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[Loudninja]

WASHINGTON -- Congress has passed a massive measure that will salvage some 2.8 million jobs and shield college students from sharply higher interest rates on college loans. The bill would also shore up the federal flood insurance program.

The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 74-19. The House passed the bill earlier in the day and it now goes to the White House for President Barack Obama's signature.

The bill would spend more than $100 billion on highway and transit programs over two years. The measure would also prevent a doubling of interest rates on new student loans scheduled to go into effect on Sunday.

A requirement that the government approve the contentious Keystone XL pipeline was dropped from the measure.

"We have a bill that will boost this economy. We have a bill that is supported by conservatives and liberals, progressives and moderates. I think it's a great day," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who led Senate negotiations on the transportation portion of the package.

Boxer estimated the bill would save about 1.8 million jobs by keeping aid for highway and transit construction flowing to states and create another 1 million jobs by using federal loan guarantees to leverage private sector investment in infrastructure projects.

Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said: "Probably millions would have been put out of work if we hadn't acted."

Not all lawmakers were happy.

"At least it's not as bad as our Republican colleagues wanted," complained Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who has championed bike and pedestrian programs that the measure would squeeze. "But make no mistake, it is not a bill to be proud of."

In the bargaining that led up to an agreement on the package earlier this week, House Republicans gave up their demands that the bill require approval of the contentious Keystone XL oil pipeline and block federal regulation of toxic waste generated by coal-fired power plants. Democrats gave ground on environmental protections and biking, pedestrian and safety programs.

Congressional bargainers reached an agreement earlier this week on the $6 billion college loan portion of the bill that would avert a doubling of interest rates beginning Sunday on federal loans to 7.4 million students. The current 3.4 percent interest rate on subsidized Stafford loans would balloon back to 6.8 percent on Sunday under a cost-saving maneuver contained in a 2007 law.

About $20 billion of the measure's cost is paid for by making changes in companies' pension calculations that will reduce their tax deductions, and increasing the payments businesses must make to insure their pension programs.

The bill also extends the federal flood insurance program to protect 5.6 million households and businesses. It addresses a shortfall arising from claims after 2005's Hurricane Katrina by reducing insurance subsidies for vacation homes and allowing for increases in premiums.

The measure also requires that 80 percent of fines for violations of the Clean Water Act as a result of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will go to a trust fund for Gulf Coast states damaged by the spill.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/29/transportation-bill-student-loans_n_1638116.html

 

[The Technomancer]

Yaaaay....sorta

 

[Loudninja]

Yaaaay....sorta

Yeah sucks about the environmental protections and biking but everything else sounds good.

 

[M-PG71C]

I'm glad it passed but it could have been much better. And once again, Republicans are fighting a fight that has no purpose, no gain, and everything to lose that could have honestly benefited everyone. Idiots. And they wonder why the country won't back them up. :/

And I'm glad the student loan rates will remain the same for new loans. That's a no brainer.

 

[Bowdz]

Man, what is going on today?

I wake up and see that US stocks are massively up on Euro news, the Euro Zone countries came up with a pact in the right direction, Congress passes the two bills that they have been putting off for the past 6 months, and all of this is on top of the Affordable Care Act yesterday. Good stuff.

 

[Loudninja]

I'm glad it passed but it could have been much better. And once again, Republicans are fighting a fight that has no purpose, no gain, and everything to lose that could have honestly benefited everyone. Idiots. And they wonder why the country won't back them up. :/

And I'm glad the student loan rates will remain the same for new loans. That's a no brainer.

Yep its a damn shame.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

I'm glad it passed but it could have been much better. And once again, Republicans are fighting a fight that has no purpose, no gain, and everything to lose that could have honestly benefited everyone. Idiots. And they wonder why the country won't back them up. :/

And I'm glad the student loan rates will remain the same for new loans. That's a no brainer.

I'm actually surprised that there was this much compromise. The feedback from the home districts must be getting Congress nervous, especially with Obama planning to basically run against Congress in the election. You can only be a divisive, blockading, filibustering Congress for so long before people start to get pissed. I think this is too little too late though.

 

[Dude Abides]

What happened to Rand Paul's idiotic personhood amendment?

