Clyburn Highlights Consumer Protections for Young People

Press Release

At a press conference in the Capitol today House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn was joined by Emily Schlichting of Nebraska and Sarah Hara of California, to highlight consumer protections recently enacted to help young Americans under the College Cost Reduction Act, the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights and the Patient's Bill of Rights.

"As students head back to college and families prepare for back-to-school, Democrats are highlighting the strong consumer protections enacted by this Congress," said Clyburn. "Republicans sided with the Big Banks over students when we made college more affordable. Republicans fought a first-ever consumer protection agency and split over a Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights. And as the Patient's Bill of Rights begins to take effect, giving Americans and their doctors control over their health care, Republicans would repeal long overdue protections for Americans if they get sick or have a pre-existing condition."

PATIENT PROTECTIONS ALLOW CAREER FLEXIBILITY

Emily Schlichting, from Nebraska has an auto-immune disease that requires her to see several specialists. Her pre-existing condition and health care costs were limiting her career decisions until Congress passed the new Patients Bill of Rights under the Affordable Care Act. Now she will be able to stay on her parent's plan when she graduates and enter the career of her choice.

Schlichting shared her story that at 17, she was diagnosed with a chronic, autoimmune disease called Behcet's Syndrome. Only 15, 000 -- 20,000 Americans are thought to have the disease, which affects the veins and can cause rheumatoid arthritis, as well as episodic flare-ups that cause open sores in the mouth, eyes, nose and throughout the body. "When I first got sick I would have flare-ups about every 8 months, but they got more severe as they went on," she said. "I had to get a CAT scan, MRIs, a colonoscopy at 18. The long and short of it is that if I hadn't had my parents insurance I would have had tens of thousands of dollars of bills." The last few years have found Emily reconsidering what she can and will do with her life, a decision that's been influenced by her need to maintain health insurance. "My choice was essentially to stay on my parents' insurance and go directly to grad school, or directly to law school, because the condition would technically be pre-existing," she recalls. "So, if at any point my insurance dropped I'd be in big trouble."

Now with the dependent care provision, she can seek the non-profit or campaign work she thinks will best serve her career aspirations. "I don't think I understood until a few months ago how radically this changed what I'm able to do," she says. "It's given me the flexibility to pursue a career and not go bankrupt because of a health condition that I can't control."

STUDENT LOAN PROTECTIONS AND INVESTMENTS ENABLE COLLEGE DREAMS

Sarah Hara faced a financial crisis following the death of her father and she thought college would be out of reach. But thanks to the increase in Pell Grants under the student loan reform law she can afford to attend Chapman University in California. Congress increased the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $5,550 in 2010 and to $5,975 by 2017. Starting in 2013, the scholarship will be linked to match rising costs-of-living by indexing it to the Consumer Price Index.

Hara shared her story, "I am here today to thank Congress and Representative Clyburn for passing the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, and also share why I believe this is an incredibly important investment to stabilize higher education through increased funding. At the end of my freshman year at Chapman University in Orange County, my father unexpectedly passed away due to a stroke. On top of this tragedy I got a call from my mother a week after my father's death, informing me that she could no longer afford to keep me in school. During this incredibly unstable time of my life, the Pell Grant enabled me to focus on my educational goals and stay in school. The financial funding I receive every semester gives me the opportunity to follow my dream of graduating with a Bachelors degree in English Literature and become a teacher and travel around the world to share the joy of learning with future students. I am honored to be standing here today, on August 16th, my father's birthday, to talk about how the Pell grant has supported me in the past year and will allow me to achieve my dreams and make my father proud. I'm happy to know that this legislation will help millions of other students overcome their financial difficulties and achieve their dreams. Furthermore the increased funding for the Pell grant will allow myself to look up into the sky on the day that I graduate and tell my dad that I made it through."

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