mr. durbin: madam president? the presiding officer: the assistant democratic -- the assistant majority leader. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be success speaned. the presiding officer: without objection. dur i have seven unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate which have been approved by the majority and minority leaders. i ask unanimous consent these requests be agreed to and printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. all sometime expired. the question occurs on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber

wishing to vote or change their votes? if not, on this vote the ayes are 52, the nays are 41, and the nomination is confirmed. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. levin: madam president, is senator paul on the floor? i ask unanimous consent at a time determined by the majority leader in consultation with the republican leader that the senate proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 9, treaty document 112-1 that the treaty be considered as having advanced through the various parliamentary stages up to and including the presentation of the resolutions of ratification, that any committee declarations be agreed to as applicable and the resolution of ratification be agreed to. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. paul: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: i object. the presiding officer: the senator from of michigan. objection is heard.

mr. levin: i ask unanimous consent i be recognized immediately following the three voice votes that we expect are come up now. -- coming up now. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to consideration of the following nominations which the clerk will report. the clerk: department of defense, michael j. mccord of ohio to be under secretary of defense. national foundation of the arts and the humanities, r. jane chu of missouri to be chairperson of the national endowment for the arts. department of agriculture, todd a. batta of iowa to be an assistant secretary. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the question is on the mccord nomination. if there is no further a debate, all those in favor say aye. all opposed --

all the opposed -- those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes have it. the nomination is confirmed. the question occurs on the chu nomination. if there is no further debate, all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes have it. the nomination is confirmed. the question is on the batta nomination. if there is no further debate, all those in favor say aye. all those opposed, say nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes have it. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, with respect to the nominations just

confirmed, the motions to reconsider are considered made and laid upon the table, the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action, and the senate will resume legislative session. under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business until 1:45 with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each, and with time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. mr. levin: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. levin: madam president, the unanimous consent proposal that i just made a few moments ago and that was objected to by the senator from kentucky related to the need of the senate to take up the ratification of five tax treaties that were approved by the committee on foreign relations on a unanimous voice vote, including a revised u.s.-switzerland tax treaty that was amended in 2009.

for the protocol enabling the united states to obtain more information -- more information -- from switzerland about u.s. taxpayers with hidden swiss bank accounts. now, madam president, we've been trying to close down these offshore tax havens and the way in which they aid and abet american taxpayers from paying their tambs fo taxes for years. here we've got a tax treaty that will help us get more information about the american taxpayers who are trying to avoid paying their taxes to uncle sam, and we get an objection to the ratification, even taking up the ratification of this treaty. now, american taxpayers have had it. i hai'd say "have had it up to here," except that won't come across in the record. they've had it with profitable corporations and wealthy individuals avoiding taxes through the use of tax havens, shell companies, and tax h

tax-avoidance schemes. the american people want us to end it, and we ought to legislate the end of it, by the way. it's long overdue. we ought to close the tax loopholes so that those profitable corporations in this country avoid paying taxes by shifting their intellectual property to shell havens. we can put an end to it. we can close those tax loopholes and we ought to do it. but teas not what should be -- but that's not what should be before us today. what should be before us today, but for the objection wree had - but for the ongs objection we -e objection we had from the senator from kentucky, are these tax treaties that were signed four years ago. we've all heard about the swiss bank accounts that are used to hide money from uncle sam. 2008, in a bipartisan report

that i had issued with then of ranking republican on the permanent subcommittee on investigations, norman coleman, bipartisan support, we disclosed that u.b.s., the largest bank in switzerland, with about $20 billion in assets had opened as many as 52,000 bank accounts for u.s. citizens who had hidden their accounts from our treasury. now, u.b.s. later signed a deferred prosecution agreement with the u.s. treasury and the department of justice in which they admitted helping -- that's aiding and abetting -- u.s. clients evade u.s. taxes. they -- we're talking about u.b.s. now. they paid a $750 million fine. they turned over the naisms -- y turned over the names.

