Amy Klobuchar: “I appreciate the words of the Senator from New York, and also his keen focus on these issues for the middle class…”

“I appreciate the words of the Senator from New York, and also his keen focus on these issues for the middle class, giving everyone a fair shot. I rise today to talk about the problems of student debt in this country and the effects that it has on millions of Americans. I think we all know that it is not just students, as much as that is the first group we think about--students--it is also their parents. Those are the ones I hear from a lot, and how hard it is, and how they have that next kid coming. While maybe they were able to patch together loans and some income to help one kid go through college, the second one comes along and it is incredibly difficult. They literally have this Sophie's choice about which kid they are going to send to college or what are they going to do with the third kid. It just should not be happening in America today. I thank Senators Franken, Blumenthal, and Baldwin for bringing us together on the floor, as well as Senators Harkin, Warren, and Durbin for their leadership on this issue. In the United States we appreciate the value of education. We know it leads to higher-paying jobs, better health, and even longer lives. I know the value of education. My grandpa worked 1,500 feet underground in a mine in Ely, MN. He was not able to graduate from high school because when his parents died, the two oldest boys had to go to work in the mines. They were only 15 years old. That is what they did. They went to work in the mines.…”