Al Franken: “Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today to talk about the growing problem of student debt and the college affordability…”

“Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today to talk about the growing problem of student debt and the college affordability crisis that is gripping our Nation. I also rise to talk about one of the things we need to do to address this crisis; that is, to pass the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, which I was proud to join Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in introducing yesterday. We have to take action on student debt because it is a huge problem in this country. The total amount of student loan debt held by Americans is more than $1.2 trillion today--surpassing the total amount of credit card debt in our Nation. More and more Americans are becoming saddled with large amounts of student debt and that limits their ability to buy homes, save for retirement, and make other purchases that will help keep our economy growing. My State--Minnesota--has the unfortunate distinction of being the State with the fourth highest average debt for students graduating from a 4-year college, at over $30,000 per student. Over the last several years, I have held college affordability roundtables in Minnesota to hear from students and families about the challenges they face in paying for college and to talk about ways to make the situation better. Let me tell you about one of the stories I heard. Last month, at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, I met Joelle Stangler, a sophomore who is the incoming student class president.…”