Congressman Jim Langevin (LAN'-jih-vin) is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, on which he chairs the Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems Subcommittee and serves on the Subcommittees on Seapower and Projection Forces and Strategic Forces. He is a senior member of the Committee on Homeland Security and serves on its Subcommittees on Intelligence & Counterterrorism and Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, & Innovation.
Langevin was one of four legislators appointed to serve on the Cyberspace Solarium Commission
, and he co-founded the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, which he still co-chairs, to increase awareness around the need for stronger cybersecurity. A national leader on securing our nation’s technology infrastructure against cyber threats, Langevin has authored or co-authored dozens of pieces of cybersecurity legislation, including most recently the National Cyber Director Act.
Our public education system is one of the foundations of our democracy. Investing in our children’s education not only has long-term benefits for our economy, but it also delivers on our nation’s promise that all individuals have an equal opportunity to succeed. I am deeply committed to improving our nation’s schools so that all children, regardless of the neighborhood in which they grow up, have the chance to achieve their full potential. It is imperative that we invest in education to promote new employment and ensure that students can adapt to the jobs that will grow our 21st century economy.
I believe we must invest in our students at every level, from early childhood education to postsecondary education. In late 2015, Congress reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, via the Every Student Succeeds Act. As we move through implementation, I will work to ensure there is flexibility at the local level, a focus on rewarding schools instead of punishing them, and encouraging great leadership from both administrators and teachers. Finally, as the cost of higher education has soared in recent years, I continue my strong support of policies and programs, like Pell Grants, to ensure that all Americans, regardless of their background or economic status, have access to higher education.
As a co-chair of the Congressional Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus with my colleague, Representative Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA), I am working in Rhode Island and at the national level to highlight the importance of career and technical education in creating jobs, retraining workers, and ensuring that students of all ages are career- and college-ready. CTE programs play a vital role in developing skilled workers who are capable of remaining competitive in high-wage, high-skill, and high-demand career fields. These fields include STEM disciplines, nursing, allied health, construction, information technology, energy, cybersecurity, sustainability, and other areas that keep our nation competitive in the global economy.
In June 2017, I was proud to help champion House passage of the bipartisan Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, which would reauthorize and modernize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act through 2023. The bill makes several important improvements to Perkins, including aligning CTE programs with local industry needs, improving collaboration among community stakeholders, and promoting apprenticeships all while increasing federal investment in CTE by nine percent over five years. It encourages partnerships between business leaders and educators to ensure CTE programs meet local needs, requires states to offer high-quality CTE for all students, integrates employability skills into career pathways, and promotes the development of innovative and evidence-based CTE programs. I am particularly proud of the emphasis the bill places on both work-based learning and the role of school counselors in career exploration.
In addition to reauthorizing Perkins, Congressman Thompson and I annually lead the fight for strong Perkins funding. In 2017, we were pleased to be joined by a bipartisan group of 130 of our fellow representatives on a letter to the House Appropriations Committee urging them to provide robust funding in fiscal year 2018. CTE programs will only be successful if we ensure they are fully-funded and able to meet growing demand.
To help match workers with the skills they need, last Congress I introduced the Counseling for Career Choice Act.This bipartisan bill would provide funds to help local educational agencies offer comprehensive counseling services to students so that they can make informed decisions about their future, whether they choose a four-year degree, a career and technical education program, a private-sector apprenticeship or another option.
Student loan debt is becoming an ever-increasing burden on our students, graduates and their families. Over 40 million Americans owe more than $1.4 trillion in student debt, and the average graduate from the class of 2015 has more than $30,000 in debt. At a time when a post-secondary education is becoming ever more important, it is imperative that we make college affordable and remove the crushing weight of student debt.
On July 1, 2013, the interest rate for federal student loans doubled from 3.4% to 6.8% with the expiration of the previously-extended College Cost Reduction Act. That same month, Congress passed a compromise to tie student loan interest rates to the 10-year Treasury Note.While I supported that effort as a way to provide immediate relief to student borrowers, I remain concerned that rising interest rates may put college out of reach for students. For that reason, I’m a cosponsor of the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, which would allow students to refinance their student loans to a 3.76% interest rate, the rate for Stafford Loans issued before July 1, 2017. I will continue to monitor student loan rates and work with my colleagues to ensure the government does not profit off of college students.
I also strongly support student loan forgiveness, particularly in the case of a student becoming permanently disabled. Currently, students can have their loans forgiven if they become totally and permanently disabled, but parents who take out loans on their behalf cannot. To close this loophole, I introduced the PLUS Loan Disability Forgiveness Act, a bipartisan bill that would extend loan forgiveness to parents whose children become totally and permanently disabled.
Art and design programs are an essential component of a well-rounded educational curriculum and play an integral role in improving student achievement and advancing the understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). I am always looking for new ways to promote the exciting new STEM fields, and in 2013, I was a founding member of the Congressional STEM to STEAM Caucus, which promotes the integration of art and design into STEM, turning it to STEAM. I’ve been proud to work with the Rhode Island School of Design, which has been a pioneer of the STEAM movement, in this mission.
This Congress, I introduced the bipartisan STEM to STEAM Act, which promotes the integration of art and design into the National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) Advancing Informal STEM Learning program. By supporting the design and testing of extra-curricular STEAM programs, students will have more opportunities to improve educational outcomes and promote creativity and innovation.
I am also very proud that the Every Student Succeeds Act recognized the importance of Art and Design in shaping a well-rounded education. It specifically notes the ways that STEM is complemented by STEAM and offers federal funding to blend the two into the overall curriculum.
I firmly believe we must invest fully in our public education system to ensure that every child in Rhode Island and across the country has access to a world-class education. We must devote our resources to improving teacher training, decreasing class sizes, rebuilding school infrastructure, and engaging parents so that each child has the opportunity to achieve their potential. School vouchers, which provide federal tax dollars to pay private school tuition, are a misuse of taxpayer funds, and I will maintain strong opposition to any program that undermines our public education system in this way.