Obama signs student loans, highway jobs bill

President Barack Obama signs the Surface Transportation Bill, HR 4348, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, July 6, 2012. The bill maintains jobs on transportation projects and prevents interest rate increases on new loans to millions of college students.

/ AP

(CBS News) Upon returning to the White House from his two-day bus tour through Ohio and Pennsylvania Friday, President Obama took to the East Room to sign legislation that will prevent the doubling of interest rates on new student loans. The law also authorizes $100 billion in highway and transportation spending over the next two years, which backers estimate will save or create 2.8 million jobs, mostly in construction.

Mr. Obama signed the law surrounded by construction workers and college students as well as members of Congress and other elected officials. The president had been pressing Congress to take action for months.

"These steps will make a real difference in the lives of millions of Americans," he said shortly before signing the bill.

The bill passed Congress overwhelmingly last week after a contentious fight in Congress. Republicans eventually gave up their push for the bill to require approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, the Associated Press reported, while Democrats agreed not to include certain environmental protections and biking and safety programs.

"My hope is that this bipartisan spirit spills over into the next phase, that we can start putting more construction workers back to work...as well as making sure that now that we've prevented a doubling of student loan rates, we actually start doing more to reduce the debt burden that young Americans experience," Mr. Obama said Friday before signing the bill.

CBS News' Mark Knoller reports that the measure was the 508th bill signed into law by Mr. Obama since taking office. The Friday event marked his 35th formal bill-signing ceremony.

[Zuke87]

He is spending more of our hard earned more and we are supposed to be happy? He is just doing more of the same that is not working. Do not vote for the idiot that keeps doing the same thing and expecting a different result!!!

[aldrich617]

JOBS NOW!
Perhaps both Dems and Reps would be so kind as to spend half of their bloated projected campaign war chests (about $1000000000 each) to plant seedlings in rural areas, and collect trash from vacant lots in urban areas. The candidates could put some money where their mouths are and still have plenty left over for the media blab circus. A billion bucks could employ 40000 people for a year doing simple needed work.

[aintfakin]

y Bad_Ranger July 7, 2012 8:10 AM EDT
I-635 in Texas is being rebuilt with underground tolls from I-35 to I-45 ...and is contracted to a CHINESE firm for over $5 billion.


Diane Sawyer reporting on U.S. bridge projects going to the Chinese.... NOT Americans.

The bridges are right here in the U.S. and yet Obama has approved for Chinese contractors to come in and do the work. What about jobs for Americans???

You are being Bamboozled by the Flim Flam Man Obama
-----------------------------------------------------------------
another right wing lying sack of ,,,,,,
The State of California turned down federal funds so they didn't have to buy American to buy Chinese components for their bridge.
Diane Sawyer just reads what is handed to her. Is bad bad little ranger an ABC editor?
har har har har har

[hypnotoad72]

"har har har har"?

Nothing about what's going on today is funny.

Having said that, I wish these guys would post more proof. Or, heck, ANY proof, since they never seem to do so... and if I can even find FOX articles to back up points with, they can find more than just FOX articles to back up their claims with. Probably...

[aintfakin]

check factcheck.org

[hypnotoad72]

I hope he starts putting in executive orders that really help students.

A Masters degree in criminal justice for a $12/hr guard duty job is asinine.

Private, non-union colleges, of which some inflate students' grades or dilute required work and I'm talking about accredited institutions, are moving from $100 books you get forever toward $100 books that are electronically leased and expire and become useless to the student. Which is one of MANY issues he is ignorant about. Students shouldn't be put to the sword for what colleges and administrators are doing.

[hypnotoad72]

P.S. That person happens to be a government, union worker. I am really tired of the anti-union people around here being so blind and ignorant on any number of union-issues, though I agree they once had too much power - 35 years ago... times have changed but ignorance might not... it's ironic, I of all people get out more than these guys do...

[dh47]

While the highway bill will help put people to work, it will only help UNION operations. That unfortunately means we will get approximately 40% less production for the same costs, if non prevailing wage guidelines were not required for contractors bidding the jobs. Additionally, there should be requirements for use of American made materials only, in every government project.

[Rafterman11]

Evidence?

[hypnotoad72]

I do agree that all government projects should be 100% American-made.

