12:30 to 2:15 eastern. at 2:30 members take another series of votes whether to advance three presidential nominees for the federal reserve floor. live to the senate floor here on c-span2. 4 the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. majestic god, forever wise, we're grateful for this day and

thankful for new mercies. we're invigorated by your love, patience and grace. we praise you even for the trials that draw us closer to you. help our lawmakers to remember that without you they will labor in vain. as they seek to serve you today, give them your peace. o god, receive honor, glory, praise, and thanksgiving from our mortal lips, for you are worthy. and, lord, comfort the families of the five american soldiers killed in afghanistan. we pray in your merciful name.

amen. the president pro tempore: 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. mr. reid: mr. president? the president pro tempore: the majority leader. mr. reid: i move to proceed to calendar number 409, s. 2432, which is the warren affordability act. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to the consideration of s. 2432, a bill to amend the higher education act of 1965, to provide for the refinancing of certain federal student loans, and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president? the president pro tempore: the majority leader. mr. reid: following my remarks and those of the republican leader if any there will be a roll call vote on confirmation of a judge who will serve in the state of virginia.

his name is lauck. following that vote the time until noon will be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees. at noon there will be two roll call votes on confirmations that come from the judicial committee. one is a judge that will preside in massachusetts by the name of sorokin, and one that will preside in the state of nevada by the name of boulware. following that vote the senate will recess until 2:15 for our weekly caucus meetings. at 2:30 there will be two votes on federal reserve nominations first. cloture on the nomination of lael brainard to be a member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system. then confirmation of jerome powell to be a member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system. finally on the nomination of stanley fischer who is already a member of the federal reserve, but he will be elevated to be vice chair of the board of governors. mr. president, i understand

s. 2450 is at the desk due for a second reading. the president pro tempore: the clerk will read for the second time. the clerk: s. 2450, a bill to improve the access of veterans to medical services from the department of veterans affairs and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president, i would object to any further proceedings. the president pro tempore: objection is heard. mr. reid: mr. president -- the president pro tempore: the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. reid: mr. president, this is landmark legislation. i so compliment senators sanders and mccain for coming to this agreement. i hope that we can move this bill expeditiously. mr. president, later today the senate will vote to confirm a man by the name of richard boulware to be a district court trial judge for the state of nevada. a remarkable man, he is. extremely smart, and he's a very talented lawyer. he's from las vegas. his father was one of the first -- i think he was the

first neurologist to come to las vegas; a fine man, his mom very politically active in a lot of things for so many years. richard f. boulware has impeccable credentials. he grew up in las vegas, attended harvard university. he went out on his own after he graduated from harvard. he had a consultancy. and he was watching the impeachment proceeding that took place of president clinton, and he said to himself i should be involved and understand this stuff more. so he applied to columbia. and, mr. president, it wasn't a walk in the park for him to go. it was extremely expensive, but he's so smart, he got scholarships almost all the way. he graduated very high in his class at colombia. following graduation he worked at covington burling in new york, one of the premier law

firms in the country. he also in new york became a federal public defender. since 2007, he has been a public defender in nevada, a federal public defender. if confirmed, mr. president, richard boulware will become the first african-american man to serve on the u.s. district court in nevada. i had the pleasure and good fortune to put the first woman on the federal bench in nevada. she was a black woman. she was so good. her name is johnnie rollinson. she was so good in a very short period of time she was elevated to become a member of the ninth circuit. during obama's, during his presidency, she has always been on the short list. richard boulware will be as good

as any member of that bench we have in nevada. i'm impressed with roul, -- with richard f. boulware, his dedication to the state of nevada. he's already distinguished himself as a public servant. i look forward to his confirmation today, mr. president. changing direction a little bit, i'd ask this statement i make now appear at a separate place in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, we've all seen the old cowboy western movies that saw some unfortunate character getting into quicksand, either pushed, fallen and they try everything they can to get him out. it's always the same scene in those movies, an unsuspecting person winds up in quicksand, panics, flails around, and each time he does that he gets deeper and deeper into this earthy liquid. fortunately a hero always comes to the rescue. sometimes it's late, a rope or a branch or something to pull him out of the quicksand to safety.