they turned over the names of 4,700 clients. u.b.s. was into the alone. earlier this year, in a bipartisan report -- this should not be a partisan issue, madam president -- another bipartisan report that issued with my current ranking member, senator mccain, the subcommittee showed that credi credit swiss d been involved in the same type of aiding an abetting. credit swiss had opened about 27,000 accounts for u.s. with up to $20 billion in assets that were undisclosed to u.s. tax thortds. after its wrongdoing was exposed, credit swiss pled guilty to facilitating u.s. tax epagesvation and paid a -- evasion and paid a fine of about $2.6 billion.

in both those cases, the swiss banks had quietly sent bankers to do business on u.s. soil, opening accounts, sometimes in the name of offshore shell corporations, arranging all of that, bringing in tax by the way from switzerland, slipping account statements between magazine pages to their u.s. clients, so in order that there not be anything visible at an airport or wherever, they put the statement of their u.s. account holder in a "sports i will straited" magazine and hand the magazine to their client cl. how surrepetitious can you get? we also heard about how u.s. clients who visited credit swiss in swiss swiss rode in a secretly controlled remote elevator to a room with no windows and reviewed documents that were then shredded.

why? why all that secrecy and surrepetitiousness? they wanted to show those u.s. clients that dramatized just how secretly swiss banks operate and how those swiss bank accounts would be hidden from u.s. authorities. now, after years and years of efforts, we found out what was going on, we made it public, and even switzerland could not defend what its bank were doing. so in 2009, switzerland agreed to strengthen u.s. tax -- u.s.-which is tax treaties and to enable us to obtain more information about secret swiss bank accounts opened by u.s. taxpayers. now, madam president, it was still not voluminous information which we are going to get under that tax treaty, but it was more information. it would ghif us give us a bete of finding the tax dodgers, those u.s. citizens who try to avoid paying their share of taxes, dumping the load on all her to fellow diserntion by ther

fellow diserntion by th citizen. the treaty that was amended, it requires us to establish something which is very, very difficult to approve, and that is tax fraud before switzerland would hand over the information on u.s. account holders with swiss bank accounts. now, we have treaties with all kinds of countries. no other treaty we have has that standard that you've got to show tax fraud before you can get information from a baifnlg bank. so the revised tax treaty approved by the foreign reels committee -- again, unanimously -- would enable the united states to obtain information from switzerland that -- quote -- "may be qush ma -- may be ree to" dloashes quote enforcement of u.s. tax laws.

this is the same standard -- "may be relevant" -- that has been effect for decades here in the united states when the treasury seeks to obtain information in a tax inquiry about american citizens in their own banks. that standard has been uphel upd by the united states supreme court. i won't go through all the cases that have upheld this standard other than to say there are two direct supreme court opinions on the subject that say that it is proper for congress to legislate a standard of the treasury getting information from banks about our people that -- quote -- "may be relevant" to the requirement that taxes be paid. the i.r.s. haas a right to --

the i.r.s. has a right to request that information and obtain it. if we just keep this treaty without modifying it, we are actually giving a standard to the swiss to keep information away from our treasury that is not permitted to our own banks or to any -- orp to banks in/-- or to banks in any other country that we have a tax treaty with. why would we want to preserve a treaty standard that the swiss them selves have already agreed to replace with a better standard in terms of tax collection? i mean, if the swiss agree to a standard which gives us better information, why would we want to keep in place a treaty which denies us that information, denies revenue to the treasury, creates a double sthanders? if yo-- a double standard? if you want to avoid paying taxes, go to switzerland. why would we want to give an incentive like that?

