Education & the Workforce Committee

On Tuesday, May 21 at 10:00 a.m., the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), will hold a hearing entitled, “Reviewing the President’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Proposal for the U.S. Department of Education.” The hearing will take place in room 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

In his Fiscal Year 2014 budget proposal, President Obama requested $71.2 billion in discretionary spending for the Department of Education, an 8.4 percent increase over current fiscal year funding levels. This is on top of $7.1 billion in mandatory spending for Pell Grants, $1.3 billion in mandatory funding for the new universal preschool program, and $17.5 billion in mandatory funding to support the teaching profession, bringing the total budget request to $97.1 billion.                                                                                 

Tuesday’s hearing will provide members an opportunity to review the administration’s budget request and examine whether an increase in department spending is the best approach to both fiscal and education policies. The Honorable Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, will offer testimony and answer members' questions during the hearing. To learn more about this hearing, visit www.edworkforce.house.gov/hearings.

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House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Chairman Phil Roe (R-TN) issued the following statements today after the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 45, legislation that would repeal President Obama’s government takeover of health care:

“Our nation is mired in a jobs crisis and the president’s health care law is making it worse,” said Chairman Kline. “Time and again employers have described the difficult choices ObamaCare is forcing them to make, including raising costs on customers and reducing the number of hours employees can work. This flawed law is bad for workers and job creators. As long as ObamaCare remains on the books, robust job growth will be stymied and the hope for commonsense health reforms will be diminished. It’s time to repeal this law so we can put more Americans back to work and advance real reforms to lower health care costs.”

“The greatest problems with the American health care system are cost and access,” said Rep. Roe. “We need health care reform in this country, but we need patient-centered health care reform, where patients, their families and their physicians make health care decisions- not government bureaucrats or insurance companies. Health care should not be a partisan issue. I stand ready to repeal this flawed bill and work with my Democrat colleagues on health care reform that will truly work for the American people.”

During floor debate, Chairman Kline highlighted the concerns of job-creators who have testified before the committee as part of its continued oversight of the health care law. To read Chairman Kline’s floor remarks, click here.

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Our nation is mired in a jobs crisis and the president’s health care law is making it worse. Since ObamaCare was first enacted in 2010, federal bureaucrats have written nearly 20,000 pages of new regulations. Meanwhile, America’s job creators are struggling to manage the full effects of the law in their workplaces.

Ed Tubel has owned and operated Sonny’s Real Pit Barbeque for more than 30 years. At a recent hearing in North Carolina, Mr. Tubel outlined the difficult choices he now faces, including higher prices for customers and fewer hours for workers.

Brett Parker, vice chairman of Bowlmor Lanes of New York testified in 2011 that his business may also have to shift workers to part-time hours in order to “protect existing jobs.”

As chief human resources officer with Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Tina Haynes stated the college must consider cutting the number of courses offered to students. She also described the health care law as a “massive administrative burden that comes with unanticipated costs.”

And Gail Johnson, president and CEO of an early childhood learning center, warned in 2011 that ObamaCare would “force entrepreneurs to invest less into growing their business” and slow the growth of small businesses.

These men and women live each day with the consequences of the health care law. No doubt others from across the country have similar stories to tell. There are a number of good reasons why Congress should repeal the government takeover of health care. It is driving up the cost of care and millions will lose the health coverage they have and like.

But for many Americans one reason stands above the rest: Jobs. Our nation’s workers and employers cannot afford the Democrats’ job-destroying health care law. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 45.

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The House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), today approved two pieces of legislation designed to address a pair of problems facing the nation’s higher education system.  

The Smarter Solutions for Students Act (H.R. 1911), introduced by Chairman Kline and Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) will address the upcoming student loan interest rate cliff scheduled for July 1, 2013 by returning all federal student loans (except Perkins loans) to market-based interest rates. H.R. 1911 was approved with bipartisan support.  

Rep. Luke Messer’s (R-IN) Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act (H.R. 1949), which passed the committee by voice vote, will direct the Department of Education to explore opportunities to enhance higher education transparency.  

“The committee has taken an important step forward in the fight to strengthen the nation’s higher education system. Not only have we approved a proposal that will help students access the information they need to choose the right college, we also advanced legislation based on the president’s own proposal to tie student loan interest rates back to the free market,” said Chairman Kline. “My colleagues and I have been working to get politicians out of the business of setting student loan interest rates for years, and I am pleased the Smarter Solutions for Students Act received bipartisan support today. I want to thank Representatives Foxx and Messer for their leadership on these initiatives, and I look forward to bringing the legislation to the House floor for a vote in the coming days.” 

