Statement

Congresswoman Corrine Brown made the following statement:

"Although House Republicans gave in to public pressure and passed legislation on the House floor to reverse the dramatic student loan interest rate hike, I am deeply disappointed in the way they intend to pay for it. In essence, their proposal entails eliminating health care funding targeted for women and children. Certainly there are other ways to pay for this proposal, such as ending huge tax breaks for big oil companies. Yet instead of this approach, the House Republicans' plan is to decrease funding for important health care prevention programs from middle class and low-income families by stripping away dollars for breast and cervical cancer screenings for women, as well as for decreasing funding for child immunization and screening newborns for hearing loss.

As House and Senate Democrats have demonstrated, there are many good options available to protect students and their families, while at the same time protecting taxpayers. Certainly, having access to a quality education in the United States should not be determined by how much your family can afford! I will continue to work alongside my Democratic colleagues to prevent this increase in student loan costs for over 7.4 million Americans before the July 1 deadline and make sure that it is not paid for by cutting health care programs for women and children."