that's what we're doing as long as we have the current treaty in place and don't ratify the proposed treaty, that's exactly what we're doing u and it's so unfair to give special treatment to americans who send their money to switzerland compared to americans who keep their money right here at home. you know, it is one thing to advocate lower taxes. that's one thing. but it's quite another to advocate policies that would help u.s. taxpayers use swiss bank accounts to hide their assets and to offload their tax burdens onto the u.s. taxpayers who aren't trying to dodge paying taxes. so it's been now three years, as senator menendez has pointed out, since the u.s. senate has ratified a tax treaty. and ratifying this treaty would finally bring the swiss into ino alignment with u.s. tax policy with other countries and once

ratified, it will take effect from the date that it was signed in order to help stop tax dodging from 2009 forward. it is long overdue that we ratify this. i very much -- i am very disappointed that there was another objection by senator paul to proceeding to ratify -- at least consider the rat if iquation oifiquation -- at leasr the ratification of this treaty. i think senator mccain will speak on bringing this treaties up for debate and i yield the floor. mr. heller: madam president, i'd like to begin by thanking my colleague from pennsylvania, senator casey, for his dedication to working with me in a bipartisan manner to resolve the backlog of veterans' benefits claismtion the care of our nation's vents is truly a bipartisan issue.

i'd also like to take this moment to commend the chairman of the veterans' affairs committee, senator sanders, and also the senior senator from arizona for bringing together iredideas from both sides of the tile address the problems facing appointment wait time, v.a. scheduling practices, accountability, and the overall imawlquality of our care proig provided in v.a. -- provided in v.a. facilities. a recent audit of the v.a. facilities across the nation found that appointment wait times for new patients in hospitals, in clinics were all up to -- were all up to several months. no veteran should have to wait that long to get their first appointment. i've talked with the las vegas v.a. director elizabeth duff about plans to reduce their wait times and i i'm confident that the proposals passed in the veterans bill yesterday will help these facilities make immediate progress to provide the necessary care to these nevada veterans. addressing the serious concerns

with health care at the v.a. is an urgent issue, one that needs quick action from congress and i'm pleased that we were able to pass that bipartisan legislation. but there is another side of the coin, separate from the veterans health administration, and that is the veterans benefits administration. it is the responsibility of the v.b.a. to administer benefits to our veterans. the v.b.a. has undergone intense scrutiny. the legislation we passed helps get the v.h.a. system in order, but this will do no good -- it will do no good unless veterans can actually get their benefits and utilize these hospitals. the problem with accountability, manages, and efficiency with the v.a. health care nationwide are the same problems that the vents benefits administration -- veterans benefits administration is facing. today as we speak, nearly

287,000 vents across this country and nearly 3w,700 veterans in the state of nevada have waited over 125 days for their claims to be processed. in fact, veterans in nevada have the longest waiting time in the nation, at 346 days. this week the v.a. inspector general released its report on the inspection of the reno v.a. regional office which processes claims for veterans in our state. utah the invection found that 50% of the claims, the i.g. reviewed, were not accurately processed. furthermore, many of these inaccuracies were the result of a lack of proper management. the problems at the reno v.a. are a prime example of why congress needs to act now to bring reforms and accountability to the v.b.a. just as it's unacceptable for vents to wait months for appointments, it is just as unacceptable for them to wait

mounts for their benefits that they have earned. to address this issue you senator casey and i introduced the v.a. backlog working group report. along with a bipartisan group of our colleagues, which included senators moran, heinrich, vitter, and tester, this report explains the hoart of the v.a. claims backlog, and offers targeted solutions to help the v.a. develop an efficient benefit delivery system. to put the report's targeted solutions into action, our working group introduced the 21st century veterans benefits delivery act. this comprehensive bipartisan piece of legislation addresses three areas of the claim process. claim submission, v.a. regional office practices, and federal agencies' responses to v.a. requests. i am pleased, madam president, that 18 of our senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle have cosponsored this legislation and

that it has gained the support of veterans' service organizations, organizations like the v.f.w., d.a.v., the american legion, military officers' associations of america, and the ausn. senator casey and i recognize that the claims process is complex. there's no easy answer, there's no silver bullet that is going to solve this particular problem, but the v.a.'s current efforts will not eliminate this backlog. so just as we worked to address the issues at the v.h.a., i encourage my colleagues to address -- to work together to address some of these same issues at the v.b.a. i was pleased to see the senate committee on veterans' affairs try to move forward with examining our proposal just last week. while i understand that the committee had to cancel this hearing, i encourage the chairman of the committee to reschedule this hearing. our proposal can no longer afford to wait in the backlog of bills to be considered by this chamber.

