On the recordMay 23, 2013
I now yield 1 minute to a member of the committee, the gentleman from Tennessee, Dr. DesJarlais. {time} 1130 Mr. DesJARLAIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1911. This commonsense bill, aptly named the Smarter Solutions for Students Act, brings the student loan interest rate program back to reality. Instead of coming back each year to partake in the Washington tradition of putting last year's failures off to the next year, this bill gives students and their families the certainty that their loan rates won't be subjected to the whims of bureaucrats in Washington or legislators on Capitol Hill. This legislation ties student loan interest rates to the 10-year Treasury note. In fact, the President's fiscal year 2014 budget request included language very similar to this bill. H.R. 1911 goes even further toward protecting students and families from high interest rate environments by including caps on interest rates. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I thank Chairman Kline and Virginia Foxx and their staffs for their hard work in bringing this commonsense legislation to the floor.