mr. president, that happens once in a while, but not very often in real life. in america today, millions of americans are caught in financial quicksand and looking for a helping hand to pull them to safety. more than 40 million americans, in fact about 45 million americans have student loans. as their debt mounts, they sink deeper and deeper into financial hardship. mr. president, there is more student debt today than there is credit card delaware -- credit card debt. these americans who have these loans are trying their best to make good on their loans. they are working multiple jobs, pinching pennies, but even the slightest hiccup can plunge them into financial ruin. the bank -- mr. president, there's a lot of conversations going on in addition to mine. i'd ask for order in the senate. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. reid: mr. president, the bank on student emergency loan

refinancing act, introduced by senators warren and al franken, is a lifeline. just like people being stuck in the quicksand in those movies, people are stuck in the quicksand with student debt. the bill gives students a two year period to refinance student loans at 3.86%. mr. president, this legislation would allow more than 25 million americans to refinance expensive student loans. in nevada, more than 250,000 student loan borrowers would save thousands and thousands of dollars in interest fees by refinancing at current rates. but the problem of mounting student loans is not limited to individual borrowers. it is a problem that threatens our entire economy. i had a call yesterday with a bunch of college students in nevada. mr. president, they can't get married. they're living with their parents, and they're struggling,

is it worth it for me to go to college? i spent trying to convince them that it was and it is. student loan debt exceeds more than $2 trillion. -- more than $1 trillion. that is more than credit card or auto loan debt. as of last serpbgts 40% of -- september, 40% of student loan debt were in default, forebearance or deferment. even as many americans make loan payments on time, the staggering amount of those installments preclude young americans from buying houses, beginning families or going tpwhaoeus. the legislation before the senate will give people a fair shot in investing in their families. as young americans are able to purchase new homes and investing into their future it will inject a much-needed cap into our economy. unfortunately not all agree this is a good idea.

i was disappointed to learn my colleague, the republican leader, doesn't support this legislation. it wasn't long ago that he referred to this proposal that we're taking up here dealing with student loan debt, $1.2 trillion or $1.3 trillion debt, 45 million people it affects, he called it a fake fight. a fake fight? for 25 million americans who stand to benefit from this bill, or even more, i assure my friend there is nothing fake about helping working families pay off debt and save money. i so admire what the president did yesterday. he said in his state of the union, if you are continuing to refuse to legislate -- and we know there's been obstruction after filibuster after obstruction after filibuster -- the president said before the american people, he was going to do everything he could administratively, and yesterday he did. what he did isn't as good as what we're doing, but he did what he could. and it will help five million

students with their debt. so, mr. president, to a single mother working two jobs just to take care of her family, make a student loan payment on time, this legislation is real. but instead the republican leader has reaffirmed his commitment to the status quo. why reform today when he and his tea party-driven members said they'll reform next year or maybe the next year. we democrats aren't standing around waiting for a new year or a new congress to tackle the problem of student loan debt. it is real. we're anxious to extend a helping hand to the more than 40 million americans who are fighting to keep their heads above water, they are e trying to get out of the -- they are trying to get out of the quicksand. let's come to the aid of those struggling with student loan debt sinking deeper and deeper into financial quicksand. mr. president, would you note the business of the day. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the

senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations which the clerk will report. the clerk: nominations the be judiciary, m. hannah lauck of virginia to be united states district judge for the eastern district. leo t. sorokin of massachusetts to be united states district judge for the district of massachusetts. richard f. boulware of nevada to be united states district judge for the district of nevada. the presiding officer: under the previous order the question occurs on the hroubg -- lauck nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll.

vote: vote:

the presiding officer: are there

any more senators wishing to vote or change their vote? in more senators wishing to vote or change their vote? if not, the yeahs and the nays are recorded, the yeas are 90 and the nays are 0. and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the time until 12:00 noon shall be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees. the presiding officer: who yields time? the presiding officer: if neither side yields time, then both sides will be equally charged.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not in a quorum call, sir. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, americans across the nation have been truly shocked by the way our veterans have been mistreated. the fact that 18 veterans died in phoenix alone while waiting for care is, as we all know, a national tragedy. this should be reason enough for washington to take decisive action, action to reform a system that's allowed this tragedy to occur, and action to hold those responsible accountable. and yet, as we know, the scandal extends well beyond phoenix. in the words of the government's own inspector general report, the kind of problems we saw there are systemic and extend

throughout -- throughout -- the administration's facilities. a new internal audit released just yesterday found that the scandal has spread to 76% of v.a. facilities that were surveyed. it also found that about a hundred thousand veterans continue to wait for v.a. medical appointments and that many veterans have already had to wait three months or more. this is really a national disgrace. for example, in kentucky, i recently received a message from a disabled veteran who lives in west liberty. he says he's experienced delay after delay in the v.a. system and he's understandably fed up. he says that every time he thinks he's getting somewhere, he finds that some v.a. employee has changed a date in his file or has posted a no-show for appointments he wasn't even aware had been made. i suppose i will become a casualty of the war with the v.a., he wrote, "before i ever

