of a woman who -- and this report, hundreds of thousands of iowans who don't have coverage, a woman says she drove a half an hour from mitchellville recently to seek care for flu-like symptoms at a free clinic at des moines. she was an assistant manager of a convenience store. she has been offered insurance by her employer but would have to pay $111 every two weeks for her part of the premium. $111 every two weeks for her part of the premium. she says i can't afford that, no way on earth. our colleague from connecticut says it's working. it's not working. and it's because of the mandates of the law, the mandates that people have to get insurance that the government says they need as opposed to what may be good for them for their family. the woman, she said she has

heard most of americans are required to have health insurance this year or pay a penalty. democrats who voted for this said if you don't buy the insurance have you to pay a penalty. she heard that, learned it was equal to 1% of her income and according to this article from "the des moines register" where they had the primary elections yesterday in iowa, "the des moines register" said that the lady she laughed ruefully at the prospect. quote -- "i don't care, they can fight me for it" -- close quote. this is a woman in iowa, knows about the penalty and the mandates and she would say to my colleague from connecticut who was just on the floor that it's not working for her. she bristled at the new requirement to obtain insurance. she said if we could afford it, do you think we'd be standing out here, of course, where was was standing was a line for a

free clinic, nodding to a half dozen others, waiting for the clinic to hold one of its twice a week sessions. i come to the floor as i have repetitively talking about the issues of the health care law as a doctor trying to make sure patients get the care they need from doctors they choose at lower costs and seeing the president's health care law has failed miserably because so many people have been hurt by this health care law. either had their insurance canceled, even though the president said, oh, no, won't happen, said if you like what you have, you can keep it. national folks that assessed this called that the lie of the year. we also see that many people cannot keep their doctors and they're finding out that their co-pays are higher, their premiums are higher, and it's interesting because it's affecting people in so many different ways.

in minnesota another state where there's been a lot of debate and discussion about the health care law, headline, this is the man coata times. minnesota schools to lose more than $200 million because of obamacare. my colleague from connecticut just said it's working. if it's working, why are the minnesota schools losing $200 million because of the health care law? well, the article dateline st. paul state representative paul torkelsonned says the wasteful spending on obamacare that has left taxpayers outraged will soon be making an impact on minnesota schools. significant impact on minnesota schools. according to documents released by minnesota's management and budget office, over the next three years the total unfunded costs associated with the affordable care act compliance will cost school districts statewide at least $207 million.

it's troubling news for our schools, the state representative said. this is $200 million that school districts won't be able to use to hire more teachers or improve their educational programs. this is an unneeded expense that does absolutely nothing for our students. the senator concludes by saying it's pretty sad, pretty sad when schools are poured to prioritize obamacare compliance over the education of our children. obamacare compliance over the education of our children. and so, mr. president, i come to the floor when i hear my colleague from connecticut saying it's working to say it's working all across the country. it's not working in so many ways that the president says it is, and the president said that democrats should forcefully defend and be proud of the health care law.

i don't know how a senator can stand up who voted for this and be proud of what's happening to school districts all across the state of minnesota. it's -- you go across the country, the president continues to tout some number, number of people that signed up and i always ask how many of them actually have insurance? in oregon a story just out in in the last week or two in the oregonian, thousands have not paid premiums for cover oregon health policies, placing coverage at risk. in spite of what my colleague from connecticut may have said, this article says a large number of people who signed up for private health insurance through cover oregon, the exchange, have not paid their first month's premiums meaning they're at risk of going without coverage through november. more than 81,000 people went through cover oregon, either through paper or electronic applications, we know about the failures of that exchange, we know that the f.b.i. are investigating it. the selected private plan, of

those, 5,000 have already canceled policies or been terminated for lack of payment. already canceled or terminated for lack of payment. thousands more have not yet paid their first month's premium meaning they have not completed their enrollment according to the carriers. the president talks about the number of enrollees. i want to know how many people consistently say they have insurance and consistent insurance all the way through. insurers say anywhere between 66% to 80% of consumers have paid meaning anywhere from 20% to 34% not have. it's hard for me to say that things are working. it's interesting, unions who have supported the law, have come out and have concerns, unit here -- unite here, a union in las vegas representing

