John Tierney: “This is the final amendment to the bill. It will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If this amendment is…”

“This is the final amendment to the bill. It will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If this amendment is adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. Mr. Speaker, student loan debt is at a crisis level in this country. Outstanding student loans now total more than $1.2 trillion, surpassing total credit card debt, and every year, students are taking on more. An estimated 71 percent of college seniors had debt in 2012, with an average outstanding balance of $29,400 for those who borrowed to get a bachelor's degree. My constituents--and I am sure the constituents of my colleagues--are calling, emailing, posting on Facebook, and even approaching me on the street to share their stories about how they have been buried in student loan debt. This debt is causing them to put on hold other life decisions, such as whether or not they can move out of their parents' home, whether or not they can buy a car, purchase their own home, get married, or even consider starting a family. A young woman from Boxford, Massachusetts, wrote to me and said, ``I pay more than the minimum balance every month. I sacrifice daily for my loans. I live at home, have a 50-minute commute to work every day because I cannot afford to live on my own or even with roommates . . . I cannot have the dreams that I have dreamed of all my life.…”