection of a cap on the maximum interest rate that could be charged during periods of high interest rates.

In today's low interest rate environment, the fixed rates for student loans are too high, resulting in student loans generating a profit for the Federal Government. If we would have maintained the variable rate for student loans that was in law before 2006, the interest rate for students in repayment on their loans would be 2.39 percent this year. At today's fixed rates, they will pay 3.4 percent for subsidized loans and 6.8 percent for unsubsidized loans. The Federal Government provides student loans to increase the number of Americans who attain college degrees, not to generate revenue. Yet, according to CBO estimates, the Federal Government will save more than 36 cents for every dollar lent in the student loan programs for fiscal year 2013. CBO projects that the student loan programs will continue to generate savings on the backs of students through fiscal year 2023. We need to change this.

The Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act will offer adjustable rate loans for students and parents with a cap on the maximum interest rate that could be charged to protect borrowers during periods of high interest rates. Interest rates for need-based, subsidized loans will be capped at 6.8 percent. Rates for unsubsidized and parent loans will be capped at 8.25 percent. Rates will be set every year based on

the 91-day Treasury bill plus a percentage determined by the Secretary of Education to cover program administration and borrower benefits. The Secretary must set the rate so that the student loan programs are revenue neutral.

The Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act will also correct an inequity for undergraduate students who qualify for subsidized loans. Currently, a dependent undergraduate student can borrow up to $31,000 total. However, the maximum amount that can be subsidized is $23,000, which means that needy students often have to resort to more expensive unsubsidized loans to finance a part or the remainder of their education costs. The Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act will allow borrowers with demonstrated financial need to have up to the full loan limit in the lower cost subsidized program.

Finally, the Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act will allow borrowers with high fixed-rate federal student loans to refinance those loans into the new variable rate loan with a cap. This could be a real help to borrowers trying to make ends meet, considering that, under current conditions, rates calculated under a bill would be much lower than the fixed rates for unsubsidized loans 6.8 percent, PLUS loans made under the old bank-based program, 8.5 percent, and PLUS loans made through the Federal Direct Loan program 7.9 percent.

We need a multi-faceted approach to solving our student loan debt crisis, which reports from the Federal Reserve and others show is a drag on our economy. We cannot allow this generation of Americans to flounder, unable to buy a home or a car or secure credit or start a family under the weight of student debt.

We need to keep rates low in the short term--that means taking quick action to keep the rate from doubling in July. It also means over the long-term, setting rates in a way that does not add to the growth of student debt. I encourage our colleagues to join Senator Durbin and me in cosponsoring the Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act to put in place a long-term approach to setting student loan interest rates that is fair to students and taxpayers. I also urge our colleagues to support taking immediate steps to reassure students and families that the rate on subsidized loans will not double this July.

Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act with Senator Durbin to offer a long-term approach to setting student loan interest rates.

Congress must take swift action to prevent the doubling of the interest rate on need-based loans on July 1, 54 days away. We also need a new mechanism for setting interest rates on all federal student loans for the long term so that students and taxpayers are protected, and we need to take the time to get it right.

In April, I introduced the Student Loan Affordability Act to keep the rate on subsidized loans at 3.4 percent for the next 2 years. This would give Congress time to debate a long-term solution as part of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

Today, I am introducing legislation with Senator Durbin and Congressman Tierney and Congressman Courtney to overhaul the mechanism for setting the interest rates on federal student loans. Instead of setting a numerical rate in law, which quickly becomes out of sync with the economic and interest rate environment, or locking borrowers into a fixed rate with no opportunity to refinance when rates drop, our proposal will offer adjustable rate loans for students and parents with the protection of a cap on the maximum interest rate that could be charged during periods of high interest rates.

In today's low interest rate environment, the fixed rates for student loans are too high, resulting in student loans generating a profit for the Federal Government. If we would have maintained the variable rate for student loans that was in law before 2006, the interest rate for students in repayment on their loans would be 2.39 percent this year. At today's fixed rates, they will pay 3.4 percent for subsidized loans and 6.8 percent for unsubsidized loans. The Federal Government provides student loans to increase the number of Americans who attain college degrees, not to generate revenue. Yet, according to CBO estimates, the Federal Government will save more than 36 cents for every dollar lent in the student loan programs for fiscal year 2013. CBO projects that the student loan programs will continue to generate savings on the backs of students through fiscal year 2023. We need to change this.

The Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act will offer adjustable rate loans for students and parents with a cap on the maximum interest rate that could be charged to protect borrowers during periods of high interest rates. Interest rates for need-based, subsidized loans will be capped at 6.8 percent. Rates for unsubsidized and parent loans will be capped at 8.25 percent. Rates will be set every year based on

the 91-day Treasury bill plus a percentage determined by the Secretary of Education to cover program administration and borrower benefits. The Secretary must set the rate so that the student loan programs are revenue neutral.

The Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act will also correct an inequity for undergraduate students who qualify for subsidized loans. Currently, a dependent undergraduate student can borrow up to $31,000 total. However, the maximum amount that can be subsidized is $23,000, which means that needy students often have to resort to more expensive unsubsidized loans to finance a part or the remainder of their education costs. The Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act will allow borrowers with demonstrated financial need to have up to the full loan limit in the lower cost subsidized program.

Finally, the Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act will allow borrowers with high fixed-rate federal student loans to refinance those loans into the new variable rate loan with a cap. This could be a real help to borrowers trying to make ends meet, considering that, under current conditions, rates calculated under a bill would be much lower than the fixed rates for unsubsidized loans 6.8 percent, PLUS loans made under the old bank-based program, 8.5 percent, and PLUS loans made through the Federal Direct Loan program 7.9 percent.

We need a multi-faceted approach to solving our student loan debt crisis, which reports from the Federal Reserve and others show is a drag on our economy. We cannot allow this generation of Americans to flounder, unable to buy a home or a car or secure credit or start a family under the weight of student debt.

We need to keep rates low in the short term--that means taking quick action to keep the rate from doubling in July. It also means over the long-term, setting rates in a way that does not add to the growth of student debt. I encourage our colleagues to join Senator Durbin and me in cosponsoring the Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act to put in place a long-term approach to setting student loan interest rates that is fair to students and taxpayers. I also urge our colleagues to support taking immediate steps to reassure students and families that the rate on subsidized loans will not double this July.

Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the Workforce Investments through Local Libraries Act or the WILL Act with Senator Cochran. During these challenging economic times, our one-stop system has been stretched to the limit. Stepping in to help have been our public libraries, which have always been a key access point for people looking for employment or looking to make a career change. According to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, 30 million Americans used a library computer to help address their career and employment needs in 2009.

The Employment and Training Administration and the Institute of Museum and Library Services have developed a partnership to highlight effective practices and encourage collaboration between the workforce investment system and public libraries, but more needs to be done. There are more than four times as many libraries as one-stop centers in high unemployment counties. We could greatly expand the reach of the workforce investment system by fully integrating public libraries into the delivery system and providing them with the resources they need to better assist Americans in finding work.

The Workforce Investments through Local Libraries, WILL, Act will strengthen the connection between the public library system and the one-stop system to better serve job seekers. The WILL Act will give library users access to workforce activities and information related to training services and employment opportunities, including resume development, job bank web searches, literacy services, and workshops on career information. The goal of the WILL Act is to enable libraries to access Workforce Investment Act resources to continue to provide job search support in communities all across America.

Specifically, the WILL Act amends the Workforce Investment Act, WIA, to: include library representation on state and local workforce investment boards; ensure the coordination of employment, training, and literacy services carried out by public libraries as part of the state workforce investment plan; recognize public libraries as an allowable ``One-Stop'' partner; authorize new demonstration and pilot projects to establish employment resources in public libraries; and encourage the Employment and Training Administration to collaborate with other federal agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services, to leverage and expand access to workforce development resources.

To get Americans back to work, we need to leverage all of our community assets. Public libraries play a vital role in providing access to information, technology, support, and other essential resources to help Americans find good jobs and build successful careers. I urge my colleagues to join Senator Cochran and me in cosponsoring the WILL Act and to support its inclusion in the effort to renew the Workforce Investment Act.

Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the Workforce Investments through Local Libraries Act or the WILL Act with Senator Cochran. During these challenging economic times, our one-stop system has been stretched to the limit. Stepping in to help have been our public libraries, which have always been a key access point for people looking for employment or looking to make a career change. According to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, 30 million Americans used a library computer to help address their career and employment needs in 2009.

The Employment and Training Administration and the Institute of Museum and Library Services have developed a partnership to highlight effective practices and encourage collaboration between the workforce investment system and public libraries, but more needs to be done. There are more than four times as many libraries as one-stop centers in high unemployment counties. We could greatly expand the reach of the workforce investment system by fully integrating public libraries into the delivery system and providing them with the resources they need to better assist Americans in finding work.

The Workforce Investments through Local Libraries, WILL, Act will strengthen the connection between the public library system and the one-stop system to better serve job seekers. The WILL Act will give library users access to workforce activities and information related to training services and employment opportunities, including resume development, job bank web searches, literacy services, and workshops on career information. The goal of the WILL Act is to enable libraries to access Workforce Investment Act resources to continue to provide job search support in communities all across America.

Specifically, the WILL Act amends the Workforce Investment Act, WIA, to: include library representation on state and local workforce investment boards; ensure the coordination of employment, training, and literacy services carried out by public libraries as part of the state workforce investment plan; recognize public libraries as an allowable ``One-Stop'' partner; authorize new demonstration and pilot projects to establish employment resources in public libraries; and encourage the Employment and Training Administration to collaborate with other federal agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services, to leverage and expand access to workforce development resources.

To get Americans back to work, we need to leverage all of our community assets. Public libraries play a vital role in providing access to information, technology, support, and other essential resources to help Americans find good jobs and build successful careers. I urge my colleagues to join Senator Cochran and me in cosponsoring the WILL Act and to support its inclusion in the effort to renew the Workforce Investment Act.