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Office of the 11th Congressional District of Virginia
Formerly the Office of Representative Gerry Connolly
The Washington, D.C., office and the district office of former Representative Connolly will continue to serve the people of the 11th Congressional District of Virginia under the supervision of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Representative Connolly passed away on May 21, 2025. See Press Release
WAMU: Republicans Propose Offsetting Student Loans with Pension Contributions
Washington, DC,
June 7, 2012
Rep Connolly spoke out against a Republican proposal to offset student loans with yet another attack on federal employees. Listen here.
Republicans Propose Offsetting Student Loans With Pension Contributions U.S. House Republican leaders now want to keep student loan interest rates low by increasing what federal workers pay into their pensions. Interest rates on student loans will double in July if Congress does nothing. The two parties have been in a standoff over how to pay for extending today's low rates. This week Republicans offered to keep those rates low by forcing government works to contribute more into their pension plans. The plan isn't sitting well with Democrats in the region. "By my count this is the seventh attempt by the Republican majority here in the House to fund something entirely unrelated on the backs of federal employees," said Rep. Gerry Connolly, (D-Va.). Connolly accused Republicans of trying to make a political point on the backs of government employees. "No other group in America has been asked to make any kind of sacrifice, certainly not their oil and millionaire friends," Connolly said of Republicans. "And if we're going to talk about pay-fors, let's start with a basis of equity and this isn't it." Republicans maintain that federal workers have better pension plans than most Americans, so it's a natural source of new revenue in this time of austerity, they say.  Republicans Propose Offsetting Student Loans With Pension Contributions U.S. House Republican leaders now want to keep student loan interest rates low by increasing what federal workers pay into their pensions. Interest rates on student loans will double in July if Congress does nothing. The two parties have been in a standoff over how to pay for extending today's low rates. This week Republicans offered to keep those rates low by forcing government works to contribute more into their pension plans. The plan isn't sitting well with Democrats in the region. "By my count this is the seventh attempt by the Republican majority here in the House to fund something entirely unrelated on the backs of federal employees," said Rep. Gerry Connolly, (D-Va.). Connolly accused Republicans of trying to make a political point on the backs of government employees. "No other group in America has been asked to make any kind of sacrifice, certainly not their oil and millionaire friends," Connolly said of Republicans. "And if we're going to talk about pay-fors, let's start with a basis of equity and this isn't it." Republicans maintain that federal workers have better pension plans than most Americans, so it's a natural source of new revenue in this time of austerity, they say. Click HERE to listen to the audio |