[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9766]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  MAKING STUDENT LOANS MORE AFFORDABLE

  (Mr. COURTNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, last August, in a rare flash of bipartisan 
togetherness, we passed a measure that protected new student loans from 
doubling to 6.8 percent, but there is still much work left to be done. 
The $1.2 trillion of student loan overhang still haunts many who have 
graduated from university in prior years.
  Yesterday, President Obama, with the stroke of a pen, extended the 
income-based repayment protections, capping at 10 percent of income the 
debt requirements for students who took out Stafford loans in the past, 
but there is still more work to be done.
  Again, for many who have private student loan debts at 8 percent, 10 
percent, 12 percent interest, they are still not getting any relief.
  A few days ago, we introduced in the House the Bank on Students 
Emergency Refinancing Act, which will allow students with those loans 
to refinance down those high rates to 3.8 percent, something which 
middle class families do with home mortgages and credit cards.
  We need to provide that assistance, particularly for young Americans 
who are starting out in their professional employment careers.
  Let's come together as we did last August. Let's support the Bank on 
Students Emergency Refinancing Act. Let's pass this measure, which is a 
critical problem for middle class Americans.

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