receive a decision on my appeal or ever receive proper treatment." mr. president, we know this is just not right. that's not the promise this country made to our veterans and there's no good reason to make veterans wait another day long longer. we need to prioritize partisan bills aimed at boosting democratic turnout in november over bipartisan legislation aimed at fixing the problems at the v.a. now, we'll have a vote tomorrow on one of these partisan bills that's going nowhere when we know that -- that the sanders-mccain bill is now ready. it's been filed. that's what we ought to be moving to. veterans have been made to wait long enough at these hospitals. congress shouldn't keep them in the waiting room by pulling partisan games ahead of solutions. fixing this problem is where the senate's focus should be right

now. as the acting v.a. secretary recently said, the extent of the problems at the v.a. demand immediate action. he's certainly right about that. now, i know the majority leade leader's going to have us turn tomorrow to another one of these political show votes written by people over at the campaign committee, but we'll have plenty of time to consider bills designed to fail later. instead, now is the time for the senate to act like the senate again -- to be serious, to be more than just a campaign studio for one political party. senators burr, coburn and mccain have been working extremely hard on the issue along with the chair of the veterans' committee. we all know there's no one in the chamber better suited to tackling this crisis than john mccain. he understands the experience and the needs of our veterans. so we should give senator mccain and the rest of this group the space and the support they need to get effective bipartisan reform through the senate and given that their

legislation contains provisions similar to a bill that already passed the house overwhelmingly, i think we'll get there as well. but we need to give the effort the attention it deserves first. that means putting the designed-to-fail bills off to the side for a minute, because, look, this is what the american people actually sent us here to do -- to legislate. so i'm calling on the majority leader and the president to hit the pause button on the never-ending campaign. veterans have been denied care. veterans have actually died. this is the issue that deserves the senate's immediate attention. and if our colleagues are serious about getting to the bottom of the scandal, holding the perpetrators accountable and enacting reforms needed to fix it, then they'll actually focus on helping our veterans instead of worrying about saving their own seats this november. mr. president, i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. first of all, let me thank the republican leader for his comments on the veterans situation. i think everyone in this body on a bipartisan basis agrees that we should move a bill forward as quickly as possible that addresses the real crisis. this is an issue i've been talking about for a very long time. no one who serves our country should wait in line to get the health care that they need when they come home. so i am delighted that both sides are working very expeditiously to move this legislation forward and i hope that we can take it up as soon as possible and move it without it becoming political on either side. having said that, mr. president, i come to the floor today to talk about a different topic and that is about the highway trust fund. as we know right now, states across the country are working on transportation projects to repair bridges and relieve traffic on our nation's roads and highways. kentucky, for example, has started widening interstate 65

between bowling green and elizabethtown. local officials tell us it's really an important project to help ease their traffic and help ambulances and fire trucks get to the scene of emergencies quickly. but earlier this year, kentucky governor steve bashiere said that that project might be at risk because of a shortfall in our highway trust fund. a crisis in the highway trust fund could jeopardize thousands of important transportation projects like that around the country if congress doesn't act. so today i'm here again on the floor to call on our colleagues to work together to avert a crisis in the highway trust fund. and i'd like to call attention to a specific wasteful tax loophole that congress to eliminate to actually shore up the trust fund, loopholes that actually both democrats and republicans have in the past said that we should close. now, there can be no question that the highway trust fund is facing a revenue problem.

the department of transportation has been warning us for months that it expects the trust fund to reach critically low levels as early as this summer. if that happens, the department might have to delay reimbursements to our states. and this crisis is no longer a hypothetical. it has already caused states to plan for a construction shutdown if congress does not act. in georgia, more than 70 transportation projects could be delayed indefinitely according to their state officials. in north carolina, an engineer for the state's department of transportation said if the trust fund runs dry -- quote -- "that essentially stops our construction program." and this crisis could have a serious impact on construction jobs. if states are not able to enter into new construction contracts, as many as 700,000 jobs could be at risk, according to the department of transportation. mr. president, the construction

industry was particularly hard hit during the economic downturn. allowing the highway trust fund now to reach critically low levels would be another blow to an industry that's already seen more than its fair share of job loss and uncertainty. for all of these reasons, congress must act to avoid a potential construction shutdown this summer. in the past few weeks, i have been very encouraged that members on both sides of the aisle agree we do need to replenish the highway trust fund with revenue. allowing the trust fund to run dry is not an option. putting construction jobs at risk is not an option. failing to make much-needed investments in our roads and bridges is not an option. house republicans have offered a proposal to cut mail delivery down to a modified five-day delivery system to temporarily fund the highway trust fund. but i believe that's the wrong way to go. there are better ways to both

