[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 11, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S3599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           STUDENT LOAN DEBT

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I am proud to rise today to support the 
Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act. This bill would allow 
eligible students refinance their Federal loans, transfer private loans 
into Federal loans with better interest rates, and eliminates tax 
loopholes for millionaires and billionaires. This bill would help more 
than 25 million students in the United States, including 481,000 
student borrowers in Maryland.
  Middle-class families and their children deserve a fair shot at 
higher education. Students deserve fair, affordable loans to help them 
get the education they need to succeed, and the working women of 
America deserve a fair shot at fair pay with equal pay for equal work. 
Right now, millions of American students are graduating from college 
and universities, but as they are handed their diplomas, they are being 
handed a lifetime of debt. The average student debt for 2012 college 
graduates was $29,400, and for the first time in U.S. history, student 
loan debt topped credit card debt at $1 trillion. When you are fresh 
out of college and paying living expenses and investing in a 401(k), 
these loans add up and become burdensome.
  This especially affects young women struggling to pay debts against a 
wage gap. College-educated women earn just 82 cents for every dollar a 
man makes, but they don't get an 18 percent wage gap discount on their 
student loans. How can we expect women to achieve their dream when they 
are burdened with crippling debt and fighting against a wage gap that 
continues to grow over time?
  Recently, a Maryland woman wrote to me. She is a single mother and 
was on welfare for 9 months after giving birth to her son but said she 
did not want to become a statistic. She pursued higher education so she 
could improve her life. She got a bachelor's degree and a master's 
degree and graduated in the top 5 percent of her class. While attending 
school, she worked full time and raised her son. She enrolled in an 
income-based loan program and despite paying more than requested each 
month, her interest rate has increased. She cannot care for her son and 
pay off $63,000 in student loans without assistance in refinancing her 
loans.
  The women of America want more. Women make up almost half of the 
workforce and 40 percent are the sole breadwinners for families but 
still only make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. African-American 
women earn 62 cents and Hispanic women earn 54 cents. Even if they have 
the same grades, degree, and job title, women are consistently paid 
less in their first job out of college. On average, women will lose 
more than $431,000 over their lifetimes because of the wage gap. This 
doesn't just affect student loans; It affects their contributions to 
Social Security, pensions, and retirement security.
  I am so proud of America's women. We have accomplished so much. We 
have gone to space, become CEOs of Fortune 500 Companies and even made 
it into the U.S. Senate. Today, women are graduating from higher 
education in record numbers. It is time to help them get a fair shot at 
achieving their dreams. That starts with equal pay.
  Getting a college education is the core of the American dream. I am 
fighting to make sure that every student has access to that dream. 
Let's work together to make sure that when students graduate, their 
first mortgage isn't their student debt. Carrying the burden of student 
loans drags down young people's financial future, making it harder to 
buy a home, start a family, or save for retirement. I support Senator 
Warren's bill because it reduces debt and fights for American families. 
It lowers interest rates, giving everyone a fair shot at repaying their 
loans for a more secure financial future because women deserve a fair 
shot at getting equal pay for equal work.
  I have said this often, but we in this country enjoy many freedoms: 
the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of 
religion. But there is an implicit freedom our constitution doesn't lay 
out in writing, but its promise has excited the passions, hopes, and 
dreams of people in this country since its founding. The freedom to 
take whatever talents God has given you, to fill whatever passion is in 
your heart, to learn so you can earn and make a contribution--the 
freedom to achieve.
  When I was a young girl at a Catholic all-girls school, my Mom and 
Dad made it clear they wanted me to go to college. But right around 
graduation my family was going through a rough time because my Dad's 
grocery store had suffered a terrible fire. I offered to put off 
college and work at the grocery store until the business got back on 
its feet. My Dad said, ``Barb, you have to go. Your mother and I will 
find a way, because no matter what happens to you, no one can ever take 
that degree away from you. The best way I can protect you is to make 
sure you can earn a living all of your life.'' My father gave me the 
freedom to achieve. And this legislation will give millions of 
Americans that same freedom without adding a dime to the deficit.
  Senator Warren's legislation should be passed in a swift, 
expeditious, and uncluttered way. It gives our students access to the 
American dream. It gives our young people access to the freedom to 
achieve, to be able to follow their talents, and to be able to achieve 
higher education in whatever field they will be able to serve this 
country.
  While our work isn't done when it comes to ensuring access to 
affordable higher education, this bill helps us get there. While these 
bills will fix the problem today, I will continue to work with my 
colleagues to figure out a longer-term solution.
  Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, I wish to discuss the 
Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act (S. 2432). Student 
loans in this country are at an unprecedented $1.2 trillion and now 
exceed credit card debt as the largest consumer debt market after 
mortgages. Unfortunately, unlike mortgages, student borrowers are 
unable to take advantage of the low interest rate environment and many 
borrowers are stuck in high fixed-rate loans for 20 or more years. This 
means that these borrowers must delay, or put off permanently, other 
financial decisions such as buying a home, saving for retirement, or 
starting a small business. This is not just a ``young American'' 
issue--recent data shows that individuals of every demographic have 
increasing student debt burden, and the impact of those with student 
debt being unable to fully participate in the economy will affect all 
Americans for years to come.
  This issue is particularly important to me, as South Dakota has the 
highest proportion in the country of residents with student loan debt. 
That is why I have signed on to co-sponsor Senator Warren's bill to 
refinance student loans, and why, as chairman of the Banking Committee, 
which has jurisdiction over student loans made by private lenders, I 
will work to consider all actions that can be taken to address both 
existing and future student debt.

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