Barbara Boxer: “That is a very important cloture motion. I hope we will move forward on this bill in a bipartisan way. As of now…”

“That is a very important cloture motion. I hope we will move forward on this bill in a bipartisan way. As of now, student loan rates have doubled on Stafford loans. In my State of California, 550,000 Californians are facing a doubling of their student loans, from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. I have asked my students to contact me and talk to me about their real-world stories and what it means to them to see a doubling of their student loan interest rate. I will tell you they are more eloquent than I could ever be. They talk about how they look at their dreams and maybe they will become fantasy dreams. They talk about what it would be to believe you are in a ball and chain of student loan debt that is so large it overwhelms you. In the name of those students and all the students across the country, I hope the majority leader's move to resolve this for at least a year and keep those loans at 3.4 percent--I hope that motion to proceed will go forward and that the bill itself will pass. What are the alternatives? Every alternative I have heard from the Republicans leads to higher interest rates with no cap. I don't know if you remember the years that interest rates rose after a period of low rates, and they went up to 7, 8, 9, 10, double digits--12 percent. I remember those days. It is hard for our people to remember that, but those were crushing interest rates.…”