address the postal service reform and the highway trust fund shortfall. but i do think there is an opportunity now to solve this looming crisis in a way at that actually should have bipartisan support. we all know our tax code is riddled with wasteful tax loopholes that benefit the wealthiest americans and biggest corporations, and many of those loopholes that both democrats and republicans have proposed closing are available for this fund. for example, republican congressman dave camp, who chairs the house ways and means committee, senator reed of rhode island and senator levin of michigan proposed the so-called stock option loophole. right now corporations claim enormous tax breaks by compensating their executives with stock options instead of regular paychecks. that's so that the corporation can skirt a tax role at that limits deductible tax compensation to $1 million a year for each of a

handful of corporate officers. closing that loophole alone would save us as much as $50 billion over the next ten years. another loophole allows some wealthy business owners to mischaracterize their income as business profits instead of a salary to avoid paying their fair share of payroll taxes. putting a stop to that unfair practice as both republican chairman camp and democrats have proposed could save us more than $15 billion over the next ten years. those are two wasteful and unfair tax loopholes that democrats and republicans proposed closing. the list of loopholes goes on and on, and we can use that kind of revenue generated by closing just a few of them to avoid an unnecessary crisis, shore up our highway trust fund and make the critical developments we need in our roads and our bridges across the country. mr. president, i know for many people around the country this looming highway trust fund

crisis is all too familiar. for them, it's just another example of congress lurching from crisis to crisis. and just last week the director of the arkansas highway transportation department said he reminds people that just last year congress shut down the entire federal government. that's how he knows there's a real threat that congress will shut down investments in our roads and bridges. so, states like arkansas aren't taking any chances. state officials there recently delayed ten highway projects, and they said they might have to delay even more if we -- congress -- don't act. so, mr. president, i believe that our states need the certainty in the highway trust fund. commuters are counting on transportation projects to ease congestion. construction workers are counting on jobs to repair roads and bridges. so i believe that we should build some common ground that democrats and republicans share to replenish this highway trust fund. let's work together to show

commuters and businesses and workers and states that congress can come together to solve this crisis. and i hope we work together and prevent a construction shutdown this summer. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. president, before i yield, i ask unanimous consent the time during any quorum calls prior to noon be charged equally to both sides. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call: are. the presiding officer: assist engt majority leader. without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, life is about choices. we make them all the time. a choice about where you're going to school, what you're going to study, what you're going to do with the rest of your life, what kind of job you want, your car, a lot of other choices we make.

tomorrow the senate gets to make a choice and it's going to affect some people. here's the choice. we have in this country a serious problem with college loan debt. it has grown dramatically over the last several decades. and now we estimate that the total amount of college loan debt in america is over $1.2 trillion. what does that mean? how big is that? more college loan debt than the sum total of all credit card debt in america, more college debt than the sum total of all automobile debt in america. the only other debt larger, mortgage debt, and this is growing, the college student loan debt. 44 million families are affected by student loan debt out of a nation of 300 million so we're dealing with somewhere in the

range of 14%, 15% of america making payments on college student loans. and the amount of debt has grown drastically. i won't come to the floor and tell what you i borrowed to go to school because it makes me sound ancient but i will tell you this. when i graduated from law school, my student debt equaled one-half of my gross income the first year, just to put it in perspective. not so anymore. what we're finding is that most students are so deeply in debt coming out of college that they're making life decisions based on their debt. i get e-mails in my office from young men and women who always wanted to be teachers. they love teachers. they want to be a teacher. and they tell me they can't be a teacher because the cost of getting an education to become a teacher is so high that the starting pay of a teacher is so low and so they're going to do something else. what a loss for this country when someone who desperately

wanted to teach doesn't get that chance. so 25 million of the 44 million americans with student loan debt can get a break tomorrow morning because we have a bill coming to the floor which will allow 25 million of these student loan holders to refinance their debt. ever own a home with a mortgage? i have. and you heard there was a lower interest rate available and you called the bank and said, "hey, can i knock that interest rate down from 8% to 6%?" "yes." let's do it because a lower interest rate means a lower monthly payment or the same monthly payment is going to pay or more principal on your debt. so we're going to give college students tomorrow an opportunity, 25 million of them, to refinance their college student loans to lower interest rates 3.8% for undergraduate education.

currently, many of these students are paying 6%, 7%, 8%, 10% and higher. is this a good thing? you bet it is. and for many of these students, it is the lifeline they've been looking for. so that's one possibility. that's one of the choices. help 25 million in debt. but to pay for this, if we're responsible, we had to come up with a source of revenue to make up for the lost interest payments to the federal government when the debts are refinanced. and we came up with it. it's called the buffett rule. it's named after war re warren . this sear head of berkshire hathaway, a fella i've come to know a little bit through his family. he came to us a few years ago and said something's wrong with the tax code. here i am, warren buffett said, one of the wealthiest men in america. my income tax rate is lower than my secretary's income tax rate.