many casino workers, 2,000 housekeepers and waiters, nine of ten downtown casinos are concerned about the cost and one of the union leaders has said when the first -- we first supported the cause for health care reform we thought it was going to bring costs down. that did not happen. and that's why i'm here on the floor. a senator: would the senator yield to a question? mr. barrasso: yes, mr. president. a senator: i couldn't mr. merkley: i couldn't help hear you were talking about oregon. in oregon, 400,000 people plus people have signed up for health care through the affordable care act. some of those may have had insurance before, maybe it's 25,000, maybe 50,000, we don't have numbers on that but is it a good or bad thing that 350,000 or more individuals have gained access to health care through

this plan? mr. barrasso: i would say many people in oregon have been helped, and many have been hurt. and that is the problem with this health care law, mr. president. there are people that have been helped, absolutely. i just believe that the side effects, the costly side effects, the harmful side effects, the dangerous side effects of this health care law has actually hurt people. so for people that may have been helped, there are as many if not more who have been hurt through higher premiums, higher co-pays, loss of their doctor, can't go to their hospital. all of those things, plus at the expense of significant amounts of taxpayer money wasted and i think we're seeing that situation in oregon right now with potential lawsuits being filed, f.b.i. investigating whether there was oversight, hundreds of millions of dollars as reported in today's "wall street journal" of wasted taxpayer dollars.

oregon, i believe massachusetts as well, maryland, minnesota, states that i've been talking about here, mr. president. mr. merkley: could the senator explain how it is for those 350,000 or more, maybe 400,000 who have newly gained access to health care, how they have been hurt by gaining access to health care? mr. barrasso: i'm referring to the people that have been hurt by the health care law all across the country. i worry about the more than five million people who have lost their coverage as a result of the health care law. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming is informed his time has expired. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. i was merely trying to respond to my colleague. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. merkley: i thank very much the senator for responding to the question. thank you, mr. president. mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thanks, mr. president. i'm very proud to begin a conversation on the floor with a number of my colleagues about one of the most urgent and

pressing challenges that face us as a body here in washington making laws, but even more preeminently to families and students around the country who literally right now are sitting at their kitchen tables in their living rooms, in family gatherings, trying to find a path forward in financing their education, their children's education, their grandchildren's education. we must do better as a nation and we have to do better in giving a fair shot to them, to the innovators and entrepreneurs, and vintors of the future, the people who will power our economy with ideas and energy as a result of college education which is part of american dream -- the american dream, part of giving everybody

in america a fair shot at that dream. i've been doing a lot of listening over these past weeks, over threes past three and a half years, over three decades in public service. i think listening is one of the most important things we do as public officials. there's an old saying that god gave us two ears and one mouth so that maybe we do a little more listening than talking. when i talk to students and i've been doing a lot of that at commencement addresses and classrooms and round tables around the state of connecticut, i tell them i want to listen. what i've been hearing at ansonia high school and windham high school and the sandwich school, high schools around the state of connecticut is they are seeing dreams crushed and daunted by the cost of college education. and the pages who are here today , our children when we go

home at night, can tell us about how devastating these costs are, how their hopes and aspirations for the future are constrained and sometimes crippled financially by the cost of college education. we must bring it down. the cost of tuition and expenses must be reduced. but at the same time we need to find better financing options for our students and that's the reason we are reintroducing today the bank on students emergency loan refinancing act with some changes, more than changes, because we have listened to people who have told us about improvements that could be made in that measure. but most important, we've listened to students, both the high school students and college

students, who are telling us about dreams deferred, dreams devastated by the costs of college education, and so we must make sure that the $1.2 trillion that overhangs them and our economy is addressed, and this measure would help the students of today and tomorrow. it would help the students of today because it offers promise for the future and the students who already have debt would be able to reduce that debt. those students who are paying 7% or 8% or 10% or 11 ms.% would be able to refinance much as we all do refinancing of our home loans and our car loans right now, there's no possibility of doing it with student debt loans. and that's what this measure