"Student borrowers shouldn’t have to ride the roller coaster of political largesse wondering every year whether Congress will intervene in time to adjust their rates,” Rep. Foxx said. “The Smarter Solutions for Students Act puts an end to the temporary fixes and campaign promises that have failed to strengthen our nation’s student loan system – and allows students to take advantage of low interest rates when available while protecting them in high interest rate environments with a reasonable cap. This legislation offers predictability, simplicity, and will ensure interest rates are immediately in line with the free market– a need particularly acute in today’s jobless economy.” 

“For most folks, choosing a college is one of the biggest decisions of their life,” said Rep. Messer. “Students and families need information to help them make good choices, but current transparency initiatives are often too hard to understand. We need to get rid of unnecessary data that just creates confusion and more burdensome reporting requirements for institutions. The Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act will inform the committee’s efforts to reauthorize the nation’s higher education law, and help Congress better understand the information students and families need when selecting a college. I am pleased the bill received strong bipartisan support in committee and hope to see the same in a vote before the full House.”  

To learn more about the Smarter Solutions for Students Act, click here.  

To learn more about the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act, click here.  

To read opening statements, review amendments, or watch an archived webcast of today’s markup, visit www.edworkforce.house.gov/markups.  

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Thank you, Mr. Chairman.  I am pleased to offer this Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 1949, the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act.

Few decisions in life are bigger than whether to attend college and which college to attend. Yet many families struggle to wade through the complicated maze of statistics to find the information they need to make fully informed, cost-conscious decisions. Consequently, they may choose schools or programs that don’t meet their needs and leave them with high debt and limited career potential.

Through the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act, we hope to simplify the process and help ensure students can access the information they need to make good decisions while lessening the burden on colleges and universities that have far too many reporting requirements today.

As Chairman Kline detailed, the bill would require the Department of Education to evaluate the information colleges and universities are required to provide to determine what helps make students better consumers, and what simply buries them and the schools they attend under piles of paper. 

In addition to technical changes, the substitute amendment makes a few key modifications to the underlying legislation.

The substitute:

• Ensures the advisory committee represents diverse economic, racial, and geographically diverse populations;

• Requires the advisory committee to examine information related to the sources of financial assistance including federal student loans to the required aspects of the study;

• Directs the advisory committee to examine how information regarding student outcomes should be disaggregated for first-generation students, and requires college and career counselors be consulted as the committee conducts its study.

Choosing the right college is an important step on the path to educational and professional success. The Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act will help ensure students have access to the information they really need to make the best possible decision, while also reducing the burden of unnecessary reporting requirements for colleges and universities.

I want to thank Chairman Kline and Higher Education Subcommittee Chairwoman Foxx for their work on and support of this legislation.  I also want to commend our Democratic colleagues for their contributions to this bill. I urge all of our colleagues to support the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute and the underlying legislation, and yield back the balance of my time.

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Thank you, Chairman Kline, and thank you for your leadership on behalf of students and taxpayers to identify a sustainable solution to the student loan interest rate cliff.  

As many of us know, on July 1, today’s 3.4 percent subsidized Stafford Loan interest rate is set to double to 6.8 percent for millions of current students – all because  elected officials made a promise they couldn’t afford to keep for the long-haul.

Student borrowers shouldn’t have to ride the roller coaster of political largesse wondering every year whether Congress will intervene in time to adjust their student loans. And taxpayers shouldn’t be expected to foot the bill whenever members of Congress promise more than they can deliver.

For the sake of students, families, and taxpayers, before July 1 we need to move our federal student loan programs away from politics. Student loan rates should not be subject to the whims of Washington or seized as bargaining chips.

The Smarter Solutions for Students Act will remove politics, uncertainty, and confusion from the rate-setting equation and instead anchor student loan interest rates on the 10 year Treasury Note – not just for four years – but for good.  

By tying rates to the market, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act establishes a predictable rate for loan calculation, insulated from the politics and posturing of Washington.

Committee Republicans aren’t alone in finding the answer for predictability in the market. President Obama offered a similar market-based interest rate plan in his 2014 budget proposal and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have also voiced openness to utilizing the market to set interest rates.  

