dangerous spot at the head of their ambush and reconnaissance patrols in the steaming jungles of the mekong delta. they managed as their comrades perished around them, still participating in acts of bravery that resulted in five purple hearts; two for chuck and three for tom. they also saved each other's lives. chuck hagel pulled his unconscious brother out of a burning armored personnel carrier just before it blew up. turning his own face into bubbling blisters. he prayed as he watched blood pour out of tom's ears. he reflected after that as he lay near death, severely burned, in a makeshift hospital.

quote: i made a promise to myself, he writes in his excellent book, that if i got out of that place and was ever in a position to do something about war, so horrible, so filled with suffering, i would do whatever i could to stop it. i have never forgotten that promise, unquote. senator hagel understands the commitment and sacrifices we honor this evening because he's made them he understands the physical and psychological traumas that prince harry has spoken of so eloquently. ..

>> not just because i was once and enlisted man in the armed forces, and not because i have anything against officers -- [laughter] but the enlisted men and women, they are the ones who earn an honest living. [laughter] you know, when i was in the army, generals used to paralyze me and scare the hell out of me. that no longer is the case, but sergeant major to do. [laughter] that's right. you're a former sergeant major over there, but they are, our enlisted men and women deserve

special recognition, not sliding our officers, and those who also dedicate themselves to our country to making a better world. but tonight we honor the enlisted men and women in our armed forces. and i might add, because represent here tonight are so many ambassadors from all over the world. and each of those ambassadors represents a nation with an armed force. and i've always believed, not having anything to do with me or my brother, but it is the enlisted men and women of any countries armed force that makes up the blood and tissue and the muscle and the fabric and the spirit of our services. i doubt if there is an officer in this room, beginning with general powell and other

distinguished great leaders in this room, who would disagree with anything i have just said, nor would they disagree with the fact that we are honoring our enlisted men and women tonight. but since i have the microphone, that's the way we're going to do it. enlisted men and women don't have much to do with making policy, but enlisted men and women faithfully, always, carry out the policy. they don't ask for anything special. it is the enlisted men and women and their families that are the ones who really take a tremendous amount of the brunt of to duty work, and make a tremendous amount of the sacrifices. and again i doubt if there is a general or his or her spouse in this room that would question

that. i thought prince harry's comments about families, that was particularly important, and i want to thank harry and his brother prince william, for what they continue to do in recognizing our men and women in uniform all over the world. men and women who serve in the armed forces do it because they believe in something. they believe in a noble cause. they believe in their country. they believe in the security for their country, but they believe in something deeper and bigger than that. they believe in a better world. they believe they can help make a better world. and after all, regardless of the service, the military service or the ngo service, or what paul polman talked about tonight, in corporate leadership universe, it is about service. it is about making a better

world. it is about leaving behind a better world. and it's about young people. we understand that. and we know that. every parent in this room understand it very well. and so to recognize these quiet and acclaimed heroes of our armed forces is the right thing to do. it, i think balances it very well, the other honorees tonight. it recognizes yes, the sacrifices of the surface of these men and women and their families, but it makes a statement about who we are. any man or woman who has served his or her country in uniform know that those individuals are the ones who most hate and detest war. but they also understand that a strong defense, a strong security is vital to building

the bridge to a better understanding. it is about that platform building that i referred to in my remarks earlier tonight. now, i'm going to ask a very distinguished individual, the senior enlisted, the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff to come up here in a moment, but i want to tell you just a bit about him. as sergeant major bryan battaglia will come up here, and received the award, along with other enlisted men and women on the half of the enlisted men and women in our armed forces. marine corps sergeant major bryan battaglia is the senior enlisted is the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of joint chiefs of staff. is the senior noncommissioned officer of the united states armed forces. in this role, he serves as the principal military advisor to the chairman, the secretary of defense, on all matters involving joint and combined

total force integration utilization, health of the forest and joint development for enlisted personnel. he is the recipient of many, many prestigious military honors, awards, and decorations, including the purple heart, american accommodation medal, and other metals. his wife, mrs. battaglia, is here tonight, who also deserves recognition. the men and women in uniform that are around the room here tonight in uniform are here to represent their colleagues in the five services of our country, and we applaud them and had an opportunity right before dinner was served to have them backstage, get photographs with rather significant military leaders like general powell, and all the honorees, which was a great treat for them. each of those on said, including

general powell, it was a bigotry for them, the honorees, to get their picture taken with these enlisted men and women. as an old army sergeant, i would say in bringing sergeant major battaglia up here, for a marine, he is not done a bad job, he's all right. [laughter] sergeant major bryan battaglia, please, up. [applauseup.please come up. [applause] ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ >> senator hagel, members of the atlantic council, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. as i stand before you

illuminated with pride, let me thank you for this prestigious honor you bestowed upon enlisted men and women, those who have served, and those who are serving as members of our united states armed forces. we are extremely grateful -- [applause] thank you. we are extremely grateful to be recognized alongside such other distinguished leaders and humanitarian people here this evening. allow me to express my profound appreciation for what you do each and every day across our globe. as our military senior noncommissioned officer, and a lifelong member to this profession of arms, it is indeed humbling to represent and enlisted corps of over 1 million men and women, a diverse and powerful composition reaching all walks of life. no corner of our country untouched, and in the enlisted

corps which is continuously evolve into our present-day inventory of dynamic leaders. traditionally referred to as the backbone of our military, our enlisted force brings a robust to strength, a riveting scale and agree to carry a heavy load. across the years we've witnessed a transformation of uniform craftsmen who primarily specialize in one specific skill, to a 21st century multidimensional, multitalented enlisted corps that comprises over 80% of our total force. as times have you will, so, too, has our society and the way we see the adequate significance and value of our enlisted military service member. equally important to mention, that leaving our enlisted corps our noncommissioned officers and petty officers to bring an advanced portfolio of expertise. we are no longer just simply a defender of society, but rather

a vigorous a group which helps sustain the commitment of americans do everything we value, honor, equal opportunity, resiliency, leadership, and integrity to mention a few. many of you in this room, notably his royal highness prince harry, candidly understands the shrubs, confidence and leadership, and commitment needed from his soldiers in order for the mission to get accomplished. i share this stage with five warriors staff sergeant than welch, army. staff sergeant sarina anderson, marines. petty officer first class curtis robinson, navy. technical sergeant lisa tomlinson, air force. petty officer second class lisa, coast guard. [cheers and applause]

>> they, too, stand here this evening and share the pride representing an enlisted force both past and present. enlisted service members dating back 237 years, infant in her lineage yet in the beginning of building a world-class military that still proudly serves its nation today. across the decades from the american revolutionary war to the our very pirate to the freezing battles in korea to the jungles of vietnam, to current complex, our enlisted men and women have patriotically provided enduring freedoms within the borders of our homeland and beyond. enlisted warriors of past, like sergeant alvin york, whom during world war i led an attack on a german machine gun nest taking 32 machine guns, eliminating a platoon of him and enemy soldiers and capturing 132 others. warriors of presence like her special forces operators who risked much to ensure that our

adversaries bring no harm. present warriors like our national guardsmen who in a multitude of responsibilities, especially during times of natural disaster, can bring immediate response and relief to our communities and neighborhoods. and enlisted warriors who nobly gain their full devotion of duty and now live in formations within the hallowed grounds of our cemeteries. finally, enlisted warriors like those here this evening, sons, daughters, siblings, even parents, to look for no fanfare but rather patriotic opportunity, opportunity to make a difference, opportunity to make our country a better place. ladies and gentlemen, it would please me to no end if all enlisted service members, past and present, in the audience tonight, please stand and allow us to recognize you. [applause]

>> thank you. this robust and artistic group in which you recognize this evening would have never accelerated or developed over the years if it were not for the intellectual vision of our commissioned officer corps. our senior leaders captioned the potential value and our incumbency of our enlisted, it is that which is bridged to continue trust and confidence between our officer and noncommissioned officer corps. general dempsey and are tremendously proud of our enlisted force, but we also recognize that we cannot do what we do without the unwavering support of our families. the commitment and sacrifice of our spouses, children, parents

and siblings play a vital role to our past success and sustainment of our future. and so in closing let me proclaim that our enlisted men and women represent an all-volunteer force, the remaining detached to our society and an essential part in the shaping of our country. these men and women are not just guardians of our nation but rather the future of our democracy, and aspiration of the world's people. thank you again for this monumental honor, and may god continue to bless our troops and their families here thank you. [applause]

>> now we come to the culminating portion of the evening, when we awarded the 2012 distinguished international leadership award. it is my privilege to invite to the stage the man who will present the award to this year's recipient, united nations secretary-general ban ki-moon. dr. henry kissinger, after which, after ban ki-moon's address, the great anne-sophie mutter will send us all home with a musical tribute to the secretary-general, and to the united nations. henry kissinger is a man who needs no introduction.

let me repeat that. henry kissinger is a man who needs no introduction. no, no, wait a minute. just them and i'm not sure i got the introduction quite right. the last time i heard dr. kissinger introduced that way years ago by ibm ceo lou gerstner, dr. kissinger came to the podium, and in his fashion said thank you, lou, but your introduction was far too modest. [laughter] so when lou was called upon again to introduce dr. kissinger, he mentioned dr. kissinger's comment, and then he went on in some length about his brilliance, his books, his government service, his nobel peace prize, and so on and so on. it went on for some time. and then he came to the podium and said to the audience, lou, it is true that no man needs an introduction less than i do, but

no meant appreciates one more. [laughter] as national security advisor and the secretary of state to presidents nixon and ford, dr. kissinger was a key participant in foreign policy debates at every stage of their presidencies. during his decade of dominance in american foreign policy, he brokered historic deals and engineered profound shifts in the international relations landscape that affect us to this day. witnessed today is still reverberating breakthrough with china on the 40th anniversary of the nixon-kissinger visit, and recounted and dr. kissinger's excellent book, and you're welcome, dr. kissinger, for that plug of your book. in his life and career since leaving government, dr. kissinger has continued to be an adviser to presidents, and has exercised extraordinary influence on the decisions of statesmen around the world.