would enable them to do. for the folks who have graduated and who cannot start families, begin businesses, buy homes, contribute to our economy, it would enable them to accomplish those dreams rather than deferring or abandoning them. i'm often heart broken as i talk to people who have these debts, who did the right thing, played by the rules, went to college, and now find themselves crushed by that debt. those who are laboring under these crushing debt loads often have pursued careers in medicine and other professions like nursing that would enable them to do enormous good for this country if they were helped, if that crushing burden were somehow reduced, giving them a fair shot is good for our

economy because it will increase consumer demand, it's also good for our social fabric. literally for our health, economically, but also socially. and our health physically by enabling some of those doctors and nurses to work in communities that are underserved right now, and we ought to give them public service options, enable some of that debt to be paid down or paid off through community and public service. but the measure that i think we can agree is urgent and pressing, where there ought to be consensus, is enabling the commonsense refinancing of current debt. there are other measures that are vitally important, like

clarifying and requiring more accuracy and truth in the forms that are given to students at the time they take these loans, so they know what their debts will be. enabling more of them to have grants rather than loans, bringing down the cost of tuition, enabling more public service options as a means to pay down or pay off debt. but let's focus right now on what is clearly an imperative, a moral imperative and a social imperative for our nation to enable more refinancing. right now for the years between 2004 and 2012, the government will make $66 billion. and for 2012 alone, it will be

$51 billion. $66 billion, $51 billion for 2014. that money goes into the united states treasury fund when, in fact, instead it should be invested in our students and our communities. i urge my colleagues to join in this effort and to focus on those additional measures that we can achieve. i see my colleague from illinois is here. he has championed, and i have been pleased to join him in efforts to discharge debts in bankruptcy. one of the present gaps in present bankruptcy law religiou- bankruptcy law regimemen,

students cannot discharge debt. but a fair shot ought to begin right now with this measure on the floor, enable students and former students to refinance so they have the best shot at paying off those loans and a fair shot to the american dream. thank you, mr. president. and i yield the floor. mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i thank my colleague from connecticut for referencing a measure that we both share an interest in. he's rievment a student loan isn't like another loan. it isn't like the mortgage on your home. it isn't like the money you borrowed to buy a car or a boat or a line of credit that you might have needed. a student loan is a debt that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. no matter how bad things get, you're going to carry that debt with you to the grave. and, believe me, they'll pursue you all the way.

just had a report in the "wall street journal there was a grandmother receiving social security benefits. they levied on her benefits because grandma decided to befriend her granddaughter by cosigning her student loan, which her granddaughter defaulted on. so now grandma finds her social security check being levied on to pay off her granddaughter's student loan. it never, ever ends. so i support my colleague from connecticut. he and i both believe this ought to change. this is awful. for goodness's sakes, we have got to have some recognition of what's happening in student debt today. it isn't like it used to be. those of us fortunate to get the early government loans -- the national defense education act -- that's how i went to college and law school. scared to death when the soviets launched sputnik, this senate and the house created a loan program for kids like me from

east st. louis, illinois, for kids like me to go to college. you had to pay it back over ten years, 3% interest. now look what the students are faced. hanna moore of the suburbs of chicago. i have gotten to know hanna. i want to tell you hanna's sorry student. this young lady went to community college first -- good ierksidea, right? then she signed up at heritage college school of design. they were going to give her a special education. well, they sure as heck did. the herington college of design is a for-profit college. hanna moore signed up for the course. it's owned by the career education corporation. it is a for-profit school. you ought to know something. career education corporation is under investigation in 17

different states for their activities in luring students into worthless college courses. hanna moore was one of those victims. what happened to hanna? well, at the end of the day, when she finished her so-called course at the herington college of design, she ended up $124,000 in debt. and it's growing. she can't keep up with it. she can't earn enough known keep up with it. you know what's happened? she's moved into her parents' basement. her dad has come out of retirement to help her pay off the loan. so we're going to do something with it with the help of a few republicans. i hope a few will stand up and join us. we are going to give students across america who are not in default an opportunity to refinance their loans. lower interest rates. a lower interest rate may mean a

