Heidi Alexander: “I am glad I had an opportunity to hear the distinguished Senator from Iowa, who is my friend and the chairman of the…”

“I am glad I had an opportunity to hear the distinguished Senator from Iowa, who is my friend and the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. I wish to address the same subject he did, but I want to hasten to summarize it at the beginning to say that we agree. By we, I mean Governor Romney, the likely Republican nominee for President, President Obama, the House Republicans, I, and others agree that for the next year we should keep the interest rate on 40 percent of new student loans at 3.4 percent. There is no difference of opinion on that. What is different is how we propose to pay for it. The distinguished Senator from Iowa has actually outlined the difference of opinion very well. What we are saying, what the Republicans are saying, is that in order to pay for the $6 billion it will cost taxpayers to keep that 3.4 percent interest rate the same for the next year, we want to give to students--give them back their own money, the money the Democrats are overcharging them on their student loans. The Senator from Iowa went through a very careful explanation on that which was largely correct.…”