dr. kissinger, i'm also been told you've been something to the middle of the secretary-general and to so many of the world leaders. you are also the atlantic council's longest serving board member, and we have profited from your generous spirit, your towering intellect, and yes, you're wicked sense of humor. ladies and gentlemen, dr. henry kissinger. [applause] >> your royal highnesses, mr. secretary-general, ladies and gentlemen, on one occasion,

and an eloquent introduction like this, the lady came up to me following the reception and said, i understand you are a fascinating man. she said, fascinate me. [laughter] it was one of the less successful conversations. [laughter] that i have had. in 1951, before i was henry kissinger -- [laughter] i was an intern at an organization called the operation research office of the department of the army, and they

sent me to korea to study the impact of the u.s. army on korea in life -- korea in life for which i was spectacularly ill-equipped. [laughter] >> but it gave me an opportunity to travel around the country in the middle of the korean war. the country was devastated. the largest building in seoul was the headquarters of the

japanese government that had still been, not torn down. no one would have believed it, that a day would come that a secretary-general of the united nations would be a distinguished korean leader. or that korea would look at it as today. it would have seemed totally improbable that a korean diplomat would travel around the world, acting in some respects

as the conscience of mankind. a secretary-general of the united nations who is active in places as far-flung as syria, sudan, burma, seeking to mediate and delay suffering. that this was possible at all is a tribute to the faith and dedication of the korean people, who had the vision -- who had a vision to overcome their suffering and their destruction,

and emerge as one of the leading countries of asia, and of the world. and it is equally true, due to the qualities of secretary-general, who, as a diplomat, and now in his current position, taken a position of wise and subtle leadership. his conduct is unassuming. is demeanor is modest. and as he has said on one occasion, modesty is an aspect

of demeanor. it is not an attribute of vision and purpose. he has shown vision and purpose, and he hasn't done it from the delicate position -- and he has done it from the delicate position of having to earn the confidence of the many conflicting tendencies that exist in the world today. this is really the first period in which international affairs have become truly global in the sense that actions in any part of the world affect every other

part. and in every part of the world, in countries about the other parts do. and in this capacity, the secretary-general, ban ki-moon, has put forward a five year action plan that deals with climate and environmental challenges, nonproliferation, counterterrorism, combating infectious disease, strengthening the international financial system, ensuring global growth and sustainabili sustainability. and so it is no accident that the first asian leader to receive this award from the atlantic council should receive

it, not primarily for the efforts he conducted on behalf of his nation, but for the efforts he has conducted on behalf of of humanity, of providing a forum where disputes can be aired, a mechanism where reconciliation can be attempted, and a possibility in which serious efforts can be made to discuss many technical problems in a world in which the traditional conflicts are no

longer dominant, but musicians are needed for those issues -- but new visions are needed for those issues that can only be dealt with on a global basis. so i'm very grateful to the atlantic council for giving me this opportunity to pay tribute to a distinguished leader. and i am obliged to point out to you that the organizers not fully confident that i would represent myself adequately of this, have asked me not only to introduce the secretary-general, but introduce a video of the secretary-general.

[laughter] after which i will give the award for the distinguished international leadership to my admired friend, the secretary-general of the united nations. [applause] >> the last 10 days, 192, including 120 meetings with the head of state, head of government and foreign ministers. i chaired the high level meeting on pakistan, high level meeting of pakistan, and so many spent what huge amount of work gets done but also the opportunity to have a voice, talking about the issues that they care about. >> climate change and public issues. we were able to mobilize

$40 billion to reduce brutality of women and children who have been dying. spent it's amazing to watch both, he gives like attend speeches and meeting with 25, 30 differently, all different parties, different priorities spent i wake up at 4 a.m. that gives me the best time, without any interruption. i have private time. it's like i am on conveyor belt. i spend time with my family members. unfortunately, my youngest of granddaughter, and an immensely grateful to my wife, my children for having been very patient, understanding my situation. >> he has 192 constituents he looks after. 192 nations with interests that he must fairly reflect. >> when i was a young child, --

[inaudible] i used to study in the dark. >> my background as a person was born in very poor country, which country has risen as one important economy power. that i can play a role between developing and developed countries. i start every day, every morning as if this is the first day in my office as secretary-general. each time i have met those young people who seemingly would have any hope before, who would have hope for me, and you cannot help but be trooper. how united nations can have opportunity. >> today, we have been tested. with all we do, let as send a clear message, there can't be no peace without trust.

[applause] [applause] ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ >> dr. kissinger, thank you for that very kind introduction. the world has looked to your reason and experience for many decades now, and your contribution has been great. i think you, dr. kissinger, for

your very strong support of united nations and for myself as secretary-general. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, and let me join in congratulating the other honorees of this evening, and anne-sophie mutter, paul polman, and the enlisted men and women of united states armed forces, and his royal highness, prince harry. this is really distinguished company indeed. [applause] general colin powell, doctor rajiv shah, maestro andre previn, honorable members of the congress, excellencies, members of the diplomatic corps,

distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, thank you as well for your warm welcome. and thank you to the board of the atlantic council, chairman senator hagel and president fred kempe, for their extraordinary honor. i take it as an eloquent symbol of partnership, united states and the united nations, and, therefore, all the staff and peacekeeping operations staff, and i humbly accept this honor. seldom, if ever, have our principles and shared -- [inaudible] seldom if ever has this partnership been more vital than at this moment. ladies and gentlemen, our world is rough place.

they were just celebrated and commented listed men and women of armed forces. as secretary-general of the united nations, my thought, with more than 120,000 u.s. peacekeeping operations staff, from more than 120 countries, who are walking day and night on the very difficult and dangerous continents. my deepest admiration's to all of them, and to all the people who are walking tirelessly for peace and stability around the world. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, let us cast our eyes across the globe, political landscape.

in syria, the violence still continues. we are in race against time to present full scale civil war. potentially massive scale. tensions between issue and iran remains dangerous. they recently launched another missile, and appears to be contemplating another nuclear tests in defiance of the entire community. we see famine coming into sahara. [inaudible] south sudan on the brink of countries that not long ago claimed 2 million lives. add to this the crisis in your area, climate change, the pressure of a growing

population, 7 billion, on our increasingly fragile planet. we have planetary limitations. almost every year we look in the sense we see growing insecurity, growing injustice, growing social inequality. if i were to speak like an economist, i might say we have an oversupply of problems. and the deficit of solutions, our deficits of leadership. that partly reflects the great changes of transforming our world. power is shifting. we do not yet know the shape of the new. 20 years ago at the end of the

cold war, the united states and its traditional allies could be counted on to lead the wars through uncertainty and change. today, that is much more different. and yet tonight, i want to state clearly, we need leadership, and your leadership. in these times of deep uncertainty during this era of change and transformation, we need a sort of leadership that has long distinguished this venerable atlantic council. a leadership dedicated to the common good of a global common good, a leadership of nations, acting in concert as we have seen, with truly global -- this is the leadership that created

the united nations and is the founding channel. and this is the leadership, leadership as principles allies and strong. ladies and gentlemen, as you may know, i lived through the korean war, as was eloquently introduced by dr. kissinger. the united nations, led by the united states, helped us through that dark hour. they came to us to rescue on the brink of collapse. forever after, the united nations community has been -- and is still is, billions of others around the world. when ever i see all of them who are looking to the united nations, i am humbled. just thinking that what kind of

support i can bring to them. today, as then, i believe the united nations can and must the solution to the worlds great challenges. engagement through the united nations, share the costs and responsibilities of leadership for all universal values and to steer the world through this great transition. that is why in january, as i begin my second term, i sent out a roadmap for my five year second term as secretary-general. they are in effect five imperatives of collective global action, opportunities to create the future we want, how to fight climate change and chart a new path of sustainable growth and

development. how to prevent country and better response to disasters and other humanitarian emergencies, from many man-made tragedies, man-made crisis. how to create a more just secure and equitable world grounded in universal human rights, and how -- in tradition for democracy, where many people still in arab and north africa are suffering for their rights and forth their aspirations, rights for human dignity. and how to give the world of women and young children greater voice and opportunity. i am not going -- let me say a few words about common thread that leads us -- that us through

all of them. that is the importance of putting people first. this is what politicians often say. but not many politicians are putting people first. the role of justice and fundamental freedoms, and essential quality of human dignity. this is what united nations and i as secretary-general is trying to do, putting people first. ladies and gentlemen, -- [applause] during the past year our collective values were tested. [inaudible] the international community responded with courage, decisiveness and unity. where incumbents president

refused to send down after having lost passionate refuse to stand down after having lost the election. when he threatened his people with a civil war in order to preserve his own power, illegal power, -- [inaudible] we stood for democracy and human rights. today,. [inaudible] in the international criminal court in the hague, and other president is in office. when moammar gadhafi threatened killed his own people, we acted. in doing so we have forced a fundamental new principal. that is, the responsibility to protect. and and in each case, it is important to recognize that there will be action collectively under the umbrella

of legitimacy provided by the united nations, the african union, united states and others. general brent scowcroft, who has been such a strong leader of the atlantic council said himself that this is the way of future, and i couldn't agree more. for events in modern memory have been more inspiring, if you events in modern memory have been more inspiring or more challenging than the arab spring. from the outset of this transition, transformation, i called the united nations have called on leaders to listen to their people, carefully insincerely, what they are telling us, what their

aspirations are. and to enter into an inclusive dialogue with them, to act before it was too late. now we must have these nations in transition. that is one of my priorities. in tunisia, egypt, libya and israel, we are walking for solutions that focus on people. building democratic institutions, helping to promote human rights, creating jobs and economies, economic opportunities, especially for women and young people. the challenge in syria is especially difficult. the government continues to assault its people everyday. unfortunately, we see the most appalling images, firing in city centers, innocent civilians are dying, even children.

secretary forces are arresting and torturing people with great brutality your meanwhile, other groups have escalated. as of today, united nations has deployed 59 supervision nations, and we will expedite this numb number. the district will have more than 130, and by 15 of this may we will have more than 230 people. and we are accelerating to implement secretary council resolutions to complement our 300 military supervisors, and approximately 100 before this month. our most immediate call is to save human life, to see the end of this violence.

and the presence of u.n. monitors has, in some cases, reduce the intensity of violence in syria. but it is still very precarious. but we must also create an opening for political engagement, the change of government and those seeking change. let me say clearly, this is a difficult mission and a difficult moment. this is even dangers issue. we know the risk to our brave service. we know that syrian citizens could face punishment for even speaking with them, and we know the nature of the regime, which could very choose the presence of the nation to prepare for further violence. the importance of our joint

special envoy, embodied the head of the secretary to do with these challenges. once again, i call on the syrian government to hold its responsibilities under the six-point plan fully and without further delay. as ever strenuous partnership is indispensable, the united nations, original united nations such as league of arab states, the u.n., and nations represented here tonight, we cannot predict how this will end your but we do know that there can be no compromise on fundamental principles, on justice, and human rights in syria, or elsewhere. no amount of force -- [applause]

