Political Quotes

“later today we will consider a student loan bill that will affect 11 million students across America. On July 1 the interest rate paid by students for their student loans doubled; it went from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. We know students are graduating with more and more debt. We also know the cost of that debt--the interest rate--makes a big difference in their lives. Sometimes they postpone important life decisions because of student loan debt. My daughter has a business in New York with two employees who are paying off student loans. She said the biggest worry they have from month to month is making that payment. I understand that too. After taking a look at the increase in debt, we find that student loan debt has now surpassed credit card debt in America. It is more than $1 trillion, and it is growing faster than any other form of debt. It is an indication of an indebtedness we need to take seriously. We will have a chance to do that this afternoon. There are many different points of view on what to do with student loans. Some people say that the government should be involved but it really should be a market-based system. Others say, no, the government should be involved and it should be a subsidy. We should help students go to school. We should find ways to keep the cost of education affordable, and lowering interest rates is one way to do it. We will have two amendments this afternoon.…”