On the recordJune 11, 2014
I thank my colleague for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge the House to act on responsible legislation that I have introduced that would help tens of millions of college students, graduates, parents, and middle class families all across the country refinance their existing loans to the same low rate offered to new borrowers in the student loan program. As the President said earlier this week when he voiced support for this bill, this should be a no-brainer. Homeowners and small businesses are so often able to refinance their debts, there is no reason at all that students and parents shouldn't be able to do the same. Refinancing would be a significant financial help to these students and their parents. In fact, a recent analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service showed that a middle class undergraduate student with an average loan debt would save more than $4,000 over the life of that loan. A typical graduate student would save more than $2,500, and a typical parent who borrowed to pay for their child's education would save $3,500 or more. As my colleagues know, these savings would be invested right back into the economy. Last year, the Center for American Progress estimated that refinancing of just some of these Federal loans would pump $21 billion into the economy. That is because these people are going to be able to save $40 to $100 a month--thousands over the course of their loan--and they have expenses and necessities for which they have to pay.…