practical, targeted solutions are needed to address inefficiencies that are keeping veterans from receiving timely decisions on their benefit claims. after all our veterans have sacrificed in service to our country, we owe this to them. i look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to move this commonsense proposal forward. and with that, madam president, i yield to my friend and colleague from pennsylvania, mr. casey. mr. casey: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. casey: madam president, thank you very much. i -- i rise to speak about the issue that my colleague from nevada has just raised. but before i do that, on behalf of senator levin, i would ask consent that the balance of his remarks be inserted in the record based upon his recent appearance on the floor. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. casey: thank you, madam president. we had a vote yesterday which was to say it was -- to say it was overwhelming was probably an understatement -- for the veterans access to care through

choice, accountability and transparency act. that act will create more accountability in the v.a. health system. it will hire -- it will result in the hiring of more doctors and nurses and provide resources for veterans and their spouses to attain a quality education. so we're grateful that that happened. we're grateful for the overwhelming vote. and we're -- we're certainly optimistic about the results that will -- will flow from that legislation. we have more to do in addition to that. we need to continue to look for ways to address the claims backlog that my colleague from nevada just outlined, as well as other issues that will come before us. i want to thank the chairman of the veterans' affairs committee, chairman sanders, who is with us today on the floor, and the committee on veterans' affairs for their work on behalf of veterans. the claims backlog that my colleague just talked about is a critically important issue for veterans and their families in

pennsylvania, in nevada and i know all the other states as well. and i want to commend the work of senator heller and his staff. my staff worked very hard on these issues. i want to commend especially gillian mueller in addition to john richter for their work on the issue itself, the working group work -- the working group collaboration, i should say, that resulted in this report that senator heller sighted. this is a substantial report on a very difficult problem. here's what the problem is. the problem that the working group addressed but also our legislation addressed that i'll talk about in a moment. here's the problem in terms of days. the backlog is especially high across the country. the average backlog in days is 241 days. unfortunately in pennsylvania, it's even longer. about half of our state, in the western part of our state, 316

days; 294 days in philadelphia in the eastern part of our state. so to have a veteran and his or her family wait that long for the processing of claims is, in a word, unacceptable and should be addressed. and that's why we introduced the 21st century veterans' benefits delivery act, which was developed from the findings of the working group and the report that was produced. this is a commonsense approach, a bill that focuses on three areas that will ensure faster and more accurate -- a faster and more accurate delivery system. the bill will ensure that the v.a., congress and all agencies of the government will work to give the veterans the benefits they deserve? a timely manner. it does basically three things. first, update the claims submission process. two, improve the v.a. regional office practices. and, three, demand more from other federal agencies. this backlog problem is a v.a.

problem but it's also a problem of other agencies not doing their job to help the v.a. as senator heller noted, we had great support in the working group as well as 17 bipartisan cosponsors of the 21st century veterans' benefits delivery act. and i would ask -- respectfully ask chairman sanders to help us schedule a hearing on the legislation, and we're grateful for his willingness not only to work with us but to help advance this very important legislation. madam president, let me conclude with one thought. i've often said that one of the obligations of every member of congress is to prove ourselves worthy of the valor of our veterans, to make sure that we're keeping the promise to our veterans. you can't just prove yourself worthy of their valor by thanking them for their service or patting them on the back or going to public ceremonies. we've got to act, as we did

yesterday. the next thing we should act upon is the claims backlog so that we can truly say that we are worthy of the valor of our veterans and keep the promise to them, to their families and to our country. and with that, madam president, i would yield the floor. mr. sanders: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: let me thank my colleagues and friends from nevada and pennsylvania. senator heller is a member of the veterans' committee, has been a very active member and a very constructive member. senator casey from pennsylvania has been an extraordinary job in representing the veterans from his state and on overall veterans' policy and i thank them both for working in a bipartisan way in addressing one of the significant chalz confrontinsignificant challenges the claims backlog. i thank them for their support