how can that be? why would my secretary pay a higher income tax rate than me, abillionaire? so we created what we called the buffett rule. and it said, if you're one of the fortunate few in america who makes over a million dollars a year, you're going to have a minimum income tax rate of 30%, which at least puts you on par with the people who work for y you. you're going to pay an income tax rate at least as high as they do, 30%. so how many americans are like warren buffett, making over a million dollars a year? how many would have to pay this new income tax rate? 22,000 americans make over a million dollars a year. okay, senate, here's your choice. do you help 25 million students refinance their college debt and reduce their loan payments

determined by an average of $2,000 or do you protect 22,000 millionaires from paying more in income tax? that's our choice tomorrow. i think it's pretty easy choice. i don't have anything against wealthy people. if they made their money honestly, god bless them. but i don't think it's unreasonable to say to the wealthiest people in america, count your blessings, buddy. you're living in the greatest nation in the world that gave you a chance to get rich. now give something back to that country, give something back to that next generation that wants to build this country even to a higher standard and more success for more people. so that's what we face tomorrow. now, i've gone around my state and i've had hearings at college campuses and i've -- some of these are worth repeating. casey graham barrett at north central college up near chicago,

graduated in 2010, got married, has an infant boy she's very proud of. she and her husband both have jobs of the his paycheck pays living expenses. her paycheck pays student loans. she's working to pay the student loans in her household. she worries about the future of her family until she gets these loans paid. joshua shipp. i recently met him and he told me he graduated with a student loan debt of $80,000 from a good school. don't get me wrong. but $80,000. his interest rates on his debt range from 4.25% to 9.25%. they would come down to 3.8% under our bill coming up tomorrow. that's the range of his current interest rates on a variety of loans he has. so joshua at one point said his student loan payment was $700 a month. now, stick with me for basic math and forgive me if i miss this a little bit but i think i've got it.

joshua's got a job making $11 an hour. $11 an hour, 40 hours a week, $440 a week, 50 weeks a year -- i know there are 52 but let's assume 50 weeks a year. so he's making somewhere in the range of $22,000 a year. his gross pay of $440 times four, make that right at $1,800 -- i'm rounding it off -- $1,800. let's assume after you take all the taxes out, he has about $1,200 net that he makes each month. and do you remember what i said he paid in student loans? $700 a month. $1,200 net, $700 on your student loan. how could you possibly make it? that's joshua, who stuck it out, finished with his college diploma, did what he was told to do and now there he sits with that debt hanging over his shoulder. here's a story i know well

because i've met this young lady several times. hannah moore from the city of chicago. hannah got off to a great start. she wasn't sure what she wanted to do so she went to a community college of. affordable community colleges. i recommend them to everybody. the hours can be transferred to universities. you've got a lot of different courses you can take. and it's affordable. that's where hannah started. everything was going well and then she stumbled and made a bad decision and didn't even know it. she transferred from community college to a for-profit college. for-profit colleges, they're different than public universities. they're different than private schools. they're different than not-for-profit schools. they're out to make money. and hannah didn't know it. she thought she was signing up for a real college and a real education. she went to something called the herington college of design in chicago. their parent company, career education corporation, is under

investigation by 17 different state attorneys general. they've got big problems and they create big problems for people like hannah. so hannah went to this herington college of design and got her degree. i say that in quotes. and do you know when it was all over how much student debt she had for her time at herington college of design, the for-profit school? $124,00,570. she can't keep up with the payments. she's fallen behind. they keep adding more debt to her. she's now up to $150,000. lives in her parents' basement. her dad came out of retirement to try to help her pay off her college student loans. now, this for-profit college and university issue is a separate one i'll save for another day. but this outrageous sector of our higher education economy accounts for 46% of all the student loan defaults.

they overcharge their students and provide them with diplomas and degrees which in many cases are worthless. but having said that, there sits hannah. did i mention she's 32 years old and $150,000 in debt? with a worthless diploma from a for-profit college run by the career education corporation. that's what she's up against. this will help her some. it's not going to eliminate her problem. because there's one point that you can't overlook when it comes to college student loans. this isn't like the mortgage on your home. this isn't like the money you borrow to buy a car. it isn't like a line of credit you might take out to start a business. the college student loan is in a rare category of debts and loans in america. a rare category of debts that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. no matter how bad things get for ya, no matter how terrible your circumstances, your economic circumstances, and you go into court and say, i've got to