We hope to build on this common ground and continue working in good faith with all interested parties to improve the Smarter Solutions for Students Act and get it to the President’s desk.

Students, families, and taxpayers deserve a long-term solution – not more can-kicking from Washington.

The Smarter Solutions for Students Act puts an end to the temporary fixes and campaign promises that have failed to strengthen our nation’s student loan system. This legislation offers predictability, simplicity, and will ensure interest rates are immediately in line with the free market – a need particularly acute in today’s jobless economy.  

The American people deserve the clarity, certainty, and protection the Smarter Solutions for Students Act offers. I am pleased to offer this Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute, which makes minor technical corrections to the bill, and urge my colleagues to support the underlying legislation.

# # #

Today the committee will consider a pair of higher education bills designed to tackle two significant problems facing students.

The first piece of legislation before us today is H.R. 1949, the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act. Introduced by Rep. Luke Messer of Indiana’s 6th District, this legislation will inform the committee’s efforts to reauthorize the Higher Education Actand enhance transparency for students and families.

Information is crucial to help families understand their higher education options as well as the financial investment that comes with earning a postsecondary degree. In recent years Republicans have championed efforts to make clear, consistent information available to students about price, financial aid, demographics, and graduation rates.

However, during an April Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training hearing chaired by Rep. Virginia Foxx, we learned federal efforts to improve data collection and transparency aren’t working as well as we’d hoped. Many students still have difficulty accessing and understanding the resources they need to choose the right college.

As Michigan State University Dean of the College of Education Dr. Donald Heller explained in his testimony, “The internet has greatly helped to democratize access to information. What it has not done as successfully…[is] help people get access to the right information to meet their needs. And it is critical that we help prospective students to get the right information in their hands at the necessary times.”

By directing the Secretary of Education to examine opportunities to enhance higher education transparency, the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act will help us better understand the kind of information students have, want, and need when researching their higher education options.

This legislation takes an important step toward strengthening higher education transparency, eliminating unnecessary reporting requirements, and ensuring students have the resources necessary to choose the right college. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1949.  

The second bill before the committee today is H.R. 1911, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act. Rep. Foxx and I recently introduced this responsible proposal to address the looming student loan interest rate cliff.

As we are all well aware, subsidized Stafford loan interest rates are scheduled to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent in a few short weeks. Last year Congress took action to extend the lower rate for one year. I agreed to support the bill with the promise we would use this time to advance a long-term solution that gets politicians out of the business of setting student loan interest rates.

The Smarter Solutions for Students Act accomplishes this goal by simply moving all federal student loans – except Perkins loans – to a market-based interest rate system. This is similar to a proposal put forth in President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget request.

Under H.R. 1911, subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loan interest rates will be calculated based on the 10-year Treasury note plus 2.5 percent. We expect the legislation will drop Stafford loan interest rates to about 4.4 percent. Parent and graduate PLUS loan interest rates will be calculated using the 10-year Treasury note plus 4.5 percent, bringing these rates down to approximately 6.4 percent.

By tying interest rates back to the free market, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act ensures all borrowers can take advantage of lower interest rates when available. H.R. 1911 also protects borrowers against higher interest rates by imposing a reasonable cap of 8.5 percent on Stafford loan interest rates and 10.5 percent on PLUS loan interest rates.

Additionally, the legislation maintains students’ ability to consolidate their loans upon graduation and lock in a fixed interest rate for the life of the loan. And students can still take advantage of existing federal repayment and debt management initiatives, such as the income-based repayment programs, numerous loan forgiveness programs, and opportunities for deferment or forbearance.

We all recognize the urgent need to take action. No one wants to see student loan interest rates double on July 1st. The president put forth a plan in his budget to address the problem with a market-based solution, and my Republican colleagues and I worked in good faith to offer a proposal that largely mirrors the president’s. Despite claims to the contrary, we tried our best to make this proposal budget neutral to protect both taxpayers and borrowers. And we will continue to consider ideas to improve the proposal through the open legislative process.

We have an opportunity for bipartisan compromise on this matter – something that is exceedingly rare in Washington. The Smarter Solutions for Students Act is a responsible, long-term proposal that will strengthen federal student loan programs and provide more stability for taxpayers and students in the long run. I strongly encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to lend their support.

