Sherrod Brown

The investment that America has made in servicemembers is ultimately crippled when these individuals cannot invest in themselves.

Federal student loans are seen as safer than private loans because they offer repayment options, but we often hear that Federal loans lack comprehensive and consistent servicing standards.

If a servicer is found to repeatedly violate their Federal contracts or Federal laws, should there be consequences?

Sometimes the reason is beyond her or his control. You see that soldier eligible for a promotion... and they are denied because of the credit score.

It is critical that we ensure that student loan servicers do their jobs properly to protect individual borrowers and our economy as a whole.

Thank you, Senator Warren. And to the witnesses, thank you all for joining us.

Defaults will have long-term impacts on our economic recovery.

Sixty million dollars being paid out is a sign that if you are going to take advantage of the system, you are going to abuse servicemembers and their loans, then it will not be tolerated.

Outstanding student debt is $1.2 trillion--more than credit card debt, more than auto loans.

Would you support--and I do not know if Senator Rubio has thought it through in this direction.

Is it the right public policy that to ultimately end up in this place, that low-wage, lifetime workers--

How do we modernize the benefit so that a $10-, $11-, $12-an-hour worker... meets their needs?

That is why we should consider proposals to expand Social Security.

We have to have the courage to act.

To me, it is a moral issue and an economic issue.

The cash benefit is still far too low for a long-time, low-income worker, and that is clearly a big part of the problem here.

We need to think more holistically about how we actually change our culture of debt, consumption, savings, housing policy, the tax code.

While a number of us here want to see a more redistributive, a more progressive Social Security system, it does lead us to not want to means-test upper-income people.

I think surely the great majority of the public understands the concept of social insurance.

That does nothing to redistribute money to lower levels; it just, quote-unquote, 'fixes Social Security' by taking a little from the upper-income.

I am for that, but again, I want to make sure we protect those at the low-wage end who, again, have worked in blue-collar jobs their whole life, maybe cannot work past 62.

We need to make sure they have access to a retirement account in some way, shape, or form.

We should consider both angles.

And with the erosion of unions and the minimum wage together, we lead the world in the creation of low-wage jobs.

Today, we assess what the last 25 years have meant and what our policy toward China should be going forward.