Date: 2001-12-19
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself 4 minutes. Mr. Speaker. the gentleman from Ohio has properly explained this bill and what it would do for both the lenders and the student loan program and for the students. and he quite correctly reports to us that this is a work product of a lot of work on a bipartisan basis to approve this legislation to extend the loan rates for the lenders to make sure they can continue to make a profit and to insure student loan availability to the students. Let me talk about a bill that we will not be able to bring up tonight. and one of the reasons that I believe S. 1762 will not pass tomorrow. The gentlewoman from New York and the gentleman from California have introduced legislation which would have provided loan forgiveness to those individuals who lost their spouses on September 11 to make sure that they in fact have this ability to get their lives back in order after this tragic loss of their spouses. in many cases of the major bread winner for the family. It also provided loans to the parents who had a child that might die in that tragedy. Currently they cannot forgive those loans. It also provided for those loans that have been consolidated. because they would not be forgiven under the current law if they had been consolidated by the spouse that died. This is an effort to try to help these families. We have paid a great deal of attention to this since September 11. recognizing the hardship. recognizing the tragedy that has befallen these families. We have tried to do everything we can to help them get their economic life in order. To have tblese student loans hanging out there when they have been beset by this tragedy. the victims of terrorism. is just unconscionable. The bill we are discussing here. the interest rate fix for 2003. need not be done until 2003. The urgency of these families we cannot deny. Already these cases have started to be brought to the attention of the department. and I think it is time for Congress to recognize it. This is legislation that is not partisan. I think it has every Member of the New York delegation supporting it from both parties. recognizing the needs of these families from the New York metropolitan area and the surrounding states. and we ask that this legislation be passed. But. for whatever reason. w6 will not be able to consider that. So I think unless we can try and provide the kind of urgency that these families need as they struggle. and we read daytoday as they try to work their way through all of the bureaucracy that is now springing up over the various funds that have been put in place for them. trying to qualify for funds that have been created with public dollars. with private dollars. with charitable dollars. and at the same time deal with their families. with their children. with the holidays and the rest of it._ it is not a big burden. This has been scored to be essentially de minimis in terms of the cost to the government by CBO. It is one of the things we can do to lighten that burden of these families who have lost individuals in those vicious attacks of September 11. So. with that. I will say that while this other bill is ready to be passed. I would hope that my colleagues would not support that legislation until such time as we can get consideration of H.R. 3163. offered by the gentlewoman from New York and the gentleman from California from the other side. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.