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On Thursday, May 16 at 10:00 a.m., the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), will mark up the Smarter Solutions for Students Act (H.R. 1911) and the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act (H.R. 1949). The markup will take place in room 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building. 

The Smarter Solutions for Students Act, introduced by Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), will move all federal student loans (except Perkins loans) to a market-based interest rate. This responsible proposal ensures all borrowers can take advantage of lower interest rates when available and protects borrowers against higher interest rates with a reasonable cap. By taking politicians out of the interest rate equation, H.R. 1911 will strengthen federal student loan programs and serve the best interests of both borrowers and taxpayers. To learn more about the Smarter Solutions for Students Act, click here.

The Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act, introduced by Rep. Luke Messer (R-IN), will help Congress better understand the kind of information students have, want, and need when researching their postsecondary education options. This information will be critical to informing the committee’s efforts to improve students’ access to relevant and helpful information about higher education institutions in the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act – without overburdening institutions with more red tape and redundant requirements. To learn more about the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act, click here.

To learn more about this markup, visit www.edworkforce.house.gov/markups.

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House Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans, led by Rep. Luke Messer (R-IN), today introduced the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act (H.R. 1949), legislation that would direct the Department of Education to explore opportunities to enhance higher education transparency.

“To choose the right college, students and their families need clear information up front – but too often, the available data is confusing, conflicting, or difficult to access,” said Chairman John Kline (R-MN).  “In the coming months, the committee will begin working to reauthorize the nation’s higher education law, and improving transparency will be a top priority. Rep. Messer’s legislation will take an important first step in this effort by helping us figure out what kind of information students have, want, and need when researching their postsecondary options, and I applaud his leadership.”

“Few decisions in life are bigger than whether to attend college and which college to attend,” said Rep. Messer. “Yet many families find it a challenge to wade through the complicated maze of statistics available for this important decision.  Through this bill, we hope to simplify the process and help students get access to the information they really need to make good decisions while lessening the burden on colleges and universities that have far too many reporting requirements today.”

The Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act:

• Directs the Secretary of Education to convene an Advisory Committee on Improving Postsecondary Education Data to explore opportunities to enhance higher education transparency.
   
• Requires the advisory committee to review existing federal, state, institutional, and private-sector transparency initiatives to determine the information that is most helpful to both traditional and non-traditional students, including student veterans. The advisory committee must also make recommendations to eliminate data that is no longer useful to students and their families.
   
• Directs the advisory committee to explore whether information about college graduates’ earnings would serve as an effective measure of program quality for prospective students.
   
• Instructs the advisory committee to solicit feedback from students and families as part of its study. The committee must issue its recommendations within a year of enactment to assist congressional efforts to reauthorize the Higher Education Act.

To learn more about H.R. 1949, visit www.edworkforce.house.gov/BetterData.

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THE PROBLEM:

In recent years, the federal government has taken steps to improve data collection and transparency in the higher education system. Under Republican leadership, the 2008 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act included several provisions to provide students and families with the data needed to make informed decisions about their postsecondary opportunities.

Despite these improvements, however, students and families still struggle to access and understand the data they need to choose the right higher education institution. Additionally, data collection is a time-consuming endeavor that leads to higher costs for many institutions. During the 2012-13 academic year, institutions spent an estimated 850,320 hours and almost $31 million to fill out required federal surveys. This is on top of the time and money spent complying with reporting requirements from states and regional, national, or programmatic accrediting agencies.

THE SOLUTION:

As Congress begins to examine policies and proposals to strengthen the Higher Education Act, members must first understand whether the existing transparency measures are working for students, families, and higher education institutions. To help shine a spotlight on the challenges and opportunities in higher education transparency, Rep. Luke Messer (R-IN) introduced the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act (H.R. 1949). This responsible proposal would direct the Department of Education to convene an Advisory Committee on Improving Postsecondary Education Data to conduct a study on the factors students and families have, want, and need when researching their postsecondary education options.

THE IMPROVING POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION DATA FOR STUDENTS ACT:

• Requires the advisory committee to review existing federal, state, institutional, and private-sector transparency initiatives to determine the information that is most helpful to both traditional and non-traditional students, including student veterans.
   
• Directs the advisory committee to explore whether information about college graduates’ earnings would serve as an effective measure of program quality for prospective students.
   
• Instructs the advisory committee to solicit feedback from students and families as part of its study. The committee must issue its recommendations within a year of enactment to assist congressional efforts to reauthorize the Higher Education Act.

The Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act will take an important step toward strengthening higher education transparency and ensuring all students have access to the data they need to choose the right college.

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On Saturday Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL) highlighted the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 (H.R. 1406) in the weekly Republican address. The commonsense proposal to give private-sector workers the option of receiving paid time off or ‘comp time’ for overtime hours worked was approved by the House of Representatives last week.                                                                    

During her remarks, Rep. Roby explained how H.R. 1406 would help more Americans balance the demands of work and family. Click below to watch:

 

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While we may not be able to legislate another hour in the day, we can help working Americans better balance life’s demands by offering more flexibility for time away from work.

To learn more about the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013, visit edworkforce.house.gov/YourTime. 

House Republicans on Thursday proposed a permanent fix for avoiding a doubling of student loan interest rates this year, one that is based on a proposal from the Obama administration.

The Smarter Solutions for Students Act, H.R. 1911, would require interest rates for all federal student loans to be based on the 10-year Treasury note, and end what has become an annual debate within Congress on how to set the rates.

Student loan rates have been a problem for the last few years, after Congress cut them in half in 2007, from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent. That lower rate has been extended until this summer, but required a "pay-for" to account for the cost of the extension.

Under the bill introduced by House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-Minn.), rates would likely rise slightly, possibly to 5 percent in the next two years. But Kline's bill would cap those rates at 8.5 percent.

His bill would be deemed to have no budgetary effect, and would provide a permanent solution to the problem, something both Republicans and Democrats have sought.

"As I've said time and again, we've got to stop kicking the can down the road with short-term fixes to this interest rate problem," Kline said Thursday. "Our proposal ensures millions of subsidized Stafford Loan borrowers will not see their interest rates double this July, and other borrowers will actually have their rates reduced."
 
Kline introduced his bill with subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.). Just last week, GOP leaders said Kline would soon introduce a bill, and that Congress would consider it shortly as a way to fix the problem.

"In the near-term this is expected to provide an interest rate lower than the 6.8 percent fixed in law and over the long-term provide savings for taxpayers," Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said in a memo to Republicans last week. "This bill takes congress and politics out of setting interest rates and provides a long-term fix to the interest rate cliffs initiated in 2007."

Specifically, the bill would set subsidized and non-subsidized student loan rates at an amount equal to the rate of the 10-year Treasury note, plus 2.5 percent.

Obama's proposal was similar, as it also based loan rates on the 10-year note. However, Obama did not propose the 8.5 percent rate cap that is in Kline's bill.

With the 10-year note expected to be about 1.9 percent this year, that would mean a rate of 4.4 percent for student loans under Kline's bill, compared to the current 3.4 percent.

Rates are expected to rise over the next five years, and by 2017, the 10-year note is expected to rise to 4.9 percent. That would mean the final rate is 7.4 percent, above the original rate 6.8 percent.

But Kline said a rate based on prevailing market rates, plus a cap, would help stabilize federal loan programs and still allow students to take advantage of lower rates when they are available. He also noted that President Obama proposed a similar mechanism in his 2014 budget proposal.

Federal loans to graduate students and parents would be set at a rate equaling the 10-year note, plus 4.5 percent.

 
To learn more about H.R. 1911, visit edworkforce.house.gov/SmarterSolutions      
                                                         

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THE PROBLEM:

In 2007 the Democrat-led Congress approved legislation that would temporarily phase down the interest rate on subsidized Stafford Loans made to undergraduate students from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over four years. Once the law expired in 2012, the interest rates would jump back to 6.8 percent. Despite a one-year extension of the lower interest rate, students and families could see interest rates for new subsidized Stafford Loans double on July 1, 2013 unless a long-term solution to the problem is enacted.

THE SOLUTION:

It’s time to move away from a system that allows Washington politicians to use student loan interest rates as bargaining chips, creating uncertainty and confusion for borrowers. That’s why House Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) introduced the Smarter Solutions for Students Act, legislation that simply moves all federal student loans (except Perkins loans) to a market-based interest rate.  This commonsense proposal is similar to a plan put forth in President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget request.

THE SMARTER SOLUTIONS FOR STUDENTS ACT:

• Calculates subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans using a formula based on the 10-year Treasury Note plus 2.5 percent. 
    
