[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 6, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2720-S2721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. WARREN (for herself, Mrs. Boxer, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Durbin, 
        Mr. Reed, Ms. Landrieu, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Brown, Mr. 
        Whitehouse, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Udall of New Mexico, 
        Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Begich, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. 
        Franken, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Schatz, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Murphy, 
        Ms. Hirono, Ms. Heitkamp, Mr. Markey, Mr. Booker, Mr. Sanders, 
        Mr. Leahy, and Mr. Heinrich):
  S. 2292. A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide 
for the refinancing of certain Federal student loans, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to announce the 
introduction of emergency legislation to provide relief to students and 
young graduates who are drowning in debt. Make no mistake. This is an 
emergency. Student loan debt is exploding, and it threatens the 
stability of our young people and the future of our economy.
  Outstanding student loan debt now totals $1.2 trillion, and each year 
students are taking on more and more debt. In 2012 an astonishing 71 
percent of college seniors owed student loans. From 2004 to 2012 the 
average student loan balance increased by 70 percent. Millions of young 
people are struggling to keep up with student loan payments.
  The economic impact is real. Federal watchdog agencies such as the 
Federal Reserve, the Treasury, and the Consumer Protection Bureau are 
all sounding the alarm. Every day this exploding debt stops more and 
more young people from moving out of their parents' homes, from saving 
for a downpayment, from buying a home, from buying cars, from starting 
small businesses, from saving for retirement, from making the purchases 
that keep this economy moving forward.
  It doesn't have to be this way. Congress set interest rates on 
student loans at artificially high rates that generate extra money for 
the government. The GAO recently projected that the government will 
bring in $66 billion just on the slice of student loans from 2007 to 
2012. Those are the kinds of profits that would make a Fortune 500 CEO 
proud.
  We should cut those interest rates and we should cut those government 
profits. We should give our young people a break and boost our economy. 
This morning two dozens Senators joined to introduce the Bank on 
Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act which will do just that. The 
idea is simple. With interest rates near historic lows, homeowners, 
businesses, and even local governments have refinanced their debts, but 
many people who took out student loans before July 1 of last year are 
locked into a rate of nearly 7 percent. Older loans run 8 percent, 9 
percent, and even higher. We need to bring those rates down, and we 
need to do it now.
  Bank on Students would give student loan borrowers the opportunity to 
lower their interest rates on old loans to match the rates the 
government offers to new borrowers today; that is, 3.86 percent for 
undergraduate loans, 5.41 percent for graduate loans, and 6.41 percent 
for PLUS loans. I want to be clear--those rates are still higher than 
what it costs the government to run its student loan program. Our work 
will not be done until we have eliminated all of the profits from the 
student loan program, but this legislation is an important step in that 
direction.
  Forty million borrowers in this country have student loan debt, and 
many of those individuals could save hundreds or even thousands of 
dollars a year with this bill. They need this help now.
  Last year nearly every Republican in Congress--in the House and in 
the Senate--voted for the exact same loan rates that are in this 
legislation. Republican leaders, such as Speaker of the House John 
Boehner, embraced 3.86 percent for new undergraduate borrowers as 
``consistent'' with Republican policy proposals. OK, it may not be my 
preferred rate, but if Republicans believe that 3.86 percent is good 
enough for new undergraduate borrowers, then it should be good enough 
for existing undergraduate borrowers who also worked hard to get an 
education and need to refinance their loans. Let's bring down this rate 
for all our kids because there is no reason on Earth to say that some 
kids can get a better deal when they all worked hard to do exactly what 
we wanted them to do--get an education.
  This legislation won't add a single dime to our deficit. The Bank on 
Students legislation adopts the Buffett rule, which limits tax 
loopholes for millionaires and billionaires, and it requires that every 
dollar we bring in as a result of that change go directly to supporting 
lower interest rates on existing student loans. It is simple: Invest in 
billionaires or invest in students.

  Refinancing won't fix everything that is broken in our higher 
education system. We need to bring down the cost of college and we need 
more accountability for how schools spend Federal dollars. Many of my 
Democratic colleagues have introduced or are introducing legislation 
aimed at lowering the overall cost of college, and I support those 
efforts.
  The need for comprehensive reform must not blind us to the urgency of 
addressing the massive debt that is already crushing young people. This 
is a question of economics, but it is also a question of values. These 
young people are saddled with student loan debt not because they went 
to the mall and ran up charges on a credit card. They worked hard and 
learned new skills that would benefit the country and help us build a 
stronger America. They deserve a fair shot at an affordable education.
  This is personal for me. I was the first person in my family to 
graduate from college. I went to a commuter college where the tuition 
was $50 a semester, and it opened a million doors

[[Page S2721]]

for me. I got a fair shot because I grew up in an America that made it 
a priority to invest in young people.
  I believe in an America that puts students ahead of billionaires, an 
America that puts education within reach of every kid who works hard, 
an America that will give every kid a fair shot at building a future.
                                 ______