>> no amount of wars can crush people's aspirations. 12 days ago, former president of liberia was found guilty by our special tribunal. today, i say no leader anywhere, anytime should imagine that he or she enjoys impunity of crimes of atrocity. [applause] >> those responsible for such acts in syria, or elsewhere, must be held accountable by the international community. ladies and gentlemen, i begin these remarks with a collective

leadership that puts people first. we need to create a more -- a world of real solution, a world of greater justice, with a more robust and proactive protection of human rights, and fundamental freedoms with a greater security and equity for all. as i see it, justice are not abstractions. they are not mere aspirations. they are rights of people. they are the responsibilities of governments to deliver. none of these ideas are alien to any, anyone here this evening. they are core american values. they are core of transatlantic values. increasingly, widely shared

around the world. our challenge is to continue to spread these principles all around the world, and this universal core, and that takes leadership, your leadership. if i could leave you with just one thought, it would be this. the atlantic council has always stood firm for justice and equal rights in larger freedom. now, is not the moment to lose the heart or change the course. and i thank you very much for this honor, and into for your leadership and commitment. let us work together -- [applause] to make this world better. thank you very much. [applause]

>> and gentlemen the great anne-sophie mutter -- ladies and gentlemen, the great anne-sophie mutter. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ [applause] >> thank you, anne-sophie mutter. what a brilliant performance.

this now in the 50th anniversary celebration of the atlantic council. thank you so much for attending. we will see you all next year. [applause] [inaudible conversations] >> the u.s. and is about the gavel and to begin the day. senators are likely to continue work this morning on a bill aiming to prevent a doubling of student loan interest rates on july 1. a vote to move the billboard is

set for noon eastern today. after that but we expect the senate to recess to attend a weekly party caucus lunches and then back to legislative work at 2:15 issue. now live senate coverage here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. o god, our refuge and strength,

you have called our senators to this place and time. may they be mindful of the responsibility to be faithful stewards of their vocation. protect them in the hour of temptation so that they will exercise self-control and glorify you. lord, use their talents and skills to strengthen our nation and to bless the people of our world. infuse them with such a spirit of gratitude that they will offer thanks to you by living according to your will. remind them that you are with them and will guide them. we pray in your sovereign name.

amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c, may 8, 2012. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable christopher a. coons, a senator from the state of delaware, to perform the duties of the chai. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore.

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: we're now considering the motion to proceed to the stop student loan interest rate hike. the time until noon will be divided between the two parties. the majority will control the first, the republicans the second 30 minutes. at noon there will be a cloture cloturevote on the motion to proceed to s. 2343, which is the stop student loan interest rate hike act. at 12:30, the senate will recess until 2:15 to allow for the weekly caucus meetings. there are four bills at the desk due for a second reading. i'd ask that the chair would move these forward. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the titles of the bills for the second time. the clerk: and act to authorize the continuation of certain water diversions used on

system land. h.r. 2240, an act to though, change of land and so forth and for other purposes. h.r. 4628, an act to extend student loan interest rates for undergraduate federal direct stafford loans. h.r. 4849, an act to direct the secretary of interior to issue commercial use authorizations to commercial stock operators and so forth and for other purposes. mr. reid: i now to be further proceedings on each of these bills. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the measures will be placed on the calendar. mr. reid: i now ask unanimous consent that joe mahoney be granted floor privileges during the consideration of today's bill. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, over the last two weeks senate republicans have repeatedly claimed they support ifortses to keep interest rates loan for student loans. in fact, the republican

presidential nominee has said the same. democrats have proposed legislation to freeze student loan interest rates for a year without adding a single penny to the deficit. our plan creates no new taxes. our plan, mr. president, creates no new taxes. it would simply stop wealthy americans from avoiding the taxes they already owe. our legislation would prevent seven million students from paying $1 nor over the life $$1,000 more over the life of their loans. yet republicans appear poised to filibuster this measure. they are sending a message that they'd rather protect wealthy tax doarnlings - dodgers -- thay are. republicans will try to explain away their "no" votes by claiming they oppose the way the legislation is paid for. they propose rad cat cuts to preventive health funds instead, a proposal they know that we

oppose. mr. president, we have already cut that plan to the bare bones. we've used this on other programs to cut and we've done it in the right way. any fluff that was in that program is gone. some say we've cut far too much out of it. the prevention fund is, as we speak, helping states fight chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. these diseases that i've just mentioned cause, of all the deaths in america today, seven out of ten are caused from latter disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. and what we -- what they want to use to pay for the student loan interest rate stablization is programs that do just that, stop those diseases from going forward. it's a preventive program. and, mr. president, these

diseases are responsible for three-quarters of the nation's health care spending. so anything we can do to cut those back is the right thing to do. common sense indicates that treating 26 million americans with diabetes -- mr. president, around america today, 26 million people are taking medicine for diabetes, and that's sad to say, including a rapidly growing number of children. these 26 million people use up so much of our health care delivery system. and diabetes increases the risk of developing other costly, life-threatening, chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and many other maladies that come from simply having diabetes. this prevention fund that the republicans want to use to pay for the stablization program for student loans also pays for

successful tobacco cessation programs that avert billions of health care costs to treat emphysema, heart disease, cancer, among other things. and it finances i am munizations for preventable childhood illnesses such as measles and whooping cough. these diseases are back because there's been lack -- there's been too few immunizations. last year measles reached a 15-year high in our country. after nearly being wiped out in the 1950's, whooping cough has resurged. there have been major articles -- i read one. it was stunning. as a kid, i took a whooping cough shot. i hadn't heard of it. it's back. this is a terrible disease that we now have in america. as i say, it's come back. cough -- violent coughs going for as much as six months. people die as a result of

coughing so hard. we've had a real bad outbreak of whooping cough in california, and the disease in america has reached its highest rates in 50 years, and the republicans want to cut back on these immunizations. that's not a good idea, mr. president. these diseases that i've talked about are completely preventable with the kind of proper immunizations the prevention fund supports. yet republicans want to ax investments in preventive care that save the country money and save lives. we've already made cuts. i've indicated that, difficult cuts to this program. we cannot afford to make more drastic cuts which would put americans' health at rick. but while we do not support republicans' plans to cut programs that combat heart disease and cancer, we're happy if they wnt want a vote on some

alternative. if republicans would stop filibustering our legislation and this instance to keep student loan interest rates low, if they want some other way to pay for it, let's take look at it. let them offer that. the stakes in this debate are too high to let partisanship get in the way. the average student graduates with $25,000 in debt. as indicated here on the floor yesterday, people who are running up these loans do it because they want to. education is so important in our country. many young people are putting off buying a house, starting a family, or opening a business because they're saddled with these crushing student loan debts. we don't need to load that burden even more. democrats are determined to protect millions of students from increasing interest rates. almost 30,000 in nevada alone. if republicans truly share our goal, they'll vote to advance this legislation today.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: it's not exactly a state secret that senate democrats have turned the senate floor into an extension of the obama campaign over the past few months. and that what happens here these days has a lot more to do with what some political consultant out in chicago thinks is good for the president's reelection than what the american people think would be good for the country as a whole. separation of powers notwithstanding, the democrats' top message man recently admitted that democrats and the white house are attached at the hip. end quote. meaning, of course, that the senate has ceased to be a place where problems are resolved. it's become instead place where democrats produce campaign material.

today's vote on the student loan rates is a perfect example of this cynical election year strategy in action. rather than working with republicans to help young people in this country weather the effects of the obama economy, democrats have sought to distract them from it. never mind the fact that democratic leaders supported the bill that will cause interest rates on certain college loans to spike on july 1. never mind the fact that president obama was so concerned about this issue when this legislation passed that he didn't even show up for the vote. never mind the fact that democrats have known this problem was coming for literally years but deliberat deliberatedo months before their temporary fix was due to expire to do anything about it. never mind any of that. what matters now for democrats is that they find a way to drive a wedge between republicans and

a constituency that they're looking to court ahead of the november election. that's what today's vote is all about for them. well, republicans, while we don't think young people should have to suffer anymore than they already are as a result of this president's failure to turn the economy around, we just disagree that we should pay for a fix by diverting $6 billion from medicare and raising taxes on the very businesses we're counting on to hire these young people. but, as said, solving the problem isn't what this is about for senate democrats and the white house that they're coordinating with. finding a solution to this problem actually isn't difficult at all. what's difficult is getting democrats to agree to it in an election year. for them, it's about putting the

other party on the spot. look, republicans have a solution to this problem. we've asked for a vote on it. even senator harkin, who opposes our approach, thinks we should at least get that vote. but following the president's lead, senate democratic leaders have decided to put the finger of blame instead on us instead of solving the problem, which of course is completely ridiculous. i mean, here we are near three and a half years into this president's first term, he's still blaming his predecessor. he got nearly everything he wanted for two years. he borrowed and spent trillions. he took over the student loan industry. he took over health care. he imposed his regulations. it's his economy now.

it's his economy now. yet he is still blaming others. well, my view is if you're going to ask the american people to take responsibility for their actions, pay their fair share and play by the rules, it's time the president led by example and did the same. three months ago the president told the american people that it's time to apply the same rules from top to bottom. the president said no bailouts, no handouts and no copouts. an america built to last, he said. insist on responsibility from everybody. yet day after day, week after week what do we get from democratic leaders in the senate and from the president himself? but more copouts. here's the real issue behind today's votes. right now more than half of college graduates cannot find a decent job.

more than half. close to half of them are back at home living with their parents. as a "wall street journal" article from last late year put it, the u.s. major market may be in a mailaise but young adults are in a crisis. the real solution, of course, progrowth policies that make it easier for u.s. businesss to hire. but in the short term republicans are ready to offer temporary relief, just as we did for working americans earlier this year by extending the payroll tax holiday. to pay for this fix, republicans propose to end an obamacare slush fund that democrats and the president himself have already drawn from to cover other expenses. this is a pay-for democrats and the president have already used. this is perfectly reasonable. it's a solution to a problem both parties want to address.