lower payment or more money reduced from the principal. it is the only way that some of these young people ever, ever debt out from this debt. we think this is the only way that students, deep in debt, have a fair shot at a future. otherwise they're going to be swamped with debt, never get out of it. the process expect o prospect oo school for hanna -- impossible. buying a car -- out of the car. her own apartment -- no, we can't do that either. and i've met young couples who are putting off raising a family because of the debt. now we have go to a bill on the floor, a bill that's going to be introduced by senator warren, brought to the floor. we need republican support. we can't pass it without republican support. so far not one republican has joined us, not one, for refinancing college debt. but that can change. it will change if our republican

colleagues will simply go home to their states and have a town meeting and ask the people in attendance, what do you think? should we give college students a lower interest rate? should the federal government make less money off these college students so they can get out from under this debt once and for all? they are going to find what i found in illinois: overwhelming support for this approach. so if you are going to do something that really affects the live lives of working famil, where young people and their parents can say, thank goodness, somebody is finally listening. this is it. refinancing college student loans. this is our opportunity to give a fair shot to kids from working families across america, the kind of opportunity i had, the kind of opportunity millions of others have had. there is a lot more we need to do when it comes to college loans and the schools that are ripping off the students. but let's start with the

students get out from under that debt. i yield the floor. mr. blumenthal: i thank my colleague from illinois and i'm going to ask unanimous consent that senators be permitted to speak for up to five minutes during the majority of our -- the majority's control of time. and i would like to yield now to senator merkley and then to senator schumer. the presiding officer: without objection. ithe senator from oregon. mr. merkley: thank you, mr. president. i am honored to be here joining senator blumenthal, senator durbin, senator baldwin is going to be here, senator schumer, to come and address this important topic. and this topic is the college loan debt trap. now, i have a letter here from stephanie from oregon, and she writes to me about the trap that she and her husband feel that they are in. she say, "i'm writing to you as

a potential investor in oregon's economy and the economy of the united states. unfortunately, however, i will not be able to be this investor until mine and my husband's private student loans are paid off." she says, "we owe a little less than $100,000 in student loans and pay $1,100 per month. we will pay this amount for the next 12 years. because of our student loans and the 7% to 7.2% interest rate, we cannot afford to purchase a house in the neighbor ped we love. we cannot buy a car. we cannot even fathom starting a family. we can't even afford to go on vacation, whether that is around or oregon outside of that, to the many other wonderful states and countries. we pay rent and utilities, try to buy good, healthy food. but in order to even afford these basics, i have to work two jobs seven days a week." and she goes on later to say,

"it has been nothing but spinning in place." this is a growing reality for millions of americans who have graduated with student loan debt the size of a home mortgage and higher interest that make these huge student loans the equivalent of a mill stone around their neck. and when our aspiring young adults in america who have graduated, who have gone on to start their careers, when they can't afford to buy a house, that enhances inequality in the united states of america, because homeownership is the major vehicle by which families, middle-class families in america, establish a nest egg, establish wealth, establish a slice of the american dream. and what's more joyous in life than having children, being able to raise children? that is just the most

tremendous, tremendous experience. but she is saying that she and her husband cannot even think about starting a family. now, the picture was quite different when i was graduating from high school in 1974. my father, when i was in grade school -- we flifd lived in a working-class neighborhood. he said, son, if you go through those doors and you work harksd you can do just -- and you work hard, you can do just about anything here in america. well, that was a message about the fact that tha there was a pathway to thrive, a pathway to fulfill their potential, a pathway to pursue your dreams. and in the process of doing that, you are strengthening our entire nation. because when you aspire to your potential, when you aspire to your dreams, then you also find yourself giving back in all kinds of other ways, including having enough income to pay a

federal income tax and contribute property taxes and revenue, as well as the talents or fruits of your profession. well, i still live in that blue-collar community. my kids still go to the same high school i went to. but the message to our students today is very different. they are familiar with many families like stephanie and her husband. they are familiar with the fact that student tuition has gone up faster than virtually anything else in our society. you know, it is a much bigger share -- i think a rough estimate is about two and a half times the amount in terms of a working income than it was when i was going to school, starting college. let's make this comparison. in germany the cost a year in