• Calculates graduate and parent PLUS loans using a formula based on the 10-year Treasury Note plus 4.5 percent. 
   
• Resets student loan interest rates once a year, allowing rates to move with the free market and ensuring borrowers can take advantage of lower interest rates when available.
   
• Protects borrowers in high interest rate environments by including a 8.5 percent cap on Stafford Loan interest rates and a 10.5 percent cap on PLUS loans.
    
• Provides stability for low- and middle-income students working to finance their postsecondary education, and prevents future uncertainty about whether Congress is going to act in time to change the interest rate.

By taking politicians out of the interest rate equation, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act will strengthen federal student loan programs and serve the best interests of both borrowers and taxpayers.

 

House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) today introduced legislation to tackle the upcoming student loan interest rate cliff by moving to a market-based solution.

The Smarter Solutions for Students Act (H.R. 1911) would take politicians out of the business of calculating student loan interest rates by moving all federal student loans (except Perkins Loans) to a new interest rate formula based on the 10-year Treasury Note, similar to a proposal put forth in President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget plan.

"As I’ve said time and again, we’ve got to stop kicking the can down the road with short-term fixes to this interest rate problem,” Chairman Kline said. "The Smarter Solutions for Students Act is a lasting solution that will serve the best interests of students and taxpayers. Our proposal ensures millions of subsidized Stafford Loan borrowers will not see their interest rates double this July, and other borrowers will actually have their rates reduced. I hope my colleagues in the House and Senate will join us in supporting this responsible bill, and look forward to continuing to work with the administration as we move this proposal through the legislative process."

"Students need more certainty and less confusion about their federal loan interest rates," said Rep. Foxx. "Republicans have been working to provide stability for a long time and it appears from the President’s budget proposal that he also sees the need to remove the whims of Washington from the student loan equation. We hope to build off that common ground through the Smarter Solutions for Students Act and work with Congressional Democrats to return to a simplified, market-based plan before July 1 that works for students, families, and taxpayers."

The Smarter Solutions for Students Act:

• Calculates subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans using a formula based on the 10-year Treasury Note plus 2.5 percent.
     
• Calculates graduate and parent PLUS loans using a formula based on the 10-year Treasury Note plus 4.5 percent.
    
• Resets student loan interest rates once a year, allowing rates to move with the free market and ensuring borrowers can take advantage of lower interest rates when available.
     
• Protects borrowers in high interest rate environments by including a 8.5 percent cap on Stafford Loan interest rates and a 10.5 percent cap on PLUS loans. 
      
• Provides stability for low- and middle-income students working to finance their postsecondary education, and prevents future uncertainty about whether Congress is going to act in time to change the interest rate.

To learn more about H.R. 1911, click here.

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The U.S. House of Representatives today approved the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013(H.R. 1406), legislation that will help more Americans balance the needs of family and work. Sponsored by Representative Martha Roby (R-AL), this commonsense proposal would allow private-sector employers to offer employees the opportunity to accrue paid time off or ‘comp time’ for working overtime hours.

“No worker should be denied time with family because of some outdated federal law,” said Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN). “Workers in the private-sector deserve the same choice and flexibility enjoyed for decades in the public-sector. This legislation won’t solve all the challenges Americans face, but it will help make life a little easier for those struggling to balance the demands of family and work. I urge our Senate colleagues to join this effort and help send this commonsense proposal to the president’s desk.”  

“I am proud to champion the Working Families Flexibility Act on behalf of working moms and dads across the country,” said Rep. Roby. “Our message to the American people is this: We want to get Washington out of the way of how you use your time. Talk to just about any working mom and dad and they’ll tell you they need more time. They need just one more hour in the day to be able to take care of responsibilities and make life work. We can’t legislate another hour in the day, but we can help working Americans better balance their time by removing unnecessary federal restrictions on comp time in the private sector.”

"In order to have a healthy economy, we need to remove barriers that deny parents flexibility that fosters success at home and work,” said Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI). “By giving working families and employers the voluntary flexibility to rearrange work schedules, we are letting them do what is best for their family. We’re giving them the freedom to take a sick child to the doctor, spend time with family, or collect overtime wages.”

As approved by the House, H.R. 1406 will:

• Allow employers to offer employees a choice between cash wages and accruing comp time for overtime hours worked. Employees who want to receive cash wages would continue to do so. No employee can be forced to take comp time instead of receiving overtime pay.
     
• Protect employees by requiring the employer and the employee to complete a written agreement to use comp time, entered into knowingly and voluntarily by the employee. Where the employee is represented by a union, the agreement to take comp time must be part of the collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the union and the employer.
    
• Retain all existing employee protections in current law, including the 40 hour work week and how overtime compensation is accrued. The bill adds additional safeguards for workers to ensure the choice and use of comp time are truly voluntary.
     
• Allow employees to accrue up to 160 hours of comp time each year.  An employer would be required to pay cash wages for any unused time at the end of the year. Workers are free to ‘cash out’ their accrued comp time whenever they choose to do so.
     
• Require the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office to report to Congress on the extent private-sector employers and employees are using comp time, as well as the number of complaints filed with and enforcement actions taken by the U.S. Department of Labor (Amendment offered by Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY) adopted by a vote of 384-42)

To learn more about the Working Families Flexibility Act, visit edworkforce.house.gov/YourTime

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Today we have an opportunity to make life a little easier for working families across the country. This legislation doesn’t create a new government program or bureaucracy; it doesn’t spend taxpayer dollars or add to the national debt. The Working Families Flexibility Act simply removes an outdated federal policy that denies private-sector workers the flexibility they need to better balance family and work.

For 75 years, the Fair Labor Standards Act has provided covered workers with basic wage and hour protections. Those covered by the law receive time-and-a-half in paid compensation for each overtime hour worked. The law plays a significant role in millions of workplaces, yet it does not reflect the realities of the modern workforce.

For example, in 2011, 59 percent of families with children had two working parents compared to 37 percent 40 years ago. Meanwhile, 8.5 million workers are single parents and one in three undergraduate students also works full-time.

Behind each statistic are men and women trying to juggle family and work; a single working mom that needs extra time to attend a parent-teacher conference; a dad hoping to leave work early to catch a son’s little league game; a married couple working two jobs while raising a family and caring for an aging relative.

Supporting a family is about more than providing an income  - it’s about being there for one another. We know there are a lot of workers who would seize the opportunity to earn a few extra dollars. But others may welcome additional paid time off to spend with loved ones. Shouldn’t workers choose what’s best for their families?

Unfortunately, federal law denies many private-sector workers this fundamental choice. The law assumes everyone would choose more money in the bank over more time with family. To add insult to injury, public-sector employees have enjoyed this benefit for decades yet we continue to treat those in the private-sector differently.

That’s not fair to millions of hardworking Americans. The Working Families Flexibility Act will remove this unnecessary barrier and allow private-sector employers to offer employees the choice to accrue paid time off or ‘comp time’ for working overtime. The bill does not change the 40-hour work week and comp time would accrue at the same time-and-a-half rate as cash wages.

The legislation includes numerous protections to ensure the use of comp time is strictly voluntary, such as requiring a written agreement between the employer and employee, allowing workers to cash out their accrued comp time whenever they choose, retaining all enforcement remedies available under current law, and adding new protections to prevent coercion and intimidation.

At the heart of the legislation is worker choice. Workers choose whether to accept comp time; workers choose when to cash out their accrued comp time; and workers choose when to use their paid time off so long as they follow the same standard public-sector employees do.

Americans sacrifice a lot to provide for their families. Let’s get the federal government out of the way and give workers the flexibility they need to thrive at home and at work. I urge my colleagues to support the Working Families Flexibility Act and reserve the balance of my time.


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Right now the House is considering H.R. 1406, the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013. This commonsense legislation modernizes an outdated federal law that prevents private-sector employers from offering employees the option to accrue paid time off or ‘comp time’ for working overtime hours.  

Moments ago House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) highlighted the ways H.R. 1406 empowers private-sector employees with greater workplace flexibility.   

At the heart of the legislation is worker choice. Workers choose whether to accept comp time; workers choose when to cash out their accrued comp time; and workers choose when to use their paid time off so long as they follow the same standard public-sector employees do. Americans sacrifice a lot to provide for their families. Let’s get the federal government out of the way and give workers the flexibility they need to thrive at home and at work.

To learn more about the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013, visit edworkforce.house.gov/YourTime.

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House Republicans today met with working parents to discuss the need for more flexibility in the workplace. At the CENTECH GROUP Inc. office in Falls Church, Virginia, members listened as small business owners and private-sector employees described how the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 (H.R. 1406) would help more Americans juggle the demands of family and work. Sponsored by Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL), the legislation would allow private-sector employers to offer employees the opportunity to accrue paid time off, or ‘comp time,’ for working overtime hours. 

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Representative Martha Roby (R-AL), and Representative Renee Ellmers (R-NC) joined working parents to highlight the commonsense proposal that will help families nationwide.

Following the roundtable, members discussed the legislation in a short media availability. Watch the members’ remarks below:

 

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On putting parents before politics
The bill is very simple.  If you are a working parent – as I am – you know one thing all of us have in common and that all of us need is more time. That’s what this bill will allow. It is a commonsense bill that puts parents before politics. – Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)

On helping workers attend to the needs of their families
There are single dads and [families] where both parents are working and they want to spend time with their kids, going to parent-teacher conferences, baseball games... Time is so important and this bill addresses that need. – Rep. John Kline (R-MN)

On modernizing an outdated law
The times have changed and the number of women in the workforce has changed, yet so many of our federal laws and regulations have not kept pace. They were written at a different time… We need to update these laws. – Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)

On getting government out of the way of working families
This is your time. You get to choose how to use it. Our message to all working Americans is very clear: We want to get Washington out of the business of telling Americans how to use their time. – Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL)

On empowering workers with more options
We shouldn’t have to be faced with the decision of taking our child to the pediatrician or spending that special time with them in lieu of a conference call or a business decision that we have to make – we should be able to make those decisions. – Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC)
 

NOTE: The House is expected to vote on the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 tomorrow. Watch the debate here.

To learn more about H.R. 1406, visit edworkforce.house.gov/YourTime.

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The Ways and Means, Education and the Workforce, and Energy and Commerce Committees today released an updated version of the ObamaCare Burden Tracker (#ObamaCareBurden), which reveals the burden on employers and families has increased to almost 190 million hours. The Burden Tracker, first released in February, is a real-time, online resource to help the public keep track of all of the new government mandates, rules, and red tape resulting from ObamaCare.

The burden of ObamaCare is already being felt, even though many provisions of the law, including the requirement for most Americans to buy government-approved health insurance or pay a tax, are not set to take effect until 2014. According to the Obama administration’s own estimates, ObamaCare will require American job creators, families, and health care providers to spend almost 190 million hours per year on compliance.* This burden has increased over 60 million hours since February of this year.

Every hour and dollar spent complying with the Democrats’ health care law are time and resources being taken from spending time with family, growing a business and creating jobs, or caring for patients. Since many small businesses do not employ in-house lawyers and accountants, compliance costs are especially expensive and burdensome. Given the new demands of complying with the law, it is not surprising that over 70 percent of small businesses cite the health care law as a major obstacle to job creation.

What could be done in 189,822,836 hours? 

• Mount Rushmore, which took 14 years to build, could be constructed 1,547 times.
• Halley’s comet, seen from Earth once every 76 years, could be spotted 285 times.
• The Empire State building, which took 7 million man hours to build, could be constructed 27 times.

*Based on administration estimates released by the Office of Management and Budget.

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House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Chairman Phil Roe (R-TN) released the following joint statement after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia invalidated a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule that would have punished employers for failing to post a biased notice of workers’ labor rights in the workplace:

Today’s federal appeals court decision is a win for workers and job creators nationwide. The NLRB’s vague and biased poster regulation was nothing more than a marketing campaign for Big Labor at the expense of workers and employers. It’s time the board stopped rewriting the law to advance a political agenda and started applying the law as prescribed by Congress.

NOTE: In December 2012, House Republicans filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to urge the court the strike down the poster regulation. The congressional brief raised two critical legal issues:

1. Congress did not – and has not – granted the board the authority to require a general notice posting by employers. Unlike the National Labor Relations Act, other labor and employment laws explicitly authorize notice postings. Absent that explicit authority, and a clear intent by the authors of the National Labor Relations Act to withhold that authority, the board’s regulation exceeds its lawful powers; and
      
2. Congress has restricted the board’s authority to actual parties, in pending cases, and adjudicated facts based on an evidentiary hearing. The limited scope of the board’s authority is central to the law’s constitutional standing, and it cannot be expanded at the whim of the board majority.

A similar brief was filed in two federal district courts in 2011.

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