it passed the house with bipartisan support. if democrats want to solve the problem, they should embrace it too, or at the very least offer a bipartisan solution of their own. the white house has done neither. now the real enemy of recent college graduates is this president's economic policies. until democrats are willing to admit that, we'll keep falling behind. and the real losers will be the young people we should be working together on a bipartisan basis to help. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. and under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to s. 2343, which the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to consider calendar number 365, s. 2343, a bill to amend the higher education act of 1965 to extend the reduced interest rate for federal direct stafford

loans and for other purposes. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the time until 12:00 noon will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees with the majority controlling the first 30 minutes and the republicans controlling the second 30 minutes. mrs. murray: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: mr. president, we are here today because unless congress acts, interest rates for many of our students, over 100,000 of them in my home state of washington, is going to double in just 55 days. on july 1, the law we passed that held rates on federally subsidized stafford loans to 3.4% will end, and rates are going to jump overnight to 6.8%. that is going to add $1,000 to the cost of loans for these young people. and it's going to be another huge strain for students and families who are already fighting to afford college and still struggling in this tough

economy. mr. president, this isn't just an abstract issue for me. for me it's very personal. pell grants and student loans were what allowed my six brothers and sisters and i to go to college when my dad got sick and had to leave his job. they were what made college affordable for us, and they were what allowed each one of us to pursue careers and give back to our communities. because our government was there for us at a very tough time for us, those seven kids in my family grew up to be a firefighter, a lawyer, a computer programmer, a sports writer, a homemaker, a middle school taoefrp and a united states senator. pretty good investment by our country. mr. president, our family's story is not unique. last week i went across my home state of washington listening to student after student describe the real-life impacts this

interest rate hike will have on their livelihood. i heard from dora herandes, a first generation college student at washington state university in vancouver. dora became a mother at 18, two months after she graduated from high school. she worked two to three jobs at a time to support herself and her child. it was at one of those jobs working the concession stand on a college campus that inspired her to improve her own life by earning a postsecondary degree. see received some financial aid, but -- she received some financial aid, but she will still have $29,000 in student loans to pay back when she graduates this month, she told me proudly standing right in front of that concession stand she used to work at. she has no job lined up yet. and she said, "i was flab

flabbergasted. i hope congress finds a way to keep student loan interest rates down for students like me. " then there was diane robinson, a 24-year-old single mom who told me she decided to enroll at clark college after a divorce left her with absolutely nothing. she told me, "i would not be here without these loans. it would be impossible." and through her tears, diane told me that she was raised to repay her debts and worries about her looming student loan payments every single day. she said, "if there is an increase on student loan interest rates, it will compromise my quality of life. repaying that debt i have accrued will be essential for me to have a happy future." mr. president, for millions of americans, affordable college has been the ticket to the middle class. and for millions of small business owners, finding local workers with education skills they need has been what's allowed them to expand and grow

in our communities. we cannot afford to let that slip away. we can't ahrou access to -- allow access to college to become unobtainable for so many of our families. as we know college costs are rising too quickly now anyway. sense 1985 the -- since 1985 the cost of a college education increased by 559% because states have had to cut back their support for higher education and operating costs have increased. in fact, student loan debt has spiked, and for the first time in u.s. history the national student debt burden has surpassed $1 trillion. that is more than the total amount of credit card debt. so the last thing our students right now need, the very last thing is for interest rates on this critical loan program to double. we cannot afford to -- we cannot afford to allow that to happen. at a time when mortgage rates

are under 4%, we should be doing everything possible to keep rates low for students today. and in fact, we should be investing in our future and trying to get more high school students to continue their education. we should not be doubling interest rates on a critical loan program that students count on. it does not make sense. mr. president, the stop the student loan interest rate hike bill that is before us is a commonsense measure that will prevent a rate hike on more than 7.4 million college students, and it pays for it by closing a tax loophole that allows certain wealthy professionals to dodge paying their fair share of taxes. so i hope that we can move to this today. i just want to add, mr. president, it's not just like the students that i just talked about, dora and diane, who are speaking out against this rate hike. in fact, if our republican colleagues do decide to block our ability to go to this bill

today, i know that students all across our country are going to continue to make their voices heard about this, whether it's in person or in letters or in twitter or on facebook, and we will bring those stories right here to the united states senate. over and over again we'll bring them until republicans see that the students of america are not going to take "no" for an answer on this critical issue that will affect their lives far into the future. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. brown: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. i rise in support of the same legislation. i appreciate the work of senator murray and senator klobuchar. i introduced this legislation with senator harkin of iowa and senator reed of rhode island. in the last couple of weeks i've been to cleveland community

college and the community college at the university of cincinnati. virtually there was universal support among students for this legislation. we have no business -- we have no business letting the interest rate double. the vote that will take place in less than an hour gives us an opportunity to help students in a huge way. the average ohio graduate of a four-year university has a $27,000 student debt. if we're going to pile on that -- pile more money on that debt by allowing the interest rate to go from 3.4% to 6.8%, it means that student is less likely to be able to buy a house, less likely to be able to probably start a family, less likely to be able to start a business. it just saps wealth from our community. if we can keep this interest rate at 3.4%, it will pay dividends much more than the cost of this. i would just close, because senator klobuchar is next and i want to give her the full time

that she was promised, this was a bipartisan arrangement. back in 2007 when senator klobuchar and i were in our first year in the senate, president bush signed legislation brought forward, passed by a democratic senate and democratic house with republican shourt. so broad bipartisan support to lock in 3.4% for five years. why are people making it partisan now? the fact is we should pass this legislation today. we should pay for it in a way by closing these tax loopholes that, call this the newt newt gingrich-john edwards loophole in their private-sector lives have been legally been able to avoid tens of thousands of dollars in taxes, lobbying firms, consulting firms all have used this loophole. governor romney wanted to close this loophole when he was governor of massachusetts. it is something we should move

forward on. put the partisanship aside. pass this. this is good for individual students. like the g.i. bill after world war ii. it was good for millions of individual students and look what it did for our society as a whole. it made us a richer country, more prosperous country, more egalitarian country. what's not to like about that. that's why we should pass this legislation. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i rise today to spaoepl in support of -- speak in support of stop the student loan interest rate hike. i want to first acknowledge my colleague senator brown of ohio for his leadership. they have ohio state. we have the university of minnesota. and both of us have met with students from these states who have told us firsthand what they are experiencing every single day. i've talked to students at the university of minnesota and minnesota state in man -- cado where my father-in-law taught for many years where they told

me about their own situations where they have five siblings and there is absolutely no way where their parents, both of whom are working, can afford to send their kids to college without loans. i've talked to a young woman in mancato whose mom was helping with the tuition and then suddenly her mom lost her job and she couldn't help anymore. parents who have gone out on disability who can no longer help anymore. we have to ask ourselves as a country when those things happen, when you have a student who may be the first in their family to ever go to college, are we going to turn our backs on them and say, no, actually we don't want you to go to college? that's not going to work in our country. that is not going to work because in minnesota the numbers just came out, up to 2018 all the new jobs created, up to 70% of them, 70% are going to require some sort of postsecond ary education. half are going to require one to two-year address. the other -- two-year degrees.

we know those facts. that's by having educated workers. to do that we cannot turn our backs on the students who may be in a situation where they can work part time. there was one girl i met, mr. president, at the university of minnesota who was working 50 hours, 50 hours every week in addition to the class load, in addition to going to school. these student students are workd and we must b make sure they are able to complete their college degrees. tuition and fees have been rising faster than household income over the last two decades and it is becoming harder to afford these costs. we know that student loan debt has reached record levels. college seniors owed an average of $25,000 in student loan debt upon graduating in 2010, with a total loan debt reaching $1 trillion. this is what we're dealing w i know when i had student loans, i paid them off and, mr. president, you'll being happy to know, i met my husband

right after i had paid off my loans and he still owed over $20,000 in student loans, but i married him anyway. so i have had firsthand experience with what it's like it pay off these loans. but never in these kind of amounts that our students today are facing. and while it's normally a good thing to be above average, my moment state is unfortunately above average in student loan debt. we rank fourth in the nation. the average minnesota student graduates from college with more than $29,000 in loan debt. as college costs skyrocket and student loan debt climbs, we have to consider what this means for students today and what effect this will have on our future. at a time when our global economy, as i mentioned, demands more than our workforce, we must focus on the foundation of our future prosperity. that is education, particularly in science, technology, engineering and math. and to advance in those fields, you need at least a two-year

degree or a four-year degree. we know that. we must do more to expand higher-education opportunities and make college more affordable for ow students. it is one of the best investments we can make in the long-term success for america and that's because education just doesn't pay off for students. it also pays off for our country in the form of a skilled workforce and competitive economy. we've seen this in my home state where we're home to one of the best caste educated workforces e country. it is not the weather. these companies did not elect to move to minnesota and stay in minnesota because of our winters. they came in large part because of the educated workforce, because we had people that could do the jobs and invent the things. a recent book came out and those that at 3m, they have as many inventions as they have employees.

they average one invention for each employee. that is a true fact. and you look at the numbers. why is that? because we had the educated workforce to fill those jobs. we also know that students today, both those that are in college and those who are considering college, face many unexpected obstacles, including the pressure to pay for higher education. as i mentioned, when i visited students at the university of minnesota and also minnesota state at mancato, i heard firsthand about their experiences and how hard they were working to get those degrees. thesthese students face many hardships and they're determined to move forward and get their education. students are work, save money and be totally responsible about saving for and paying for college but life can bring unexpected challenges and students need help through access to low-interest loans, and that is all we're talking about here, mr. president -- low-interest loans. interest rates on stafford

student longes are se loans aree to 6.8% on july 1 of this year and unless congress intervenes, seven million students are see higher interest rates on their student loans, a dramatic increase in the interest rate doesn't make sense at a time when the economy is still struggling to recover, students are facing ever-higher college costs and young graduates are having trouble finding a jofnlt i am a cosponsor of the student loans affordability act which would prevent the rate hike and ensure that college remains affordable. that would affect, mr. president -- this doubling of the interest rate in my state alone -- 200,000 students. think what we want them to do. we want those students to be out there inventing the next post-it note for 3m. we want those students to be out there inventing the next pacemaker. we want those students out there

inventing the next google. that is what this is about. that is our -- that is how our economy is run. we are a country that must make things, invent things, export to the world and the only way we do that is with affordable education. i've heard from hundreds of minnesotans who say that the costs are putting a strain on their families and make college seem out of reach. this is simply unacceptable, and we must act nowvment i know this firsthand, as i explained, mr. president, not only with what i have seen in my state, between the interrelationship between education and business, but in my own life. my grandpa worked 1,500 feet underground in the mines in northern minute mustn't. -- in northern minute. he saved money in a coffee can in the basement of the their little house where they only had a shower in the basement. and he saved money in that coffee can to send my dad and his brother to college.