declare bankruptcy. they'll help you with everything but they cannot do anything about your college student loan. it is with you for a lifetime. and we're hearing the horror stories. grandma decides her granddaughter needs to go to college, can't get the money to go through. grandma says, let's me cosign the note with you, honey, i want you to finish college. the daughter finishes school, defaults on the loan. they levy grandmother's social security check. that's the reality. i just left a press conference where a young woman, she was trying to pay off her college student loan, fell behind, and then she said, well, at least i've got my income tax refund coming back. it was claimed. she didn't get any of it. that's what these loans do to ya. that's what the collection agencies do to ya. so the question tomorrow morning for the united states senate is,

whose side are you on? take your pick here. are you on the side of 22,000 millionaires in america? do you want to protect them from paying a penny more in taxes? or are you on the side of 25 million college students and their families who are struggling just like the ones i've told you about? the choice is pretty clear to me. college diploma ought to open the door of opportunity. it shouldn't open the door to debtor's prison. and that's what's happening to thousands of students across america right now. the first step here is to pass this bill. there's more to do but the first step to pass this bill, the president helped us yesterday. the president said that he was going to give 5 million of those paying off college student loans a chance to really organize their debts and to limit the amount of money they had to pay out to 10% of their income. that gives some relief to 5 million. but we can do more. we can help 25 million and that's what we ought to do

tomorrow. you know, when you get back home and you talk to people about the united states senate, a lot of them start gazing at the ceiling saying, i don't know about you, politicians in the senate, all you do is give speeches and put out press releases and take up valuable time on television. what do you do to help us? what are you doing for working families? well, i've got a speech and it's pretty good, i think, about what we try to do with minimum wage and making sure people, women and men, are paid fairly at the workplace. but this college student loan thing just haunts me. it haunts me to think that these young people, who are convinced they're doing the right thing, who are borrowing money for the right reason -- higher education -- are getting so trapped in debt that their lives are compromised people make speeches about it affects the economy. you got a lot of student debt you may not buy a new car or get married or have children once married because of your debt.

that's all true. that looks at the big picture. but i can't get away from the smaller photographs in my mind of the people i've melt in chicago and all over my state who are trying to pay off these debts. comes down to this -- we have 55 democrats. and there are 45 republicans in the senate. my job here is to count votes. i think we're going to get all the democrats. i think every one of them will vote for it. but that's not enough. 55 out of a hundred is not enough. tomorrow we need at least five republicans to join us. five. none of them have cosponsored the bill yet to refinance college student loans. but they can get into this conversation and join us tomorrow in an effort to help. if five will cross the aisle to make this a bipartisan effort we can get this moving. now, i know the house of representatives has been a dead

end, so many mexican things have gone over to there to die, immigration reform and a long list. but i accepts this is different. i sense members the house of representatives if they go home wherever they live if they have a real town meeting and invite real people, real families they're going to hear about this issue. 44 million americans are living with this issue. so let's do our job in the senate. let's pass this college refinance bill. let's give these students a break, a chance, let's do the right thing for them. they did the right thing and went to school. their debt should not compromise their future. mr. president, i yield the floor. and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mrs. shaheen: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. shaheen: thank you. i rise this morning to discuss the very pressing challenge that too many of our young people are facing, and that's the issue of college affordablity. as i travel throughout new hampshire i continue to hear young people and their families express their deep concerns about the high cost of college and about their student loans.

in new hampshire, this problem is especially significant because new hampshire ranks second highest in the nation for the pro morgues -- proportion of students graduating from college with debt and also for the average amount of debt per graduate. 74% of students in new hampshire graduate with debt and that debt is an average of $33,000 per student. i've talked to some young people who worry that they're never going to be able to get out from under that student debt burden. now, we all know that obtaining a college education has been viewed as a step that can propel americans into the middle class, allowing them to pursue goals like starting a family, opening a business, or purchasing a home. unfortunately, education costs have increased at four times the rate of inflation from 1985 to

2011. this is a problem that has both short-term and long-term implications for our citizens who want to continue their education after high school. it's a problem that has serious implications also for the nation's economy. according to the consumer financial protection bureau, approximately 40 million americans hold more than $1.2 trillion in student loan debt. the agency also indicates that student loan debt has exceeded credit card debt in the country and is exceeded only by home mortgages in terms of the total amount of debt in this country. so we have more student debt than credit card debt and only home mortgages exceed the amount of student loan debt. and while americans are struggling to pay back this straggering debt, it's projected that the federal government will earn $66 billion

in profits from its role in student lending between 2007 and 2012. that's just not right. clearly, it's time for congress to take action to help vitdz with student debt -- individuals with student debt. it's time to help them reclaim their american dream to help them have a chance at pursuing the goals that drove them to college in the first place. to this end, i'm very pleased to join with so many of my colleagues in supporting the bank on students emergency loan refinancing act. this legislation would allow eligible borrowers who took out student loans before july 1, 2013, to refinance those loans at rates currently being offered to new borrowers. it's clear that congress needs to come together to work to reduce the cost of college for aspiring students throughout the country. but we also need to provide relief to those who have already borrowed to pursue their education. many of whom have interest rates

