[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9732]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              STUDENT DEBT

  Mrs. BOXER. I talked about immigration. I talked about veterans. We 
have a chance now to deal with the student loan crisis, and it is a 
crisis.
  The student loan debt is $1.2 trillion. That is more than credit card 
debt.
  In my home State, the average amount owed by a borrower in 2012 was 
more than $25,000--a 65-percent increase from 2004. In the same time 
period, the number of Californians with outstanding student loan debt 
increased by 60 percent.
  In addition, in 2012 there were 641,000 Californians over the age of 
50 who were still paying down their student loans and more than 6.8 
million people over 50 nationwide still paying off their student loans.
  This is a crisis that must be addressed. It is important to our 
Nation's economy. It is important to the future of our families, to our 
children, and our grandchildren. It is time to act.
  I have to say, Senator Warren has been a tremendous leader. We can 
take an important step toward addressing this dire situation by passing 
Senator Warren's Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act. It 
would help millions of Americans refinance their loans at lower 
interest rates, put more money in their pockets. I have to say, it is 
kind of a no-brainer. When you have more money in your pocket than you 
had before, you are going to spend it in your communities.
  I am so proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation.
  Sadly, even though the Federal Government is the biggest student loan 
lender, and it is making billions of dollars in profits each year, it 
doesn't allow its borrowers to refinance their existing student loans 
when rates are low. That is wrong. Our middle class is hurting.
  The New York Federal Reserve Bank and the Consumer Financial 
Protection Bureau have been warning us that student loans are acting 
like an anchor on our economy.
  When our President took office, there was a crisis. We were losing 
700,000 jobs a month. He has turned it around, and now month after 
month we are creating over 200,000 jobs, and we have restored all those 
jobs we lost. But why would we keep this anchor of student loan debt on 
our economy?
  For example, students can't buy cars because they have so much in 
student loan debt. They can't buy houses.
  Andrea from San Francisco writes:

       My boyfriend and I both have student debt. He started with 
     $90,000 and has finally gotten it down to $50,000 after 10 
     years of paying. I recently finished my MFA and now have 
     $56,000 in debt. This has kept us from saving for a house, 
     purchasing a car, and doing things day to day that would 
     boost the economy, like shopping and going out to eat.

  Patrick from Thousand Oaks wrote to me and said:

       I pay half of my monthly wages to cover the interest alone 
     on my loan.

  Worse still, many young Americans wrestling with student debt cannot 
save enough to start a family.
  Stefanie from Pacific Grove wrote:

       We are finally starting a family in our late 30s. My 
     husband has been paying off his student loans for ten years. 
     This loan will cost him twice as much as he borrowed--
     doubling the cost of his college education. That is simply 
     not fair. If the Fed sets interest rates low for everyone 
     else, why not for students?

  As Stefanie's story illustrates, student debt is not only a drag on 
the American economy, it is tearing at the fabric of our American 
dream.
  I read last week that for the first time a majority of people don't 
really believe the dream will be there for them as it was for us. When 
40 million people in America are struggling with a combined $1.2 
trillion in student debt, it is no wonder the American dream is 
elusive.
  I have 3.7 million Californians dealing with $97 billion in student 
loans, and many of these loans are stuck at outrageously high interest 
rates--7, 8, 9 percent. With interest rates this high, it is hard for 
anyone to pay off their debt, and it is really hard for recent 
graduates who are just launching their careers.
  In order to help the nearly 40 million Americans with student debt, 
Senate Democrats have introduced this plan, with the leadership of 
Senator Warren. It is a simple plan. The idea is to let borrowers 
refinance their outstanding student loan debt.
  We are at a time of record-low interest. I am asking rhetorically 
whether it is fair to charge 7, 8, 9 percent interest when the Federal 
Government lends money to banks at less than 1 percent. The people who 
have borrowed money to pay for college or send their children to 
college are trapped with these exorbitant interest rates. And the 
private student loans can be even worse. I have seen 10 percent and 11 
percent.
  The Senate Democratic proposal would allow borrowers of both Federal 
and private student loans to refinance from their high rates into much 
lower rates. The rates would be 3.86 percent for undergraduates, 5.41 
percent for graduates, and 6.41 for the parents who have helped their 
kids. Those are the rates Democrats and Republicans agreed on last 
year, and those are the rates new borrowers received this past school 
year. But the older borrowers are stuck with these exorbitant rates, 
and they can't refinance. If those lower rates are good for new 
borrowers, why wouldn't we allow them for those who have been stuck in 
this vicious cycle of these high rates?
  These young people are not saddled with this debt because they went 
to the mall and bought a lot of clothes. They worked hard to learn new 
skills that will benefit our Nation and help keep us strong. They 
deserve a fair shot at saving and building a career and having a 
family.
  Matthew from Antelope, CA, wrote to me and said:

       I have never worked harder on one single goal than to be 
     the first in my family to gain a degree in higher education. 
     I've been on the Dean's List every semester in college. [But] 
     the ever-present fear of paying off the thousands of dollars 
     of interest I have gained is overwhelming and I am struggling 
     to see past it.
       If big banks, which collapsed our financial system, are 
     able to borrow at a rate of nearly zero percent, I don't see 
     why students who will ultimately grow our economy and grow 
     our nation cannot borrow at the same rates.

  Matt from Newport Beach, CA, said:

       I am grateful for my college education. As a son of middle-
     class parents, I knew [college] was an investment in my 
     future, despite the need to take out loans. I even graduated 
     in three years and served as a Resident Adviser to keep costs 
     down. However, my student loan debt is now a major expense 
     that hangs over me as a working adult. It affects my ability 
     to achieve certain life milestones--buy a house, finance a 
     wedding, and save for retirement.
       I support efforts to refinance loans at low interest 
     rates--rates comparable to those in the real estate market. 
     Please take action! With more affordable student loans, my 
     generation can grow this economy.

  Matt, Matthew, and their classmates who worked so hard to achieve 
their dreams deserve a fair shot. Tomorrow morning we will have a 
chance to make achieving the American dream a little easier for Matt, 
Matthew, and all our struggling college students. So I stand with Matt, 
Matthew, Patrick, Stefanie, Andrea, and the 40 other million Americans 
with student loans.
  What we are saying is very simple: We want to give students who are 
trapped in those high interest rates a chance to refinance. We pay for 
it by saying that those billionaires who aren't paying at least as much 
as their secretaries pay at least as much as that. It is called the 
Buffett rule. I can't imagine a better way to pay for this than that.
  I urge my colleagues--Democrats and Republicans--to stand with my 
constituents and their own constituents by voting to let us move 
forward to consider the Bank on Students Act.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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