Elizabeth Warren: “I come to the floor today to announce the introduction of emergency legislation to provide relief to students and young…”

“I come to the floor today to announce the introduction of emergency legislation to provide relief to students and young graduates who are drowning in debt. Make no mistake. This is an emergency. Student loan debt is exploding, and it threatens the stability of our young people and the future of our economy. Outstanding student loan debt now totals $1.2 trillion, and each year students are taking on more and more debt. In 2012 an astonishing 71 percent of college seniors owed student loans. From 2004 to 2012 the average student loan balance increased by 70 percent. Millions of young people are struggling to keep up with student loan payments. The economic impact is real. Federal watchdog agencies such as the Federal Reserve, the Treasury, and the Consumer Protection Bureau are all sounding the alarm. Every day this exploding debt stops more and more young people from moving out of their parents' homes, from saving for a downpayment, from buying a home, from buying cars, from starting small businesses, from saving for retirement, from making the purchases that keep this economy moving forward. It doesn't have to be this way. Congress set interest rates on student loans at artificially high rates that generate extra money for the government. The GAO recently projected that the government will bring in $66 billion just on the slice of student loans from 2007 to 2012. Those are the kinds of profits that would make a Fortune 500 CEO proud.…”