in working to advance not just solutions to the claims problem but comprehensive legislation that would improve the lives of our nation's veterans and their families. both of these senators have supported the two major pieces of of legislation for veterans -- two major pieces of legislation for veterans that have come to the floor. yesterday, madam president, the senate took a step forward in addressing a very significant crisis and that is making sure that we provide health care to all of our veterans in a high quality and timely way. however, as i indicated on the floor yesterday, what we did yesterday is just the beginning. we have a lot more work to do if we are going to represent the interests of the men and women who have put their lives on the line to defend us. i welcome my colleagues' continued support and look forward to working together with them to pass legislation that would address the challenges of the backlog as well as the many, many other concerns that have been presented to the committee

by the veterans' service organizations. so we take their concerns seriously. i applaud them very, very much for come up with some concrete ideas as to how we address the backlog problem. and i plenl t pledge to them the going to work as aggressively as we can to address the issue. so i thank them both very, very much for helping us on this issue. madam president, if i might take a few moments to deal with another issue, if that is okay. mr. sanders: madam president, yesterday on the floor we debated and voted on the need to lower interest rates for students with college debt. and i consider the issue the -- of the high cost of college and student indebtedness to be one of the very, very serious

problems facing our country, impacting millions and millions of young people and their families. what i did through my web site is just ask people from vermont and around the country to briefly write stories about the impact of college debt on their lives. and, madam president, what i would like to do very briefly is just read some of the very poignant stories that we have received. i believe we have received now over 700 stories from people all over america who are talking about what the debt -- the student debt that they have incurred is meaning to their lives. let me just very briefly read some of the responses that we've gotten. shannon lucy, 29, is from essex junction, vermont. she is $90,000 in debt. this is what shannon lucy writes. quote -- "i currently live in my boyfriend's parent's basement because i cannot afford to pay both rent and my nearly

$900-per-month student loan payments. despite working two jobs and living rent free, i am barely making ends meet. i can't even dream of buying a house or supporting a child. i can't even support myself. getting married would mean burdening someone else with my debt so that's not financially possible either. i thought i did everything right. i thought getting an education was an investment in my future. but now there's not a single day when i don't feel like i'm drowning under this massive load of debt. and the worst part is that even though the president is reducing student loan relief efforts, because my loans are mostly privately funded, there's still no relief for me." and that's shannon lucy of essex junction, vermont. let me just read a statement that i received from brittany holman, who is from portland, oregon, who's 29 years of age and is $200,000 in debt.

and this is what brittany wriets -brittanywriets -- quoted and in desperate need of help. i am $200,000 in debt with student loans all because i wanted to get an education. was that not what i was supposed to do? i graduated from syracuse university in 2006, went to japan for two years to teach english and then came back home to a crashed economy and a bleak job market. despite my two b.a. degrees from a great university, i have to settle for underemployment in a minimum-wage retail job." that's brittany holman from portland, oregon. here's andrew englebrecht, 23 years of age, from new lennox, illinois, $80,000 in debt. this is what andrew writes. "it makes me depressed. i have no hope. nothing will ever get better. i'm scared. i can't go get my master's

because my life has already been ruined. i ruined my parent's life. the bank finally was willing to work with us and not take our house. that doesn't mean we can pay the loans back either. i can't move out of the house. i can't propose to the girl i love. i can't live because i can't dream. i'm afraid to have kids because i'm scared they wouldn't have a chance." andrew englebrecht from illinois. here's andrew erics from chicago. $123,000 in debt. eric writes, "my law school debt is astronomical. it will keep me from being a homeowner for a long time. i believe serious efforts need to be made to reduce the cost of attending both college and graduate school." here's from kelly wiener, 27 from brooklyn, new york, $134,000 in debt. "i went to law school because i wanted to help people and communities who are underserved by the law. i am currently paying back my loans on an income-based repayment plan with a 7.3%

interest rate, which means i am not even making a dent in my debt. according to my repayment plan, i will be in my 50's before i get out of debt." salb rasul of littleton, colorado, $35,000 in debt. this is what salb writes. "i feel like i'm sinking further and further into debt. the interest rate on my loans is eating me alive. i don't believe that i've ever touched the principal on my loans. i simply pay interest and avoid default. i feel that my debt is holding me back from being able to contribute to society. it's a ball-and-chain that follows me everywhere i go, preventing me from starting the rest of my life." lastly, let me read from dustin he greene, 28, of yukon, oklahoma, $50,000 many debt, includinin debt,including his w.