for their student loans that are much higher than they would be if they were purchasing a home or a car. this action is also way overdue. you know, the extent to which young people are feeling this pressure really came home to me when i visited a veteran from new hampshire who served in afghanistan named calvin. i first met calvin at walter reed medical center where he was recovering after losing a leg from stepping on an i.e.d. he was married, he had a young child, and he was talking about the challenges he faced after he recovered from his injuries. but the thing that impressed me the most was his number-one concern was how were he and his wife going to repay their student loans. that's why i think we've got to do something about this. we've got to make sure that young people like calvin don't spend their professional lives worrying about how to pay back

their student loans. i plan to file an amendment today as we take up the students emergency loan refinancing act that will address the challenge that young people have as they look at how to keep track of their student loans. i think they need to have a portal that gives them a one-stop shop so they can view all of their student loan information, public and private, in one central online location, and i've heard stories from young people in new hampshire about this concern. from people like kim, had who is from nashua. she is a 30-year-old woman, she has student debt from obtaining her bachelor's and two masters' degrees. her student loan payments cost her more per month than a home mortgage would and we recently found a job that's helping her make her loan payments but before that she felt overwhelmed

by her debt and found it difficult to communicate and work with her lenders. by providing a one-stop online shop for debt management, the amendment that i'll be offering will be give people like kim an easier way to track and understand their loans and their repayment options. i'm pleased that just yesterday the president announced a number of initiatives to help borrowers, including plans similar to the provisions in my simplifying access to student loan information act, so that we can encourage the use of innovative methods to communicate with borrowers. but as we all know, we need to do more in this congress to ensure that we can help borrowers who are struggling to repay their student loans, and i thank my colleague from massachusetts, senator warren, for her work on this bill. i look forward to continuing to work with her and my other

colleagues to ensure that student loan borrowers finally see some relief. thank you very much, mr. president. mr. thune: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. the senator from new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: if i could just ask, i have five unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. i ask that these requests be agreed to and that these requests be printed in the record. and i thank my colleague from south dakota for allowing me to interrupt. the presiding officer: without objection, the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: mr. president, as every member of congress knows, americans are hurting. they're getting pretty disurge canned, as a recent cnn poll reported. that pessimism stated in a

recent cnn/"money" article "isflective of the financial strategies that a the love families are facing. their income is not translating into solid financial security." unfortunately, mr. president, senate democrats have responded to the economic stability facing so many americans will slings doing nothing. instead of legislation to create jobs and expand opportunity, democrats have tied up the senate this year with politically motivated show votes designed to go nowhere. back in march "the new york times" reported that democrats planned to spend the spring and summer on messaging votes. and i quote, "timed to coincide with campaign-style trips by president obama." end quote. democrats concede, "the times" continued that making new laws is not really the point. rather, they are trying to force republicans to vote against

them. end quote. well, mr. president, democrats have certainly been following that playbook. this yeek in their latest election-year political stunt, they will take up a designed-to-fail student loan bill. and according to plan, it will be accompanied by some campaign-style stops by president obama. mr. president, the democrats' bill would do nothing make college more affordable or reduce the amount of money students have to borrow. and it would do nothing to address the real problem facing recent college graduates, and that's the lack of jobs. the democrat student loan bill would provide some students with loans based on congressional research data would be worth about $1 a day. to bribe this, their bill would raise income taxes by $72 billion. meanwhile, democrats have conveniently ignored the fact

that student loan repayment plans that could lower monthly payments by more than their proposal are already available to all students with federal loans. republicans have student debt solutions like simplifying the student debt process so that more students can take advantage of the affordable repayment options that already exist in current law. but young americans need a lot more than student debt solutions. the best thing -- the best thing, mr. president, that we can do for graduates is to help create jobs. mr. president, young people in particular are suffering in the obama economy. the current unemployment rate for those 16-24 years old is 13.2%, more than twice the national average. unemployment among those 16-34 years old is 9.2%, significantly higher than the overall unemployment rate of 6.3%. nationally, 6.1 million 18-24

year olds is living below the poverty line. it's no wonder that cnn/"money" reports that 16-24-year-olds are unlikely to feel the american dream is attainable with 63% saying it is impossible. what young people really need is is not a government subsidy but being a senio access to jobs, good-paying, full-time jobs with the opportunity for advancement. but these jobs are few and far between. while young people may be having the hardest time finding jobs, no one in the obama is doing well. almost a third of the unemployment americans have been unemployed for six months or longer.

