On the recordMarch 25, 2015
Mr. President, I rise to urge my colleagues to support amendment No. 652, to refinance existing student loans and bring down the high interest rates that are dragging down millions of Americans. When rates are low, people refinance their mortgages. When rates are low, businesses refinance their debt. Well, rates are low, and we want to give the 40 million Americans who are dealing with student loans the same chance to refinance their loans. Last year, Republicans blocked our efforts to lower student loan interest rates. They said there were other, better ways to deal with student loan debt, but they did nothing. So tens of millions of borrowers got nothing, and millions of borrowers are still stuck paying interest rates at 6 percent, 8 percent, 10 percent, and even higher. While Republicans were busy blocking student loan refinancing, our country's student debt problem got worse--much worse. In the last year, outstanding student debt has increased by $100 billion dollars. Nearly 1 million more borrowers have fallen behind on their student loans. The interest rate on new student loans only got higher. This amendment offers us a chance to actually do something for the millions of Americans who are dealing with student loan debt. The idea is simple: Refinance outstanding student loans down to 3.9 percent for undergraduates, a little higher for graduate students.…