college is around 4% of the median income. and in the united states of america, the cost of going to a year of college is about 50% of the median income. well, what a difference between less than $is ou $1 out of $20 1 out of every $2. what an incredible difference. so at a minimum, shouldn't we be acting today to enable those who have these high-interest student loans to refinance them to a reasonable low rate? the presiding officer: time has expired. mr. merkley: shouldn't we be able to do that? i ask for 30 seconds. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. merkley: thank you. i'll wrap by saying this is common sense. let's lower this burden and then let's go on and do much more to control the cost of tuition, raise the impact of pell grants, and pursue low-interest student

loans as a tool for our students from here going forward. thank you, mr. president. i'm delighted to have this chance to have spoken to a fundamental challenge of young americans in every state of the united states of america. mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mr. schumer: thank you, mr. president. first, let me salute my colleague from connecticut for bringing us all together to talk about this important issue, the good words of my colleague from oregon always on the money, always understanding what average folks need and have to go through. and as well, our sponsors of this legislation, i want to salute senators warren and franken, who are our two lead sponsors. the bottom line is very simple, mr. president. it is amazing to think that there are 40 million americans and their families at a time when interest rates are about at a record low who are paying 7% to 14% on their student loans.

it is amazing to think that the average student graduates with over $30,000 of loans on his or her back. and it is amazing to think that so many of our young people are living at home because they can't afford not to because of student loans. 36% of all individuals between 18 and 31 live with their parents, the highest percentage in four decades. now why should people be paying more? and even more outrageous, guess who's making the profit much of the time? sometimes it's the private banks. that's bad enough. but sometimes it's the federal government. for the federal government to charge people nearly double the ongoing rate for their student loans, so unfair. so we democrats are hoping to give people a fair shot, a fair

shot at being able to repay the cost of college at a reasonable interest rate. that's all we want. we are dedicated to helping the middle class, to helping working people, to helping people who don't have so much money get a fair shot at living decently well, the way they always have in america, but in a way that's beginning to decline. and our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, we would beg of them not to stand in the way here but to join us. how do they defend -- how do they defend charging those who have graduated from college 7%, 10%, even 14% for their student loans? we just got a c.b.o. score. our bill which is paid for by simply the buffett rule, which says that someone making over $1 million should be able to --

should pay the same rate as somebody, as their secretary as an average person. well, that's how we pay for it. and again, i can't believe my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would disagree with that. anyway, we have a $21 billion net positive on our bill. so anyone who's worried that we don't pay for our bill, we actually pay for the bill and return some money to the treasury. so a fair shot is what's needed here. a fair shot nor -- for everyone to afford college. last year we lowered the interest rate for people already in college, but what about the 40 million who are out of college and are saddled with high interest rates, people who got out of college before 2010. and let's not forget the effect this has on the rest of the economy. new homes, young people are not buying homes at the rate they used to, first-time home buyers. why? well, one of the reasons, we

can't quantify how much yet but we will be doing that, is because they're saddled with so much student debt at high interest rates. it affects our entire economy because construction jobs are not up to what they should be. and a large part of that is because people aren't buying homes the way they used to. so the bottom line is it's very hard to resist the logic of the proposal that senators warren and franken have put together. here's some numbers from my state. 54% of long islanders between the ages of 25 and 29 live at home with their parents or relatives, more than one in two. amazing. that's the american dream, to be able to get out of college and go live on your own, find a job, maybe find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. that's the american dream. it's a lot harder to do that when you're living at home, as

much as we all love our parents. but because of student debt, because of high interest rates of student debt, people are forced to do that. so, mr. president, again, i want to thank all my colleagues that have joined in our fair shot efforts, our fair shot effort on page, fair shot effort on pay equity, our fair shot effort on college affordability. and we will continue to fight as hard as we can to see that the average middle-class family is finally given a fair shot. we hope, we hope, we pray our colleagues on the other side of the aisle will not stand in the way. and with that, i know my colleague from minnesota who has been a great leader on this, and very few in america let alone in this senate have such an understanding of the needs of the average families and the middle class than the senator from arizona. so i'm happy to yield the floor so she may say a few of what