On the recordJuly 9, 2013
I thank my friend for the time. A lot of American families are getting their financial aid notices for the new academic year. Much to their chagrin, they're opening these envelopes and finding out that the student loan that cost them 3.4 percent last year is going to cost them 6.8 percent starting this year. This is a huge problem for the millions of American families who borrow money to educate their children or themselves. Now, what Congress has produced on this thus far is blame and finger- pointing. So here's what happened: The Republican majority passed a bill on this floor that actually made the problem worse, that actually would cost more than just going up to the 6.8 percent by about $4,000 per student over a 5-year period. They actually poured kerosine on the fire. They sent that bill over to the Senate. The Senate rejected the bill and didn't pass anything else. Now, I regret all of that, but, ladies and gentlemen, we have two choices in front of us today. We can quit on the issue and quit on America's students, or we can try to do something about it. I think we should try to do something about it. Here's the something: Mr. Miller has a proposal that would keep the rates at 3.4 percent for 1 more year. It would pay for this and not add a dime to the deficit by closing a tax loophole that exists for fairly wealthy people. Our proposal is we should put that bill on the floor and take a vote on it.…