 

[mavs]

God what a clusterfuck.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:HR05972:@@@S

6/27/2012 9:06pm:
H.AMDT.1357 Amendment (A042) offered by Mr. Price (GA). (consideration: CR H4140-4141; text: CR H4140)
An amendment to prohibit the use of funds to be used by PHMSA to require placement of line markers, other than at public road and railroad crossings.
6/27/2012 9:06pm:
DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 697, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with debate on the Price (GA) amendment under the five-minute rule.
6/27/2012 9:11pm:
H.AMDT.1357 By unanimous consent, the Price (GA) amendment was withdrawn. (consideration: CR H4141)

6/27/2012 10:46pm:
H.AMDT.1370 Amendment (A055) offered by Ms. Herrera Beutler. (consideration: CR H4151; text: CR H4151)
An amendment to prohibit the use of funds to build flood protection walls for Interstate 5 between mile posts 72-82 in Lewis County, Washington.
6/27/2012 10:46pm:
DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 697, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with debate on the Herrera Beutler amendment under the five-minute rule.
6/27/2012 10:49pm:
H.AMDT.1370 By unanimous consent, the Herrera Beutler amendment was withdrawn. (consideration: CR H4151)

The fuck are you doing, Jaime Herrera Beutler?

Edit: squeaky wheels, I guess:

Jaime received assurances from the U.S. House T-HUD Subcommittee that they will work with her to address this issue within the T-HUD appropriation bill conference report, allowing her to withdraw her amendment. She will continue to work with WSDOT to develop this initiative, and will ensure her efforts do not interfere with the Mellen Street to Grand Mound project or any other ongoing local projects that rely on federal funding.

 

[J-Rod]

I don't know if I agree with the transportation money boost. Contractors went out and hired new people and new highway construction companies sprung up, but the ARRA money that artificially increased transportation budgets has just about run out and now congress needs to do it again to stop the big wave of layoffs and businesses going under. Every time they do this the inevitable contraction will be worse and worse, because you can't make permanent changes to spending with temporary increases of income.

 

[Joates]

Boxer estimated the bill would save about 1.8 million jobs by keeping aid for highway and transit construction flowing to states

Woohoo, saving 1.8 million of the most inefficient govt workers!

Saving 1.8 million jobs when in reality the work could probably done easily with less than half those jobs.

 

[Blearth]

Woohoo, saving 1.8 million of the most inefficient govt workers!

Saving 1.8 million jobs when in reality the work could probably done easily with less than half those jobs.

You want more unemployed people?

 

[Hartt951]

Yaaaay....sorta

It's pretty awesome considering how bad the republican house has been under Obama.

Student loan interest doesn't double, money goes to funding infrastructure improvements, and the XL pipeline isn't included? That's a great thing in my book; about as good as it's gonna get with this congress.

 

[massoluk]

Woohoo, saving 1.8 million of the most inefficient govt workers!

Saving 1.8 million jobs when in reality the work could probably done easily with less than half those jobs.

You can back this up, I assume.

 

[J-Rod]

Highway construction is usually not done by government forces but independent companies bidding on government contracts. They send engineers, inspectors, lab people to test asphalt density, etc. for the job, but all new road and bridge construction is done by independent contractors in my state. Maintenance, signs, permits, and a ton of other stuff they do, but not construction.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

Woohoo, saving 1.8 million of the most inefficient govt workers!

Saving 1.8 million jobs when in reality the work could probably done easily with less than half those jobs.

Government workers don't build roads, private contractors do, the government just pays them. They also have to bid for the work.

Edit: Beaten

 

[gkryhewy]

I don't know if I agree with the transportation money boost. Contractors went out and hired new people and new highway construction companies sprung up, but the ARRA money that artificially increased transportation budgets has just about run out and now congress needs to do it again to stop the big wave of layoffs and businesses going under. Every time they do this the inevitable contraction will be worse and worse, because you can't make permanent changes to spending with temporary increases of income.

ARRA was a temporary boost. This is just a continuation of the baseline funding (SAFETEA-LU), rather than another boost.

 

[Loudninja]

Woohoo, saving 1.8 million of the most inefficient govt workers!

Saving 1.8 million jobs when in reality the work could probably done easily with less than half those jobs.

I am not sure what you are trying to argue here.

 

[Chumly]

Woohoo, saving 1.8 million of the most inefficient govt workers!

