Education

On April 29, 2007, my life was changed irrevocably.

Youth sports are important.

Every parent sees endless possibilities and great hope in the eyes of a child.

In recent years, both Republicans and Democrats in Washington have lost their way when making policy around one of most important things we will ever do: educate our children. Most recently, this has found its expression in the bipartisan assault on Pell Grants.

If we were to eliminate these grants tomorrow, the 9 million college students who rely upon them would be in peril of dropping out of college, including nearly half of African-American undergraduates and 40% of Hispanics.

As we celebrate our nation’s independence this week, it’s time to reflect upon how lucky we are that we live in an independent country.

Yes, our country and its leaders are not perfect. Laws are not always perfect, and justice is sometimes served in unusual ways. But we have the wonderful freedom to choose a profession for ourselves, not have it dictated by our family’s class in society. And we have the freedom of religion, which so many across the globe do not enjoy and are striving to achieve every day of their lives.

The program Mitt Romney referred to as a “model for parental choice programs across the nation” was saved from closure by an agreement between the office of the Speaker of the House and the Obama Administration last Monday evening. Since 2004, The DC Opportunity Scholarship program has been distributing vouchers worth up to $7,500 to low income students in Washington to allow them to attend private schools of their choosing. Originally passed as part of a “three sector” solution to the woes of the DC public school system, the funding for the program was paired with increased funding for both traditional public schools and charter schools. Until Monday, the Opportunity Scholarship part of the appropriation had been removed from the President’s 2013 budget.

At yesterday's rally with college students, President Obama rightfully reiterated that the federal student loan interest rate must not rise from 3.4% to 6.8% on July 1. He said, "[w]e're 10 days away from nearly 7.5 million students seeing their loan rates double because Congress hasn't acted. This should be a no-brainer. It should not be difficult. It should've gotten done weeks ago."
 
The president is right, and that's same the case I - and my House Democratic colleagues - have been making for months. Unfortunately, House Republican Leadership is still stonewalling and does not appear to be taking the issue as seriously as it warrants. Rather than focusing on helping students or getting Americans back to work, Speaker Boehner instead jammed through two controversial bills this week that endanger the environment and our public lands and provide additional giveaways to Big Oil. Even prior to this week, the issue was left out entirely of House GOP's “Summer Legislative Agenda" and it was reported that Speaker Boehner privately called the issue a “phony” fight, and he said it was unlikely that Congress would prevent an interest rate hike before July 1.
 
This is unacceptable, and there is nothing "phony" about this for the millions of students who will see their rate double on July 1.
 
As a graduate of Salem State College, I understand the importance of public education. However, when I was a student, I was able to work a few jobs and pay my room, board and tuition. That’s just not the case for students today. Students are working multiple jobs, choosing schools that are more affordable than others, and still carrying tens of thousands of dollars in student debt.
 
A few years ago, when Democrats controlled the agenda in Washington, we took real steps to lower the cost of college and provide our students with options and transparency.
 
Between 2007 to 2010, we increased Pell Grants from $4,050 to $5,550, cut the interest rate on Stafford Loans in half, required schools to post a cost calculator online so families could see what four years would really cost with all the add-ons, we rewarded states that maintain their effort to provide consistent and adequate support for public higher education institutions, we created an income based repayment plan so students can afford their loan payments despite the career they pursue, and the list goes on.
 
But while I hear from students around our area that these reforms were helpful and constituted progress, I also know that for many of them, college debt is still a real concern. The last thing they need is for their interest rate to double overnight on July 1.
 
Earlier this month, I spearheaded a letter, signed by more than 100 members of Congress calling on Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to bring responsible legislation to the House floor in the coming weeks that will prevent interest rates from doubling. While he may have left this critical issue off of his party’s “Summer Legislative Agenda,” there is still time for him to take a leadership role and ensure this burden is not added to our middle-class families and students.
 
I still believe that the bill I introduced months ago, the Stop the Rate Hike Act of 2012, which would keep the interest rate in check for another year by closing one tax subsidy for Big Oil, is a sensible and commonsense proposal, but I am open to alternative ideas. I certainly oppose the original bill introduced by my Republican colleagues – which paid for the one year "fix" by cutting funds for preventive health care for women and children – but I urge my colleagues to join me in finding an acceptable offset to pay for the cost of keeping the need-based student loan rate at 3.4% for another year.
 
The current student loan interest rate stalemate is unnecessary and leaving millions of students and families frustrated. A Republican colleague from California acknowledged in a recent public hearing, that it is incumbent upon the Majority in the House, currently his party, to foster bipartisanship. As we watch the days tick by, it is time for Republican leadership to put the partisanship aside and find a deal and prevent the student loan interest rate from doubling on July 1.
 
Rep. Tierney (D-Mass) is the only New England member on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and author of the Stop the Rate Hike of 2012.
 

Washington is in the throes of a debate on extending the favorable interest rate on student loans. It is fodder for Congressional debates and the President has made it an election issue by “Slow Jamming” the issue on the Jimmy Fallon Show.  That rate – 3.4% -- will double on new loans starting July 1 unless Congress takes action.

The federal government’s research partnership with academia was forged during World War II and took off during the space race of the 1960s. More than half of the nation’s economic growth since then can be traced to science-driven technological research and innovation in the fields of health care, energy, education, communications, transportation, manufacturing, defense, and more. We need to continue nourishing research and development (R&D) and rewarding cutting-edge scientific innovation. The often untold story of these federal research partnerships is the tremendous return on the government’s modest investments and the jobs created in every state, which is why concerned members of Congress are stepping forward to advocate for preserving and growing these investments in our nation’s competitiveness.

Recently, Virginia passed a law requiring schools to stock epinephrine and authorizing school staff to administer it to any child believed to be suffering an anaphylactic reaction. Known as “Amarria’s Law,” the bill was inspired by an incident in January in which first-grader Amarria Johnson died after an anaphylactic reaction to eating a peanut. Sadly, Amarria’s death was entirely preventable, but her school did not have an epinephrine auto-injector on hand to save her life.     

Today, only two states – Nebraska and Virginia – have laws requiring schools to stock epinephrine. In a country where six million children live with food allergies, we ought to have a national strategy to make sure life-saving epinephrine is available in our schools. 

There are no Republican or Democratic solutions to this problem, only a human solution based in compassion and common sense. That’s why we have partnered to introduce H.R. 3627, the “School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act,” to encourage states to adopt the policy enacted recently in Virginia following Amarria’s tragic death. Identical legislation was put forward in the Senate by Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk.