Katie Porter: “I thank the gentlewoman from Georgia for her leadership on this issue and for being here tonight to talk about those…”

“I thank the gentlewoman from Georgia for her leadership on this issue and for being here tonight to talk about those defrauded students who are being hurt and suffering around this country and whose voices are not being heard here in Congress. I also rise to talk about the college affordability crisis in our country. Next week, freshmen in college and their families will be faced with their first tuition bill. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average cost per year is just over $19,000 for a public 4-year university and nearly $40,000 for a private university. The price tag for postsecondary education is spiraling out of control, and the cost of college is increasing at a rate almost eight times faster than wages. Today, nearly 43 million Americans--that is one in six adults--have Federal student loan debt. The Federal student loan portfolio has risen to over $1.5 trillion, more than doubling from just a decade ago. Tomorrow's graduates will face an average debt of $30,000, a crippling amount for any young person to shoulder, before they have even entered the workforce. That amount of debt, that figure, increases every single year, while students' ability to pay off this debt does not. Even with the most generous interest rate--4 percent for Federal direct student loans--borrowers will owe over $300 a month on a standard repayment timeline of 10 years, and they will pay $6,500 in interest alone.…”