[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8146]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             STUDENT LOANS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Earlier this week, I came to the floor and asked 
Senate Democrats to work with us on permanent student loan reform. This 
is an issue ripe for bipartisan cooperation.
  Both the President and Republicans want to prevent rates from going 
up in July, and the ideas Republicans have put forward on the issue are 
actually very similar to what the President has already proposed. This 
actually should be a slam dunk.
  Instead, Senate Democrats have put forward a bill that fails the very 
benchmarks that the President himself set--a bill that is nothing more 
than a short-term political patch funded by permanent tax hikes. The 
bill would cost taxpayers more than $8 billion, yet only save students 
about $6 a month. Worse still, it is a bill Senate Democrats know will 
fail. In fact, they actually seem to be indicating they want it to 
fail.
  Why would that be? Undoubtedly so they could keep this issue alive 
for the permanent campaign that never seems to end. Top Senate 
Democrats have stated themselves that they are ``not looking for 
compromise'' and that they are determined to show ``the difference 
between the two parties on a key issue,'' even when there isn't one.
  Two of the most senior Democrats said those things. Those are direct 
quotes, so basically they are determined to force a partisan fight 
regardless of the costs to students. By the way they set up this 
morning's votes, it is pretty clear those votes are intentionally 
designed to fail.
  So when the Senate Democrats get their wish and the bill fails this 
evening, I hope the President will step in to work with us on a serious 
permanent solution because, as I said, our ideas for reform are not all 
that different from his on this issue. Students should not be made to 
suffer just because some in this town seem to see them as rooks and 
pawns in a political chess match.
  Look, this isn't a fight young Americans need, and they especially 
don't need this fight right now. Young men and women are already having 
a rough enough go in the Obama economy. Those who make it through 
college face a highly uncertain future once they get out in the real 
world, as their parents like to call it. They are having a real tough 
time finding a job.
  Once ObamaCare comes online, experts predict their health care 
premiums are set to skyrocket. Young men in their mid-20s to mid-30s 
could see rate increases of 50 percent or more, depending on which 
study we look at.
  Here is the thing: Even if premiums end up going up by just a small 
fraction of that amount, it is still going to create an enormous 
headache for the next generation. While the administration's allies 
promised subsidies, studies indicate those payments from taxpayers may 
not make up for the higher costs.
  Many young folks seem to be living largely from paycheck to paycheck 
these days, often because they literally have no other choice. These 
men and women are just getting by as it is. Do we expect these 
Americans to be able to afford to pay even more?
  Apparently Washington Democrats do. Because if young folks don't 
cough up money for health insurance, they are going to get hit with a 
penalty tax. So one way or the other, many are going to start paying 
more. That is just one more reason why Senate Democrats need to get 
serious about the student loan issue.
  This summer alone more than 9 million college students will take out 
nearly $7,000 worth of loans and about $25,000 in total by the time 
they earn their degrees. That is a smart investment, but it is also a 
lot of money. We owe them certainty and stability and permanent reform 
along the lines Republicans and President Obama have called for, and 
those two proposals, as I said, are not that far apart and actually 
accomplish that result. It is time for the Democrats in Washington to 
put the campaigning aside and work with us to enact that kind of 
reform.

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