since the president took office, the average length of unemployment has increased from 19.8 weeks to 34.5 weeks. approximately 14 million americans have been forced to join the food stamp program since president obama took office, bringing the total number of americans receiving food stamps to more than 46 million. meanwhile, everywhere that families look, prices are going up. gas prices have almost doubled during the obama presidency. food prices have increased. and the president's policies are just making things worse, and chief among the president's policy disasters, of course, is obamacare, which has driven up the price of everything from premiums to pacemakers. the president told the american people that his health care law would drive down health care premiums by $2,500. instead, prices have risen by almost $3,700, and they are still -- still going up. obamacare has meant new burdens

for just about everyone: higher premiums and deductibles, more expensive medications, fewer doctors and hospitals from which to choose, lost jobs, increased taxes on businesses, both large and small, millions of americans were forced off of their health plarntion the plans that they were promised they could keep, and into the health exchanges where they were frequently forced to pay more for plans that they liked less. not content with the high health care bills, now the president is adding insult to injury by putting in place e.p.a. regulations that will drive up electricity bills for all american families. the president's de facto energy tax will hit low-income families and seniors on fixed incomes the hardest. it will also slash tension tensf thousands, if not hundreds of thous of jobs. coal plants will close, leaving their workers unemployed, and manufacturers will send jobs in america overseas to countries

with more affordable energy. and the worst part, mr. president, is that president obama's e.p.a. regulations will devastate family budgets and the economy for nothing, because the president's proposals will do almost nothing to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide iin our atmosphere. as long as our country is acting unilaterally, there will be no meaningful effect on global emissions. but the president pressing on anyway. apparently, americans will just have to get used to their massive, new energy bills. mr. president, the president's policies are having a devastating effect on american students, families, and the middle class, but instead of trying to make things better, the democrat leadership in the senate has chosen to take up gimmicky legislation designed not help americans but to get democrats elected. yesterday a bipartisan bill

which would address the v.a. crisis was introduced in the senate. the failures are a national embarrassment and a betrayal of our compact with our veterans. congress has an obligation to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again. and well today we could be discussing the best ways to fix our v.a. system. instead, we're going to be discussing a bill designed no the to improve things for americans but to win the democrats a few votes. instead of proceeding to a student loan bill that's designinged to fail, we should proceed directly to the v.a. reform bill muc. the house of representatives acted decisively to bring greater accountability to the v.a. three weeks ago. today they are moving forward on a bill that includes many of the provisions introduced in the senate last night. now that we have a bipartisan v.a. reform bill in the senate, we should be acting with th acth the same sense of urgency. if democratic leaders really

want to make things better for families, they wouldn't be focused on gimmicky show boats. they would be working with republicans to fix the v.a. crisis. they would back a repeal of the obamacare medical device tax, which has already cost tens of thousands of jobs and will cost many more if it isn't repealed. they would support republican efforts to repeal the obamacare 30-hour workweek, which has resulted in last hours and decreased wages for way too many workers in this country. and they would embrace legislation to halt the devastating e.p.a. rules the president has proposed and to protect millions of american families from crippling energy bills. and, mr. president, they would push -- they would push for job-creating measures like the keystone x.l. pipeline and the jobs it would support or trade-promotion authority, for the president to open and create

good-paying jobs. we throw around a lot of statistics here in the congress: a million people this, ten million people that. well, it is important for us to remember the faces behind the numbers, the parents who are trying to figure out how they'll pay both their daughters' tuition and their new obamacare premiums; the gra college gradue who can't find a yob and is currently living in his parents' basement, the single mother whose hours have been cut because her employer can't afford to pay the obamacare mandate; a father who's been out of a job for months and can't get an interview anywhere. madam president, these americans need help, and the president's policies are not helping them. but the good thing is, it doesn't have to stay that way. we could get america working

again, but it's going to take some different -- it's going to take something different than the policies of the last five and a half years. i challenge my democrat colleagues to join us in passing real jobs legislation, the kind of legislation that will open up a future of opportunity and economic security for all american families. madam president, what college graduates don't need is political gimmicks. what college graduates need more than anything else is good-paying jobs with opportunities for advancement. that is what we should be focused on, not political show votes, not election-year sloganeering, but real, meaningful policies that will grow and expand sour economy and this country -- expand our economy and this country and that will lift more middle-income families -- or more lower-income families into

the middle class. that's what this united states senate ought to be focused on, mr. president -- object, madam president. we can change that focus and we can start doing some things that will make this country stronger and provide a better and more prosperous and a more secure future for middle-income families. madam president, i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. sphir officer the clerk will call the roll. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. thune: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection.