John Tierney: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that this House take action to stop the need-based…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that this House take action to stop the need-based student loan interest rates from doubling at the end of June. If we defeat the previous question, the House will have an opportunity to take up a bill that I have filed and introduced that will keep those interest rates at 3.4 percent for 1 year. My Democratic colleagues and I recognize the importance of being fiscally responsible, so our bill is completely paid for. We pay for it by ending unnecessary tax subsidies for big oil and gas companies. These are the same companies that took home $80 billion in profits last year. Exxon pocketed nearly $4.7 million every hour. We have to make choices here in Congress. Our side of the aisle believes that it is a fair and reasonable choice to eliminate an unjustified subsidy to hugely profitable industries so that 7 million students, including some 177,000 in my Commonwealth of Massachusetts alone, will not see an increase in their student loans. Our side of the aisle believes that encouraging middle class students and their families to be able to pay for college educations should be a bigger priority than continuing tax subsidies for Big Oil. Now, the other side of the aisle has been tremendously late to this issue. I know the presumptive nominee for the Presidential race has changed his mind and has come around to believing that this is important--a practice that he does on a regular basis.…”