so they were the first in that family with slovenian immigrants, the first to go to college. they want to college. my uncle became an engineer living in rough chest,minnesota, and my dad went to a two-year college, from what's vermillion community college, got his journalism degree, went on to the minneapolis star and tribune where he became an award-winning journalist. he traveled the world and interviewed everyone from ginger rothers to mike ditka to ronald reagan. that's my dad's life. it all started because his parents believed in education. but most importantly, his country believed in education, the united states of america. that's what this issue is about. it's about progress. it's about families. it's about moving this country forward. thank you, mr. president, and i yield the floor.

mr. franken: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. frank thank you, mr. president. -- mr. franken: thank you, mr. president. i would just passed a deadline for students to decide where they're going to college in fall. this is one of the biggest financial decisions that students will ever make. nationally student loan debt is over $1 trillion now. it's higher than credit card debt. and over 60% of the class of 2010 graduates with outstanding student loans, college graduates. in minnesota, we're fourth in the country in the level of debt that college graduates take with

them. it's $29,000. this is hurting us as a nation, in competition with other countries. it wasn't too many years ago when the united states was number one in the world in the percentage of its adult population that had graduated from college. now we're something like 16th. that's going to hurt us. we have to do something about student debt. behind every one of these statistics are stories. i had students from the board of minscu -- the minnesota organization of colleges and universities -- and i had them in m my office. i said to them, how many of you

work at least 10 hours a week while going to school. all of them. how many of you work 20 hours a week? most of them. how many of you work at least 30 hours a week while going to school? a lot of them. how many of you work 40 hours a week while going to school? how many of you work full-time while going to school? a few of them, a number of them. that's no way to go to school. time after time when i talk to kids, i hear their stories. mike flannery is a gad watt of hannepin technical college sms he was forced to take out college loans because federal loans were not enough to pay for his costs. he graduated with a total amount of debt of $34,750, from his associate's program. he is struggling to deal with this massive debt loan and told

me that he will likely have to drop out of the summer coursework due to college costs. he croantsly owe currently owes. still working towards his bachelor's degree. no wonder it takes our students six years to graduate often, or longer. college -- it's now not really a question. you have to graduate from college or at least get a two-year degree to get a good job in this country, a good-paying job. in the next seven years 70% of jobs in minnesota will require some type of postsecondary credential. yet right now only 40% of working-age minnesotans have one. if we are going to compete with other countries, we got to do

something about this. what can we do? we got to get long-term costs under control. there is a lot to do there. but in the short term -- that's the long term. but in the short ternling shortt we should do no harm. on july 1, stafford loans are set to go to 6.%. that's unconshonl. this legislation is written in 2007. it said it would double. what the interest rates have done from 2007 to now, they've shot down. this makes no sense whatsoever. this is going to affect over 7.5 million students nationwide, over 200,000 students in minnesota f we fail to take action, this will cost every student in minnesota about

$1,000 in increased loans forbe each year of college over the cost of their lives. that's money. that's real money. now, we have an offset here that we have been trying to do here. what it is, this is about escorts. i don't know to get into the details of this. basically what it is, let's say you have an s coppe corp., awnda businessman. you at the end of the thing, you take your profits, and most honest businessmen pay taxes on it -- all of that, including their whoalgd tax withholding tr fyke cavment you pay fica o.

there's others that take ran advantage of a loophole. there is a loophole. it is legal. so let's say you're a businessman and you make $300,000. wcialtion you pay yourself a -- well, you pair self a salary of $4r0,000. and you pie your fica on that. at the end of the year you take out the profits. these profit profits aren't capl gains. you pay them as taxes. this is as clearly a loophole as anything that exists in our tax code. this is exactly the type of loop hopes that everyone, not just our friends on the other side of the aisle, but that we are talking about taking out of the tax code so that we can maybe not raise marginal rates as much. or on the other side they say we

can take out the loopholes and lower o if you can't get rid of this loophole, ness no loophole you can get rid of. this is so obviously a wrongheaded loophole. that extra money that they take at the end of the year, it is not considered capital gains. it is -- it is income. they pay the top rate on that income. if it is above the top rate. and this would affect only -- this offset would affect only people making $250,000. soy we need to pass this -- so we need to pass this legislation. and this loophole is what needs -- we need to close it. because it just makes sense. it's a loophole that i don't think anyone can really defend. i really doovmen don't. i'd love to hear somebody try to defend this. and again i've heard over and

oaferredz and over again, we just have to close some loopholes, these crazy loopholes. this is the one we need to do. so our kids can have a manage baling debt. so they're not paying exorbitant costs on their debt. you know, we've got to be realistic about all of this, about what it takes to make it in this country. you need a college education, or you need some postsecond ary education. we have a skills gap in this country that we need to close. and kids are borrowing and borrowing, and we're doing this generation a disservice. and we've got to look at

reality. i heard mitt romney the other day in ohio, and he said to kids, well, look, take a chance on yourself. borrow money from your parents to start a business. that is not what's happening in this country. kids aren't accumulating an average of $29,000 in debt and still able to borrow from their parents. if they could borrow from their parents, they wouldn't have an average of $29,000 in debt. they'd be borrowing from their parents. the reality is that we're putting a burden on our children that we shouldn't be putting on them. and we should close this loophole that there is no rhyme

or reason for so that our kids can be paying, these students can be paying a reasonable interest rate and not some exorbitant interest rate. this is just common sense. it's just common sense. and i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote for this bill, and then we can move on to some other things. thank you. i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. speaker? the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. a senator: thank you. i ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. heller: i rise in support of efforts to prevent an increase in student loan rates. for millions of americans, education is the key to success and a better future for themselves and for their families. workers with a bachelor's degree today earn about 70% more each year than those with only a high school diploma. we all want a better life for our children and for our grandchildren, and for many of them a college education is part of achieving that goal.

however, higher education carries an increasingly substantial price tag. one of my children has already completed her higher education. both of my sons are currently in college, and my youngest is preparing for her posthigh school education. so i know firsthand the financial strain on both the college students and their family. the inflation-adjusted cost of college has almost tripled over the last 25 years while median family income over the same period of time has risen only about 10%. fees keep rising rapidly, soaring 8.3% in the last year for public universities and 4.5% for private institutions. in 2009, more than half of all public college graduates were in debt, with an average loan burden of nearly $20,000. for private college graduates, the percentage and amount of

debt is even greater. the loan burden itself is substantial, and last thing graduates need to worry about is high interest rates on these loans. i was proud to vote for the initial efforts to keep student loan interest rates low-back when i was serving in the house in 2007. now i'm a proud cosponsor of the interest rate reduction act which has been offered by my friend from tennessee, mr. alexander. this legislation prevents student loans from doubling from 3.4% to 6.8%, and i truly hope congress will be able to come together with a bipartisan agreement soon to prevent this rate increase from going into effect on july 1. while student loan rates should be addressed, i'm even more worried about the overall economic climate facing college grads. recent reports found more than half of bachelors degree holders under the age of 25 last year,

1.5 million americans, were jobless or underkphroeud. of the -- underemployed. of the 1.5 million languishing in the job market half were unemployed. these would-be professionals were unemployed and unable to start paying their jobs or have a job that may only provide enough for them to barely scrape by paycheck by paycheck. instead of becoming the workforce of the next generation, the majority of recent graduates are finding their personal lives and finances mired in this ailing economy. parents who have been laid off or have seen their savings diminished have not been able to help their children through their education as they may have planned or wanted to. our children and grandchildren are paying the price for washington's failure to lead our nation out of this economic crisis. addressing student loan rates is important, and we need to accomplish that work promptly. but our work for america's

college students and recent graduates is far from over. every day congress should be doing something to provide more stability and certainty for businesses so they will create jobs and hire these graduates. we need to pass a budget and review expiring tax provisions. we need to get bureaucratic red tape out of the way and let american job creators do what they do best. let's not put off till tomorrow what we can do today to make sure that good-paying jobs will be available for graduates who have worked so hard to provide for a better future and let's pass a bipartisan measure that keeps student interest rates low. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. i'm sorry. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: will the senator suspend his request. the senator from nevada. mr. johanns: mr. president?

the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mr. johanns: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. johanns: thank you, mr. president. i rise today to speak about the issue that is currently under debate, and that is the student loan interest rate. for many students across this great country, the month of may marks the end of a school year, and for some it means graduating after years of hard work and moving on to another chapter in their life. americans have always been people who celebrate hard work and the doors that hard work opens for all of us. our country was founded on the promise that people could come here to find the opportunity to realize their dreams. so one of the most devastating consequences of the recent economy is that college students are beginning this new chapter of life in their lives when opportunities are harder and

harder to come by. sadly, today's college graduates are more likely to end up unemployed or underemployed and struggling with student loan debt at the same time. they're more likely to end up with those circumstances than they are to land their dream job. and, unfortunately, college costs have been increasing faster than the cost of living. 65% of graduates who got a bachelor's degree in 2010 graduated with debt. so as our economy continues to lag, stopping interest rates on subsidized stafford student loans from doubling could provide much-needed relief. that's why i am a cosponsor of legislation introduced by my colleague, senator alexander, which extends the current 3.4% interest rate for an additional

year. it needs to be done. it can't be denied that access to education is imperative to ensuring a prosperous future for nebraska's young people and for all americans. and it should our goal to foster an economic atmosphere where jobs will flourish, our economy thrives, and opportunities abound for young people and, for that matter, for all americans. that's why i'm so disappointed that today we will vote on a bill that takes such a different approach to paying for student loan interest rate extension. the bill we will vote on taxes small businesses and raids funds that would otherwise go to shore up the social security and medicare trust funds. providing relief for students, protecting seniors' benefits, and fueling our nation's job

engine should not be mutually exclusive goals. we should not be pitting one sector of our population against the other, and yet that's what we will do later on today. this bill sacrifices one of those goals i just mentioned and puts another in jeopardy to achieve a third. and i believe that's counterproductive. why? in part because the future of our young people is so dependent on the availability of jobs in america. this bill would raise taxes on job creators at a terrible time. the u.s. economy only grew by 1.7% in the last year, and our unemployment rate has been over 8% for now 39 consecutive months. taxing job creators has a

chilling effect on hiring. it really isn't straightforward to promise students the american dream while making it harder for them to get a job. often the first step toward realizing their dreams. the bill is also enormously unfair to senators. by diverting tax revenues that would otherwise go to social security and medicare, it ignores the warning flags that we just received yet again about these programs. a recent trustees' report verifies that both of these programs are on unsustainable paths. medicare's projected to be insolvent by 2024, and social security by 2033 twaorbgs dates that are -- 2033, two dates that are well within sight. but instead of helping to strengthen these programs for the future, this bill spends the

money elsewhere. the legislation ignores reality, and sadly, that's been all too familiar. the health care law also siphoned funding from medicare to the tune of $500 billion. this money was used to pay for new entitlements in the law, not to extend the life of medicare. the law's supporters have sometimes claimed it somehow did both, that magically you could count the same dollar twice. but anyone who looked at that disagreed with it, and basic math tells us we can't save and spend the same dollar two times. that was just one of the many budget gimmicks that was used to mask the true cost of the health care bill. student loans helped shoulder the massive costs of the health care law as well. that law, interestingly enough, nationalized the student loan

industry, generating $60 billion over the decade. that was according to the congressional budget office. but instead of using that money to address the doubling of student loan interest rates that was on the horizon, congress and the president spent a portion of that money to help pay for the health care law. simply amazing. it's just one more example of a government that claims to know best when their only remedy is to rob from peter to pay paul. sadly, the misguided government solution we will vote on today will be counterproductive for our job creators, for our economy, and for our nation's job seekers, or soon-to-be graduates. but don't take my word for it.