But otherwise:

*YAWN*

Since you hadn't noticed, private industry has been using unethical when not illicit means to drive down worker wages. That's one reason why plenty of responsible people are struggling. May I repeat these articles and may you actually get this response so you can read them:

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2012/0612/How-skewed-is-America-s-income-inequality-Take-our-quiz/Median-income/

http://www.realitybase.org/journal/2009/3/10/the-american-dream-died-in-february-1973.html

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/01/vicious-cycle-stagnant-wages

http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/2/7/184312/5388

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/case/hiring-illegal-immigrants.html

http://hubpages.com/hub/HowH1BVisaFRAUDiskillingAmerica

[Thorgood2]

How much government money do you give away to get voted into office?

[hypnotoad72]

That depends. How much taxpayer-funded subsidies are handed out to the corporations that do the buying of politicians?

[sstrother2]

I don't understand who gets the 3% loans, I didn't, the parent student loan I took out is 6.8%. So who gets those rates? I agree with SiliasMariner, the banks charge over 10% or higher. How is this helping us? I don't want a "free ride". I can't afford a plane ride all I can afford is a golf cart ride. The government shouldn't being making money off it's citizens, as usual the middle class has to pay the price!!!!

[Nocults]

The rates are for government insured loans issued by banks.
The government doesn't "make money" off these loans.

What low end college did you attend??????????????
Sarah Palin Cosmetology?????????????

[hypnotoad72]

Not disagreed.

But people say they want government ran as a business and to be self-sufficient. (USPS does not take taxpayer-funded subsidy, unlike the more costly services of UPS and FedEx... I'll post URLs to some examples in a moment.)

People just seem to be anti-government and strung along by the first pied piper that slinks their way into the bar...

http://www.nalc.org/postal/perform/selfsufficient.html#subsidize

http://www.progress.org/cwfedex.htm

I bet a search engine could find many more examples of companies getting free rides at our expense... irony is cool...

[fredevans]

Interesting. NO 'real' lender would go there; for many good reasons.

"OweBama" would. If you have one ounce of inteleigence ... this is why the United States Government is now, and long time since, funding Education loans. Well, lets back this up a bit?

You have a 'University Degree' in a subject no one in 'employment' give a Rat's fanny. And you have no idea why you're not starting in a new job at $100K per year ... when you woe $100,k on your Student Loans?

Oh, bye the bye, these are (small exceptions) not dis-chargeable in BK.

[hypnotoad72]

Tell us this - why are gambling debts dischargeable yet student loans are not? In this new normal, where everything including their mothers are being offshored, with responsible people being diced in the crossfire, higher education is starting to look like a gamble - and not the cool casino sort.

We seem to forgive sleaze acts like gambling but stick it to people who - how dare they - want to improve themselves and society.

You think about that. The entire nation needs to. Maybe they might start to feel ethically bothered by what is or is not allowed.

Or maybe not.

[SilasMariner]

My kid is already paying 6.8% on unsubsidized loans for medical school. Don't tell me that Congress and their predatory loan lobbying friends in the banking industry were trying to double THAT - to over 13%, -for a college loan - and that THIS is the big 'victory' we're claiming? PLEASE tell me my numbers are wrong.

[hypnotoad72]

ad_iudicium -

Well golly gee whiz, maybe the real issue is that the cost of study for fields and claimed value therein is as much off whack as everything else...

And who said auto assemblers make $80k per year? Rush Limbaugh?

http://anti-union.blogspot.com/2008/11/greedy-american-union-auto-workers-and.html

Try $50k...

[jaykay3141]

Ad nauseum, who said anything about socialized medicine*? The rubbish about a "government takeover" is just that - trash. Thanks to the Repubs, insurance companies are even allowed to keep most of their monopoly "rights" under the ACA, and doctors will still be self- or group-employed. There's NOTHING that makes them government employees except in the weird, wild alternate universe of Faux Noise.



* I at least bother pay attention to the little red squiggles that tell me when a word is misspelled ...

[ReduceGHGs]

This is an example of Obama working for the best interests of the majority of the people. On the other hand, there's mitt, the Windsock Vulture Capitalist. His agenda is outsourcing to India, closing businesses, and ransacking benefits! Sorry mitt, governing is NOT Vulture Capitalism. I'd tell you to go back and work and leave governing to those that care but since you haven't worked for about 11 years would you remember how?

[calif7]

The GOP stalled and stalled on the Highway Bill. If Romney wins I'm sure he will take all of the credit for the 2.8 million jobs the bill creates. This bill should have been passed last year.

[hypnotoad72]

I agree with you both.