On May 23rd, the House passed H.R. 1911, “The Smarter Solutions for Students Act,” with the goal of getting politicians out of the business of setting interest rates on student loans. If Senate Democrats fail to act by July 1st on this important piece of legislation, student loan rates could double, causing unnecessary harm to borrowers across the country. More information about the student loan fix is provided in this newsletter.
This week we celebrate the 50th Annual National Small Business Week and highlighted major issues that are hampering growth and job creation – a list that includes taxes and burdensome regulations. Republican lawmakers in the House have passed dozens of bills to help ease these burdens for small business owners only to see many of those have died in the Democratically controlled Senate. To learn more, visit www.gop.gov/jobs to read the House GOP plan for jobs and to track the progress of the House jobs bills.
The White House campaign to sell Obamacare to the American public is underway, but this time we know more about what is in the bill. This week, nonpartisan GAO auditors revealed that the implementation of many key Obamacare provisions are plagued with delays and missed deadlines. All of these issues make it apparent that implementation is far from reality, and the highly touted exchanges will not be ready for enrollment in October.
These issues and more are highlighted in this week’s newsletter. Thank you for your interest in these issues and others. I am always interested in hearing from constituents about the issues we tackle in the House. Also, please take the survey at the end of this newsletter to let me know how you feel about the student loan fix.
For more information about the work I am doing in Washington and the Second District, please visit my website at ellmers.house.gov and follow me on my social media accounts using the tools in the right sidebar.
Don’t Double My Rate
The House GOP plan for jobs focuses on preparing students for the future by making it easier for them to pay for college. This is why the House passed H.R. 1911, “The Smarter Solutions for Students Act,” last month.
The numbers tell the story — 5.4 million have at least one past due student loan and 70 percent of the class of 2013 is graduating with an average debt of $35,200 per student. According to a new study, if there had been a market-based student loan rate, the average student could have saved up to $3,400 more through college.
House Republicans passed important legislation to give students increased financial certainty and the ability to take advantage of lower rates when they are available, but if Senate Democrats don’t act by July 1st, student loan rates could double.
See what students have to say about that in this new video from the House Republican Conference.
Standing for Life – They Feel Pain
I recently cosponsored and voted for H.R.1797. This bill protects the life of an unborn child at 20 weeks – an age at which science has proven that babies are capable of feeling pain. If you missed my speech on the House floor this week in favor of this bill, click here or on the image above to watch the video.
Cancer Patients are Waiting
We are seeing numerous reports like this one of cancer patients being turned away from cancer treatment clinics due to cuts enacted as a part of sequestration. My bill, H.R. 1416, would protect cancer patients from these harmful cuts, and ensure they receive the life saving treatments they need.
If you are not a resident of NC’s Second District, click here to see if your representative is a cosponsor of H.R. 1416. If they are not, please follow this link to find contact information for your representative and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 1416.
Snapshot of the Week
This week, I met with a military family from Ft. Bragg to discuss ways to improve TRICARE for Kids and health access options available to military families with special needs children.