Congressional Record—Senate S5537
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July 9, 2013 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5537 President and the House that would dle-income students of America twist- help my family and help us through help every single student, and espe- ing in the wind, paying higher interest hard times, those seven kids in my cially why would we do that when we rates than they should. family grew up to be a firefighter, a leave middle-income students twisting So let’s step back and look at the lawyer, a computer programmer, a in the wind, paying hundreds of mil- facts. Let’s look at the President’s pro- sports writer, a homemaker, a middle lions of dollars more in interest rate posal, look at what the House passed, school teacher, and a Senator. In my than they should be paying over the and look at the bipartisan Burr- book, that was a good investment by next 10 years? Manchin proposal. I respectfully urge our country and our government. The student loan issue is becoming the majority leader to allow us to vote My family’s story is far from unique. like what we call the doc fix, where on that. I urge my colleagues on the In fact, last week I traveled around my Congress, for political reasons, every other side to coalesce around that idea. home State of Washington listening to year rushes around and makes a tem- Let’s say to the students of America: student after student after student de- porary patch. There is no need to do As the Senate, we know a good idea scribe the real-life impact this rate that here, no need whatsoever. when we see one, and the Burr-Manchin hike would have on them. Students I ask my friends on the Democratic proposal is such an idea. such as Elizabeth from Vancouver, WA: side to look at what the President has f She is a sophomore at the University of proposed and the reasoning behind it. EXECUTIVE SESSION Washington. She comes from a family It was in his budget. Look at what the of five children with immigrant par- House of Representatives has done. ents who work hourly low-wage jobs. They actually passed a bill that lowers She told me growing up, the idea of rates. Then look at the proposal by NOMINATION OF JENNIFER A. DORSEY TO BE UNITED STATES paying for college was overwhelming, Senator MANCHIN, Senator CARPER, DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE DIS- but thanks to scholarships and grants Senator KING, Senator BURR, Senator TRICT OF NEVADA and loans she is able to pursue her COBURN, and myself in the Senate. dream of becoming a broadcast jour- What our proposal would do is provide The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under nalist. However, her part-time work- a long-term solution: if you are an un- the previous order, the Senate will pro- study position barely covers her bills, dergraduate student at the University ceed to executive session to consider and she says she is constantly plagued of Tennessee, instead of your rate the following nomination, which the by stress as she worries about how she being 6.8 percent, it would be 3.66 per- clerk will report. is ever going to overcome what she cent. The Democratic proposal, I re- The legislative clerk read the nomi- calls her ‘‘debt sentence.’’ peat, does nothing for over 7 million nation of Jennifer A. Dorsey, of Ne- middle-income students who are going vada, to be United States District The reality is this is a simple issue. to be paying 6.8 percent when they Judge for the District of Nevada. College is already too expensive for should be paying, if they are under- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under students such as Elizabeth, and Con- graduates, 3.66 percent under our pro- the previous order, there will be 1 hour gress shouldn’t make it worse. So I am posal. That is nearly half as much. for debate equally divided in the usual very proud to join my colleagues in There is no need for that. form. supporting the Keep Student Loan This is like other political situations, The Senator from Washington. Rates Affordable Act to extend the 3.4 we have some misinformation going Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask percent interest rate, and I urge our back and forth across the aisle. I hope unanimous consent to speak as in friends on the other side of the aisle to my colleagues will take a look at the morning business. join us and pass it. Burr-Manchin proposal. The right The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without With student loan debt now exceed- thing for us to do is to say to these 10 objection, it is so ordered. ing $1 trillion, students and their fami- million students, all of them, every STUDENT LOANS lies deserve due process and thoughtful single one of them, that when you go Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, we are consideration of issues such as finan- to take out your 18 million loans this here today because, unfortunately, the cial aid. Students have already contrib- year you are going to be paying a rate financial burden on our Nation’s col- uted billions to deficit reduction, but that is fair to taxpayers and fair to lege students dramatically spiked over- the problem is the Senate Republican students. It is fair to taxpayers because night 8 days ago, including for over leadership has insisted in all of their it will not be costing the government 100,000 students across my home State proposals that we balance the budget any money and it is fair to students be- of Washington, where 56 percent of col- on the backs of struggling students and cause the government will not be mak- lege graduates leave school with a stu- their families. So far, they have re- ing any money. It will not be reducing dent loan debt, and the average fused to put the interest of students the deficit on the back of the students. amount they owe is more than $22,000. and tomorrow’s middle class ahead of That is the principle upon which we Just when they are getting started on Tax Code spending that benefits the can agree—fair to taxpayers, fair to their careers, instead of buying a house wealthy. students; doesn’t cost the taxpayers, or buying a car or just paying the bills, What they have introduced is a bill doesn’t balance the budget on the their student loan bills are piling up that includes no cap on how high stu- backs of students. On that basis we can with interest. dent loan rates could go—something say to students: Take advantage of Now interest rates for Federal stu- CBO tells us would mean students these low rates. You can get a 10-year dent loans, which have been kept at a could be locked in at rates over 8 per- loan if you are an undergraduate at 3.66 low rate of 3.4 percent, have doubled to cent in just a few short years. In effect, percent. There is no need to pretend we 6.8 percent. For these students and for it would be better to do absolutely are helping students when the alter- millions of students across the coun- nothing now than to take up and pass native proposal only addresses 40 per- try, that is a tax hike of $1,000. That is the Republican bill. cent of the students. These are the sub- not fair to students, and it is certainly I bet everybody listening knows a sidized loans. These are the loans for not good for our economy. Congress family member or a coworker who is up the low-income students, who already has to act to fix it. to their neck in student debt. It is a get, for the most part, Pell grants, who This isn’t just an abstract issue for weight that keeps them from helping already have their interest paid while me; it is very personal. Pell grants and to grow our economy or start a family they are in school—that is a big sub- student loans were what allowed my or take risks with their careers, and it sidy. It is over $50 billion in the next 10 six brothers and sisters and I to go to is a weight that is not easily shed. years. We leave the middle-income stu- college after my dad got sick and had We can’t continue to do this to gen- dents over 7 million of them—over the to leave his job. They are what made eration after generation of college stu- next 10 years paying hundreds of mil- college affordable, and they are what dents and expect to be able to compete lions of dollars they shouldn’t be pay- allowed each one of us to pursue a ca- in the 21st-century economy. We have ing. I don’t know why my friends on reer and give back to our communities. to do everything we can to remove bar- the other side want to leave the mid- Because our government was there to riers to education, not erect new ones. VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:45 Jul 10, 2013 Jkt 029060 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G09JY6.014 S09JYPT1 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with SENATE S5538 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 9, 2013 The clock has run out. We need to not just for the students borrowing 40 solution for 100 percent of the students.