there is a long, long list of organizations representing millions of employers and hardworking employees sounding an alarm over the tax increase being proposed in the bill we vote on today. they are the people who build our homes, fix our air conditioners, run the corner convenience store, own restaurants, print the flyers that we distribute and the church bulletins that we receive on sunday. they all say that pay-for in this bill is booed policy. they don't buy the notion that it is a simple tax clarification. they identify it in plain english as a permanent payroll tax increase. they go on to say in a letter to senate leaders that a payroll tax increase should not be diverted from medicare and social security to a temporary program. that letter dated may 3, 2012,

to senators reid and mcconnell, signed by dozens of organizations is in my hand, and i ask unanimous consent to make it a part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. johanns: well, senator alexander has proposed a good option that doesn't slap the job creators with a tax increase and doesn't divert funds that would otherwise go to medicare and social security, and i support his proposal. i'd also be open to supporting other pay-fors other than the irresponsible one that we will face today. it's time to look for practical solutions that could actually pass the senate and help the american people. americans are getting sick and tired of election year voting, where we face legislation that we all know is designed to fail,

with this singular focus of generating good campaign talkingpoints. while extending the student loan interest rate is important, a prosperous future depends on more than just that low interest rate. young americans would have greater prospects for the future in an economy that generated jobs and is growing income. their budgets would be less strained if the price of gas and health insurance didn't continue to escalate, and they would have more stability down the road if their future wasn't threatened by strained entitlement programs and a federal debt that is now larger than the entire nation's economy. lately instead of solving these problems, legislation simply looks for yet another scapegoat, another political gotcha, a bill that is designed to fail to get a 30-second spot. here in the senate, we should

not be in the scapegoat or gotcha finding business. we should be in the solution finding business. that's why i am he proud to cosponsor the alexander legislation that does the right thing for our country's students. this bill provides relief for students during a difficult economic time and it uses money from a fund created by the health care law to pay for the extension. identical language has already passed in the house, and it is here for the senate to consider. and the president has already signed legislation into law using this very health care fund as an yofe offset. the president even included cuts to this fund in his own deficit-reduction proposal. but now when it's politically expedient to oppose those cuts, he'he has conveniently changed s mind.

well, these flip-flops don't go unnoticed by the american people. i hope we can consider senator alexander's legislation soon and the president will reconsider his threat to veto it. there's been a lot of finger-pointing on this issue, but in reality, everybody agre agrees: interest rates on the stafford loans should not double when the economy is struggling. the only disagreement is over how to pay for the relief. it is thought of an area with so little disagreement has yet again mor morphed into a politil football. sadly, with this being a presidential election year, i fear more of this political gamesmanship, but i stant ready to work -- but i stand ready to work with anyone willing to work on the problem. with that, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

mr. corker: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. corker: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. corker: i ask that the quorum call being vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. corker: mr. president, i rise today to talk about the student lending program that i understand we may be voting on a little bit later today. i want to first say that i know, like you, i've talked with numbers of students in tennessee and people who used to be students in college who have tremendous amounts of loan obligations that they have to deal with, and i know all of us, you know, your heart goes out to folks who start their careers with large amounts of debt and, you know, we hear lots of stories about the size of this debt. so i want to start by saying that certainly i empathize with much of what's happening in the

student lending program, as it relates to the recipient recipin one hand. on the other hand, as it relates to how we deal with this issue, which also relates to these young people -- i mean, at the end of the day, these massive deficits that we're piling up are also going to be an obligation to them in one form or noamplet so another. so i want to speak to that. first of all, my friend from tennessee be, the senior snorks has done as good's a a job as any in describing what's happening. the reason students are having to borrow so much money to go to college these days is what we've done in washington. if you look at the medicaid programs in west virginia or ten to en, what you've seen over the course of the last couple of decades is that medicaid costs have been rising dramatically in our own states and what's happening in state governments is because they're forced to

fund these huge medicaid costs, they don't have the same resources available to fund public higher education and so what's happening is, these state governments, which are compelled by us, by the way, to fund these medicaid programs -- and i think, let me make a point, most people realize that when the passage of the health care bill a couple of years ago, we're going to have upwards of 25 million more americans across this country on medicaid. that was athe largest part of the -- that was the large of the part of the health care expansion that took place. in my own state of tennessee they've already projected that over a five-year period it's going to cost them over odes 1 billion -- over $1 billion to fund what this congress mandated as it relates to health care just a few years ago. so that is a billion dollars that is not going to be available for higher education. so, first of all, when we campaign around the country and we talk about wanting to deal with student lending, i think we ought to be looking at ourselves -- let me put it this way -- at

congress because congress is actually the one that's driving these exorbitant tuition rates in the first place by these mandates that we're placing on state government. it is kind of appalling. in our own state, at a time when medicaid costs rose 15% in order make our state budget balance, what the state legislature did was invest 15% less in higher education. again, what's happening is, young people like the ones that are sitting in front of me are having to pay exorbitant tuition costs because the states around our country are not able to invest in higher education and, therefore, it's being sloughed off on the books of students as they enter college. let's talk about the loan program itself. first of all, a loan program that charges 6.8%, which is what the program is getting ready to do, that is loaning money to all

comers -- in other words, everybody that comes gets a loan; there is no collateral placed. it is not like a home mortgage where there's collateral. there's no down payment. and these loans don't begin to be paid until years down the road. we're not even -- the government -- the u.s. government is not even breaking even at 30eu%. so this whole -- at 6.8%. so this whole notion that this student lending program as part of this health care bill is going to create $50 billion or $60 billion to fund a new health care entitlement was wrong in the first place. i mean, there is no way at 6 6.% taxpayers are coming out -- it is not pofnlt as a matter of fact, c.b.o. issued a report in march that said, at the 6.8% level, if they used fair accounting standards, the federal government at 6.8% was

actually subsidizing student loans by 12%. so this whole notion of saying, well, the u.s. government's borrowing cost is low, and therefore we ought to be making loans at 3.4%. i'd love for us to be able to offer rates as low as we can to students. but the fact is we're already losing money at the 6.8% level. there's no way with no money down, no collateral, payments made down the road, take all corms. there is no way with the dwult rates that will -- there is no way with the defaults rate that will exist that we could be coming out with 6 30eu8%. c.b.o. has been stating that by virtue of a report that came out in march. what we're getting ready to do is discuss a bill that spends $6 billion of our taxpayer money and what congress is considering doing is, okay, we're going to spend the $6 billion in this one

year to give students who apply futuristically, by the way, this has not to do with students who are already in college today and have student lending sm lendingr this one year we're going to keep the rate at 3.4% which is going to cost an additional $billion this year. congress is considering paying for that $6 billion over the next ten years, so instead of saying we're going to spend $6 billion and to do what most americans have to do on a daily basis, saying okay we're going to spend a dollar this year, we've got to save a dollar someplace else, what is congress considering doing? spreading the cost over the next ten years. what's that going to do? accumulate additional tremendous debts. what's that going to do for the students, for the students who are now seeking these loans, candidly what it does is pile up additional money that they're

going to have to pay bafnlgt lee going to have to pay bafnlgt noi that he candidates on both sides of the aisle are on campuses talking to students about their future. what i find just unbelievable, and i think these students are a lot brighter than people give them credit for, as they are campaigning around college campuses. but basically i think these students understand that as politicians are going around trying to offer them deals -- deals -- they understand that at the same time washington is piling up tremendous amounts of debt often these students and not only are they going to have their student loans to repay, but they're going to have all the trillions a understand trillions and trillions of dollars of debt that congress is adding on in order to curry fairvetion by the way, with citizens of all walks of life in our nation -- you know, that's what's happened in western

democracies. we're seeing this play out right now in europe. these students are figuring out that we're really not giving them anything. basically we're taking with the other hand. i think the numbers will carry this out. mr. president, if in fact we do deal with this student lending program over the course of the next six weeks -- and my guess is we may well do that -- i hope we'll be honest with these college students and at least pay for this expenditure by not spending money on something else so we're not in essence giving them something today but taking away something much bigger from them over the long haul. mr. president, i thank you, and i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call: mr. reed: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reed: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, the vote we will take today will affect millions of americans. if we do not enact legislation before july 1 of this year, approximately 7.4 million students will see the interest rate on their student loans double. nearly 200 student government leaders representing more than 2.5 million college students across the nation have asked us to come up with a bipartisan solution to keep the interest rate from doubling this july. hundreds of thousands of students, parents, educators, and concerned citizens have called and written to their senators and representatives with a simple message: don't double the rate.

from them and for them, student loan debt is not a trivial matter. it's a matter of going to school and it's a matter ultimately of the jobs they take and their ability to pay off those loans during their working life. without actions, students will pay on average an additional $1,000 for every year they have to take student loans if we let this rate double. two-thirds of the class of 2010 graduated owing student loans with an average debt of over $25,000, they're walking out of school with a degree and a huge debt. and if we don't fix this problem beginning today, that debt will be larger for their successes in years ahead. student debt collectively hats passed -- has passed the $1 trillion mark exceeding credit card debt.

