Political Quotes

“I want to thank Senators Leahy, Wyden, Brown, Whitehouse, Gillibrand, Merkley, Blumenthal, Schatz, Murphy, and Hirono for supporting this amendment. I also wish to thank the NEA and the AFT, the two largest teachers organizations in the country, for supporting this amendment. This amendment is very simple. It sunsets this legislation after 2 years, takes advantage of current, relatively low interest rates, and gives us the time to reauthorize the Higher Education Act and come up with sensible long-term solutions to the crisis of student indebtedness and college affordability. According to the CBO, by the year 2018, under this legislation undergraduate Stafford loans will be 7.25 percent, graduate Stafford loans will be 8.8 percent, and parent loans will be 9.7 percent. We have a crisis right now in student indebtedness. We need to solve that crisis, not make it worse. I ask for support of this amendment. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.”