Cory Booker: “I rise today to express my disappointment that earlier today this Chamber could not even proceed to the consideration of…”

“I rise today to express my disappointment that earlier today this Chamber could not even proceed to the consideration of the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act. This would have allowed those with outstanding student loan debt to refinance at the lower interest rates currently offered to new borrowers. This is deeply disappointing to me, and it should be to the American public--that we could not even get on to the bill to debate it. This is why it is particularly disappointing: Our Nation's young people and their families are burdened with extraordinary debt--$1.2 trillion of student loan debt. This exceeds the aggregate--the total-- auto loan, credit card, and home equity debt balances in America, making student loans the second largest debt of U.S. households, following mortgages. Today, the average student graduates from college with around $29,000 in loans. In New Jersey, that is up from an average of $27,600 in 2011 and $23,792 in 2010. More than 16 percent of my constituents now have student debt. That is over 1 million New Jerseyans who are weighed down by a significant financial obligation that limits the amount of money they are able to put back into the economy--in buying homes and in investing in their futures, in pursuing their American dream. Reduced purchasing power due to high student loan debts not only holds back a family's day-to-day spending but it keeps them from making those large investments.…”