there are some that speculate this is the new bubble that is coming upon our economy. this is a serious issue. the good news is it seems to be at least the principle of preventing this increase, an emerging bipartisan consensus that we should not allow the rate to double. the bad news is that my colleagues on the other side have chosen to use the student loan interest rate as another opportunity to attack health care. they proposed to pay for the extension by cutting funds for the prevention of public health fund, reducing access to immunizations and services that seek to prevent cancer, diabetes, heart disease, to name a few. the president has already said that he would veto this attempt, this attempt at health care against education, health care which benefits all but particularly benefits low-income and middle-income families.

and of course these education programs that are a lifeline and a mainstay for middle-income americans. the other aspect of attacking this prevention fund is in the long term, if we're ever going to get our handles around the cost of health care in this country, and both sides recognize that this is one of the critical obstacles we face in the future, we have to have better prevention. it is difficult to understand how people can say let's not do prevention but we've got to cut health care costs. if we could have an effective prevention program, we could indeed over years and with increasing success reduce or at least begin to flatten that proverbial health cost curve. now it's interesting to note that the other side is proposing to use health care to pay for this proposal to help

middle-income families, but they don't always insist on paying for everything they want to do. they will, frankly, i think and eagerly extend the bush tax cuts without any pay-for. the house recently passed the so-called small business tax cut act with no offsets. and that costs $46 billion, nearly enough to pay for student loan interest rate at 3.4% permanently. following this logic, students and their families across the country are probably wondering, well, why isn't the risk of doubling their interest rate treated the same way as benefitting the wealthiest americans through tax cuts and businesses through tax cuts? don't they count as much? shouldn't they count as much? we've paid, or propose to pay for, for this one-year extension by closing an egregious loophole in the tax code that's enabled

certain high-wage earners to avoid paying their fair share into social security and medicare by misclassifying their wages as profits through the sup chapter s. corporations. it is a very small subset of corporations doing this and our proposal is targeted. this is not the small manufacturing plant or the pharmacy or the lumber dealer. these are consultants. these are high-paid attorneys. these are professionals that have chosen to put between themselves and their company or their partnership another entity purely for the purpose of minimizing their payroll tax exposure. that is a loophole that should be cut regardless of other measures we're considering. essentially this is a very, very, very small group of people. as i said, in order to be subject to this proposal, you would have to have 75% or more

of the gross revenues from professional services. this doesn't apply to the manufacturer or the merchant. it's lawyers, accountants, lobbyists and similarly positioned individuals. and it's further restricted to only those who earn more than $250,000 filing jointly. this is not the struggling underpaid professional. these are people who are doing reasonably well in this very complicated and competitive society. according to the joint committee on taxation in 2009 about 15% of all "s" corporations are service businesses as defined in this bill. this subset is responsible for billions of dollars of lost revenue to medicare and social security. in a 2009 report, the government accountability office found in 2003 and 2004 tax years, individuals used this loophole to underreport over $23 billion in wage income. this is a loophole that should

be closed. i hope that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will take a serious look at it and join us in supporting this bill. we have 53 days to prevent the interest rate from doubling on subsidized student loans. we have no time to waste. mr. president, with that i would yield the floor.

mr. harkin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. harkin: mr. president, first, i ask unanimous consent that marissa wigget of my staff be granted floor privileges for today's session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. harkin: in about a half an hour we'll have a vote on whether or not we're even going to proceed to the bill that will keep interest rates on our

subsidized stafford loans at 3.4% for the next year or whether they will go up double on july 1. now, this is just a vote on going to the bill. for the life of me, i can't understand why the republicans don't even want to go to the bill. well, perhaps they're afraid that when the vote, if the vote comes down to the bill itself and the -- quote -- "offset" that maybe some of the, my friends on the other side of the aisle will think that students may be a little bit more important than a few wealthy people in this country who are not paying their fair share of taxes. but they're going to hide behind this motion to proceed. that's really what the vote is at noon. are we going to even go to the bill so that we can debate it, offer amendments, vote it up or

down. republicans don't even want to go there. they don't even want to proceed to the bill. now they've clouded it up in a lot of rhetoric about offsets and how we're going to pay for this. it comes down to really a choice. we have a serious offer, a serious offer, a serious offset, one which is widely recognized as a terrible loophole. by closing that loophole which affects just a microcosm of individuals in this country, we're able to pay for keeping the interest rates at 3.4% for another year. my friends on the other side of the aisle say, well, they want to keep the 3.4%, but they want to pay for it by eliminating --

eliminating, killing the prevention and public health fund that goes to help make sure that our kids don't get diabetes, to make sure that we fight obesity, that we cut down on smoking in this country, that we make sure that kids get their vaccinations, that elderly can get their annual checkups on on colonoscopies and breast cancer screening, all the things that go to save us money on health care. that's the prevention fund. they want to take that money away from there. they want to just end that program. that's their offset. well, if that's what they want, fine. but let's get to the bill. if they want to offer that as an offset, fine, we'll vote on it. but they don't even want to go to the bill. their priorities are not the

students. their priorities are protecting a small class of individuals in this country who use the tax code to avoid paying their fair share of social security and medicare taxes. now we've heard all about job creators, job creators. we democrats are going after these job creators. well, the offset that we have only affects subchapter "s" corporations and only subchapter "s" corporations that have three or less stockholders. three or less. these are usually family members. they don't create any jobs. three or less. if you have five or ten or more, you're not covered by this. only if you have three or less. and only -- only -- if you have more than $250,000 a year in income. very narrowly drawn. very narrowly drawn. but the joint tax committee scores this saying that over ten years, by closing this loophole,

we put $6 billion into the medicare trust fund and $3 billion into the social security trust fund. so there's $9 billion there of money where people using this loophole, a few people using this loophole are able to escape paying their share of medicare and social security taxes. we're saying let's close that loophole. let's use those savings, put them into the medicare and social security trust fund, and under the scoring system here, any revenue that's raised or mandatory cuts go to offset any increases in mandatory spending. well, that's sort of kind of budget jargon around this place. all it means is that by closing this loophole, we are able to do two important things. one, put more money into the social security and medicare trust funds and keep interest

rate for students at 3.4% for another year. not a bad deal. i think a very good deal. but my friends on the other side are not -- are not going to go there. they want to kill the prevention and public health fund. mr. president, i might ask how much time is remaining on our side? the presiding officer: the majority has eight minutes remaining. mr. harkin: how many? the presiding officer: eight. mr. harkin: mr. president, i will yield the floor at this time and reserve the balance of my time. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: mr. president, i thank you. i can understand the senator from iowa's concern about the reduction of the prevention fund which he put in the bill, and i know he has a -- a long-standing interest in that subject, but let's -- let's be clear about this. it's not just republicans who

think that fund isn't the best use of taxpayers' money. it's almost all the democrats on that side of the aisle because in february, the middle-class tax relief and job creation act was passed in this -- was voted on in this senate, and every democrat except six voted to take $5 billion out of the fund that we're talking about to pay for that other priority, and it's not only the democrats on that side of the aisle, it's the president of the united states and the white house. president obama in his february 13 budget proposal proposed taking $4 billion away from the fund. and then in his 2011 deficit reduction package, he proposed taking $3.5 billion from the fund. so it's about partisan proposal. i mean, we're a government that's borrowing 40 cents of every dollar we spend, and if we're going to spend some money, we have to save some money at

the very least. what we are proposing on the republican side is the same goal that the democrats have. it's the same goal that both president obama and governor romney have, which is to take this 3.4% interest rate for new loans for 40% of students and extend it at that rate for another year while we take a look at what the long-term prospects could be. we agree on that. we agree that 3.4% ought to continue to be the rate for another year. the president agrees. governor romney agrees. we just don't agree with senator reid's proposal for how to pay for it. and we have suggested paying for it by reducing spending in the health care law and reducing it in a way that all but six democratic senators support it, or at least from the fund that they supported reducing before

and from the fund that the president has supported reducing before. now, why are we suggesting the health care law? well, there is a reason for that. it's because those who pass the health care law are overcharging students on their student loans in order to help pay for the health care law. here's why i say that. the government is borrowing money according to the congressional budget office the way it scores spending today. the government's borrowing money at 2.8%. it's loaning it to students at 6.8%. now, the truth is 6.8% is a pretty good loan rate for a -- for a student who may be unemployed. today i think my colleague from tennessee, senator corker, was on the floor talking about that a little earlier, so there might be other ways of looking at this spending that would look at it differently. but the way the congressional budget office scores this spending today, it says the government is borrowing money at

2.8%, loaning it at 6.8%, and that the government's making in effect a profit. that's my words, profit. the c.b.o. says that based on the amount of money that the government is receiving from the student loans, it makes a profit or a savings of $61 billion over ten years. so what did our friends on the other side do with that $61 billion? well, the senator from iowa very carefully explained that yesterday. they spent it, all except $10 billion which they used for deficit reduction. couldn't keep their hands off of it. they spent it on government programs and they spent $8.7 billion of that excess money on student loans, they spent it to help pay for the health care law. so all we're saying is that we're looking for money to keep the interest rate at 3.4%.

if we're trying to help students, why don't we give it back to the students, the money we're taking from them to help pay for the health care law? we're overcharging students according to the way the congressional budget office looks at the bill. we're overcharging students by $8.7 billion to help pay for the health care law. so we propose in our suggestion that we freeze the rate at 3.4%, that we give back to students the money we're overcharging them for and excess money over $6 billion we use to reduce the debt, which we need to do at a time when we're borrowing 40 cents of every dollar we spend. so that's what the interest rate reduction act that i have proposed does. freezes it at 3.4% and gives back to the students the money that the government's overcharging them on student loans to pay for it. that is the same bill that the

house of representatives passed. if we could get a vote on that here and pass it in the senate, we could send it to the president and he could go around the country saying that he has worked with the congress and he has produced this way to help students save money. now, he needs to also go ahead and say a couple more things. it's not much money, $7 a month. this is the political season. students need to be aware of this. there is a lot of talk right now about tuition going up and student loans, but if we do what we agree we should do and what the house has already voted to do and that is freeze this rate on 40% of the loans for ten years, it saves the average student on the average student loan $7 a month. that adds up to eventually $800, but it is $7 a month. we should talk about the rest of the story, too. mr. president, how much time do i have remaining? the presiding officer: 14 minutes, sir. mr. alexander: thank you,

mr. president. the rest of the story is why are -- why is tuition going up and as a result why are loans going up? there are several reasons for that, but the main reason, mr. president, that every college president and every governor knows -- and i see the presiding officer was the governor of the state of west virginia. we know that the main reason college tuition is rising at public universities across the country and community colleges where three out of four of our students go is because of federal medicaid mandates on states that are soaking up dollars that would otherwise go to the university of west virginia, the university of tennessee and the university of iowa. every college president knows that. every governor knows that. now, that didn't just start three years ago. that was going on when i was governor 30 years ago, 25 years ago. i even came to washington and asked president reagan, you take all of medicaid, we'll take all of kindergarten through the 12th grade.