Saving 1.8 million jobs when in reality the work could probably done easily with less than half those jobs.

Lol............ I bet this argument worked out great in your head.

 

[Loudninja]

Obama To Sign Transportation, Student Loan Bill

President Obama will sign the newly passed transportation and student loan interest rate legislation on Friday, July 6 with construction workers and students by his side at the White House, per the Office of the Press Secretary.

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/obama-to-sign-transportation-student-loan-bill

 

[HarryHengst]

Kinda shame that students are still getting fucked harder:

College students are facing a roughly $20 billion increase in the cost of their federal loans, despite a much-heralded deal in Washington to contain the expense of higher education.

Starting Sunday, students hoping to earn the graduate degrees that have become mandatory for many white-collar jobs will become responsible for paying the interest on their federal loans while they are in school and immediately after they graduate. That means they'll have to pay an extra $18 billion out of pocket over the next decade.

Meanwhile, the government will no longer cover the interest on undergraduate loans during the six months after students finish school. That's expected to cost them more than $2 billion.

These changes have received little attention as lawmakers instead focus on preventing a spike in interest rates on federal student loans. They are the fallout of earlier political battles and compromises over broader issues such as the federal budget and the national debt ceiling. And they are forcing students such as Clarise McCants to make tough choices about how to pursue academic goals without jeopardizing financial security.

[...]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busin...iod-on-student-loans-20120628,0,4384922.story

more at the source.

 

[Loudninja]

Obama signs bipartisan transportation, student loan bill

"This is an outstanding piece of business. And I'm very appreciative of the hard work that Congress has done on it. My hope is that this bipartisan spirit spills over into the next phase," Obama said, encouraging members to pass larger infrastructure measures and "start doing more to reduce the debt burden that our young people are experiencing."

"This bill will keep thousands of construction workers on the job rebuilding our nation's infrastructure," Obama said on Friday. "This bill will keep interest rates on federal student loans from doubling this year, which would have hit nearly seven and a half million students with an average of a thousand dollars more on their loan payments."

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/06/politics/obama-signs-transportation-bill/index.html

 

[Escape Goat]

Kind of sucky how critical domestic education is to nation's prosperity and its getting to the point a lot of people cannot afford it.

 

[smurfx]

Kind of sucky how critical domestic education is to nation's prosperity and its getting to the point a lot of people cannot afford it.

just like healthcare many people would rather profit while americans get screwed.

 

[RiccochetJ]

Kind of sucky how critical domestic education is to nation's prosperity and its getting to the point a lot of people cannot afford it.

What a load of crap. You can go 2 years in a junior college and then transfer with all your credits and save thousands of dollars. You can even get thousands of dollars in scholarships from the local universities that will help with your tuition and books if you transfer in state.

Here's another nugget. They (as in your school) want you to get jobs and they work insane hours finding you one.

OP: It's not as bad as you're making it out to be and it's not as good as I'm making out to be.

I'm leaning more on my side than his. Check out the interviews threads and be confident in those interviews. If you hate public speaking then get used to it. You'll do it a lot.

 

[Pollux]

So we've got some good news, and some bad news...

 

[Vicetrailia]

Community Colleges will continue to rise as well, unfortunately.

 

[Mudkips]

You want more unemployed people?

I'd prefer a small number of unemployed people and sustainable spending to ballooning spending in an effort to "save" an ever-increasing number of jobs that there is no natural demand for. The longer it goes on, the worse it's going to be when the bottom falls out.

 

[Chumly]

What a load of crap. You can go 2 years in a junior college and then transfer with all your credits and save thousands of dollars. You can even get thousands of dollars in scholarships from the local universities that will help with your tuition and books if you transfer in state.

Here's another nugget. They (as in your school) want you to get jobs and they work insane hours finding you one.

OP: It's not as bad as you're making it out to be and it's not as good as I'm making out to be.

I'm leaning more on my side than his. Check out the interviews threads and be confident in those interviews. If you hate public speaking then get used to it. You'll do it a lot.

Junior colleges are going up significantly in price and credits don't always transfer. In addition a lot of scholarships are being cut to due budget concerns.

 

[Volimar]

Sometimes you just have to drop some of the contentious stuff and just get shit done.