we want out of this business of every year having to use state dollars to fund a third or whatever you think we ought to be paying for medicaid. if we had had -- if we had made that swap 30 years ago, and i said this on the floor yesterday, 30 years ago, if we had made that swap, if the federal government had taken over all of medicaid and the states had taken over all of kindergarten through the 12th grade, the states would have come out about $4 billion ahead. we would have had about four billion extra dollars. if we made it today. if the federal government took all of medicaid and the states took all of elementary and secondary education, the states would have 92 billion extra dollars to spend. and where would it go? i think i know that a lot of it would go, maybe most of it would go to education and especially to higher education, especially the public universities. the reasons the students are fasting in california and striking because tuition is going up is because the state of california has reduced spending to its public universities by a

billion dollars since 2008, since 2008. what the students don't seem to know is the reason california has had to reduce spending to its public universities is because washington has insisted that california, tennessee, west virginia, iowa, every other state increase spending on medicaid and that soaks up the money that would otherwise go to public universities and community colleges. in my own state last year, medicaid spending was up 16%. higher education spending down 15%. what was the result? up went tuition 8%, up went student loans. so it's a good thing, i suppose, that democrats and republicans, that governor romney and president obama have agreed that for a year we want to freeze the rate on new student loans of this one kind at 3.4% and save students who get those new loans $7 a month, but what students

need to know and families need to know who are struggling to pay for college is that until we repeal this health care law or until we repeal these medicaid mandates, those tuitions are going through the roof. the kaiser family foundation says states who now spend one out of every four state tax dollars on medicaid are going to see a 29% increase in the next year as the health care law goes into effect. and where do you suppose that 29% increase will come from? it will come from the state budgets and the governor will sit there and he will be choosing primarily between spending for community colleges and universities and more of it will go to medicaid and less of it will go to community colleges and universities, and so their quality will go down and their tuition will go up and the students will be fasting in california and they will be thinking it's their legislators in california who are the problem and it's their legislators in washington who

are the problem, because they are i am posing the mandates. now, i have tried to be fair in saying this is not an invention of president obama and not an invention just of the new health care law. this has been a trend for 25 or 30 years, but president obama and the new health care law have made this problem worse. this debate today, while it may save the students $7 a month in interest payments and while we think the fairest way to do it is to take the money we're overcharging them and give it back to them, this debate at least highlights the issue that i hope i hear the president and governor romney talk about a lot this fall, which is who is really responsible for rising tuition and rising student loans? and i believe the main person and main group responsible are those who insist on continuing medicaid mandates on states that soak up the dollars that should be going to public colleges and

universities. mr. president, i reserve the -- yield the floor and reserve the rest of my time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. harkin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. harkin: how much time do we have remaining? the presiding officer: you have eight minutes. mr. harkin: the other side has how much? the presiding officer: nine minutes. mr. harkin: mr. president, i always enjoy engaging in good debates with my friend from tennessee. he is a very thoughtful senator, a very thoughtful member of our committee and a good friend. and he is very thoughtful. having been former secretary of education, he has a depth and wellspring of knowledge about education, and i respect that greatly. we obviously see things a little bit differently, but that's the nature of the -- of the animal around this -- around this place. we do see it a little bit differently. i would just say to my friend that, without getting into a point-by-point kind of rebuttal, is that i want to make it clear that the president did put in

his budget taking some money out of the prevention fund. i assume my friend would know that i was not much in favor of that proposal. and then it was used then later on, then it was used to extend the unemployment insurance and also the payroll tax cut to the end of this year. that money was used for that. i was not very supportive of that. i thought we should have taken the money elsewhere, but at least the president has said that's it, no more. we'll take a nick out of that prevention fund but no more, and that's why he issued an statement of administration policy that said he would veto this bill if it had any cuts to the prevention and public health fund. i say to my friend, i used this analogy a little while ago that the cut that the president proposed and that was supported on our side to extend the payroll tax cuts until the end of the year, i liken that to

taking a couple pints of blood. you can take a couple of pientsz of blood and you'll be okay. you'll get your vu your health back and you'll go on. but my friend from tennessee that my friend is proposing takes all of your blood. takes all of the prevention fund money. when you do that, you're dead. that's the little analogy i use here. yes, they took a couple of pints of blood, i was opposed to that but the prevention fund is alive and it's healthy and it's doing its job. it's doing its job. and it's going to do even more of its job in the future as long as we don't take any more money out of it and the president said he's not going to propose taking any more money out of it. i wanted to make that clear. that happened one time. no more. even those senators that had supported it on our side as the senator said there we're people on our side that supported it, have said that's it, no more. we're not taking any more out of that fund. lastly, i can't help but also

talk again about the $61 billion that the senator from tennessee keeps talking about, that $61 billion. as i said yesterday, he's right in one way. we did spend it. the question is what did we spend it on? as i said, $36 billion went to increase pell grants. i don't think my friend from tennessee would want to cut pell grants. i think he's a pretty good supporter of pell grants. that's where $36 billion of that went. $750 million went to college access challenge grant programs, $2 billion went for community colleges. so my friend may be right. maybe we could reduce those interest rates a little bit, but what that money is being used for is basically students. now, i will be honest about this, $10 billion went for decreasing the deficit. i don't think my friend from tennessee would be opposed to

that. $9.2 billion went to other health care programs, including requiring dependent coverage in the health care bill. in other words, how many students now are covered under their parents' policies until they're age 26. they didn't have that before. now they've got it. so some of this money was used to invest in that or community health care centers. yes, we did do that. by providing some of the money from that, $9.2 billion of that for some specific types of items in that health care bill. lastly, mr. president, i just have to ask a question. are we having a health care debate here or are we having an education debate? i thought we were talking about education. we're talking about whether or not student loan interest rates on subsidized stafford rates are going to double on july 1. now it's morphed into some kind of a big health care debate. i've heard it said that the other side wants to keep the

interest rates at 3.4% for a year. okay, fine. the question is how do we pay for it? that is really the question. we have offered in good faith i believe a serious proposal. closing a loophole that affects a very small sliver of people in this country that are using the fog as sort of the fog surrounding subchapter s corporations to escape paying their fair share of social security and medicare taxes. yesterday, someone on the other side said, well, we scan audit them. get i.r.s. audits. the i.r.s. only audits .5% of subchapter s filings. if there's kind of a fog out there and i guilty to decide as a taxpayer, a subchapter s corporation whether i get paid or whether it's dwentsdz, what am i going to say? my odds are 99.5% they're never going to audit me. 99.5%. that's pretty good odds. that's why the joint tax

committee says by closing this loophole, closing this loophole, we save over $9 billion, put into the social security fund and medicare fund and at the same time able to keep the interest rate for students at 3.4%. that's a serious offer. the offer of the other side is not serious. it's not serious. they want to kill the prevention fund? that's not serious at all. but that's where they've come from. well, i'd say let's -- let's have a vote. let's at least move the bill. that's what the vote is at noon, moving the bill. getting it out there. so that we can have a debate on the bill and how do we pay for it. obviously my friends on the other side of the aisle don't even want to bring the bill up. they don't want to bring it up. they're going to vote against cloture. against bringing the bill up even to discuss and vote on it. so, mr. president, i just have one request, mr. president, i have five unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the

senate. they have the we profl of the majority and minority leaders. i ask unanimous consent these requests are agreed to and printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. harkin: i urge by -- i close by urging all senators to support the cloture motion, so that we can get to the bill, that students and their families know we're serious about this and on july 1 the interest rates are not going to double on middle-class families. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: i appreciate the comments and the courtesies of the chairman and i recognize his leadership in these subjects. he asked the question who can -- connected health care to student loans. it was the democrats who connected health care to student loans. think about this. here we are debating a health care law, a few years ago, and what happens? the democrats, the majority, say, well, while we're at it,

while we're supposedly fixing health care, we're going to take over the entire student loan program. we're going to make arne duncan, a terrific secretary of education, make him banker of the year, banker of the century, in charge of making $100 billion of new loans to students all america. as a part of the health care law, they got rid of the student loan program, most of which was handled by people you would expect to be making loans, that's banks, and put it into the government. they did that on the theory the banks were making too much money. it reminds me of people who think if you can find it in the yellow pages, the got ought to be doing it. autos, student loans, put it on the government. if you're going to do that, mr. president, if you're going to connect the two, student loans and banks, and then the congressional budget office comes along and says, well, okay, if you take over the student loan program and put it

in the government, you save $61 billion, that's $61 billion ought to go to the students who are getting the loans. that's my view. that's our view. and the congressional budget office estimates that if you applied that $61 billion to the current student loans, that you could reduce the average loan to about 59dz 3% -- 5.3 and save $2,200 a year. it wasn't anybody on this side of the aisle, i believe i'm absolutely sure about that, who suggested during the health care debate we ought to suddenly say while we're at it, let's take over the student loan program. all we're saying today, mr. president, is this: we agree with president obama, we agree with governor romney, and we agree with the house of representatives that the rate for subsidized student loans should stay at 3.4% for the next 12 months.

that will save students about $7 a month in with interest payments. tonl difference we have is how to pay for it. they want to raise taxes on people who are creating jobs while we're still the in the midst of the greatest recession since the great depression. we say since the government is loaning money at 2.8% -- i mean wore are borrowing, the government is borrowing money at 2.8% and loaning it to students at 6.8% and since the congressional budget office said that there was a savings of $61 billion when the federal government took over the loan program, and that $8.7 billion of that went to pay for the health care law, we ought to take the money that the government is overcharging students to help pay for the health care law and pay to keep this rate lower. that's what we're saying. so we have a difference in that way. so i hope my colleagues will

vote no on the motion for cloture. we have a different proposal which we believe is superior which is the same as the one that passed the house. we would like a chance to offer that interest rate reduction act and give the students the defendant of -- the benefit of our proposal which will stop overcharging them and giving the money back to them. we'd like to have a vote on that. and so therefore, i recommend that we keep the rate at 3.4%, that we use the money, that we recognize that the savings that we are taking from students, overcharging them for student loans, is the best way to pay for it, and hopefully the majority leader will allow us to consider the interest rate reduction act that we propose. i thank the president and i yield the floor.