"between my wife and myself, we pay over $1,500 a month in student loans. i have a good job and can barely afford these payments along with normal bills. after graduation, democratic deh each loan company was a task of its own. they do not care if you have enough money to eat but simply to pay them back. my wife and i are wanting to buy our first home but with so much of our salaries going to monthly student loan payments, we can't make that step yet. we have both wondered if the yearly income difference with a college education is worth the extra debt." so those are just some of the 700-plus stories that we have heard from young people and their families all over this country about the crushing impact that student debt is having on their lives. madam president, we have got to address this issue. waoefp got to make college affordable for all americans, regardless of income. i hope that we can do that sooner than later.

and with that, madam president, i would yield the floor. madam president, i ask unanimous consent that casey scott, a detailee and douglas macoulab, grant lofesness, betsy silverstein and julia ferlalo be granted floor privileges for this day, june 12, 2014. the presiding officer: without objection. the presidingmr. sanders: with i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

ms. murkowski: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: madam president, i request further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. murkowski: madam president, i would request that the following interns from my office be given privileges of the floor for the balance of the day, and those individuals are emily hartley, alfonso satango, deid r*e creed, minzi vergreely, ben gillman, gabrielle lukhawkins. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. murkowski: thank you, madam president. madam president, this has been

an interesting week here in the united states senate. when we began the week, there was obviously a great deal of attention focused on what was happening overseas with the release of a prisoner of war that had been in captivity for some four or five years, sergeant bergdahl. the conversation moved to education with a measure that senator warren from massachusetts had introduced. and the thought was that we would be discussing education issues and the high cost of college and the burden of college debt on our students. and we turned later yesterday to veterans and how we address the real scandal that we have seen within the v.a. in failing to

provide for that level of care in a timely manner for our veterans who have served us so honorably. so it's been kind of a fast and furious week. and i wanted to take a few minutes this afternoon to talk just a moment about my perspective on, on not only the legislation that senator warren had put out for discussion, but really the concerns so many in this country have when it comes to the issue of student loan debt. i'm the mom of a recent college graduate. our number two son is going to be entering his senior year of college, so we're fully embroiled as parents in kind of the, just the understanding as to what the current costs of a college education are, what

young students go through in order to achieve their dreams of going to college and the struggles then as they face the reality of moving into a working world, but starting off saddled with debt that can be almost breathtaking for them. in addition to being a mom of kids in this generation, i'm also a former commissioner of the alaska commission on postsecondary education. this is alaska's state agency lender. and so i'm coming at the issue wearing a couple of different hats today. i know full well that people are discussing the issue of high cost of college, of student loan debt, and not just doing it here

on the floor of the senate, but talking about it around their kitchen tables. they are very concerned about the cost of college and the burden that the debt then places on our young americans. young people who are just starting out after college graduation have an average debt of about $27,000. now some would say, well, $27,000, that's manageable. that's about in the range of what you may take on as a -- if you're purchasing a new car. but think about it, madam president. if you're a young person just out of college -- just out of college -- and you're starting to make those initial payments, $27,000 can be a staggering amount. and whether you talk to the young people who are working your phones either in your state office or here, the young

interns that i have that, again, are excited about the prospects of going to college or are in the midst of college or who have just graduated from college, some of that excitement and that enthusiasm dims when they realize what it is that they are taking on. so this debt is daunting. and keep in mind that debt then that you're facing assumes that you got the means to be paying it back. there's so many of our young people, of course, that cannot find that job. the 18- to 24-year-old age bracket, the unemployment rate is twice the national average. for those that are graduating with a master's or doctorate, of course the debt burden is much more. and then the parents, the families that have taken out the loans to help put their kids through college, the many families that are also struggling. again, this is something that families are talking about

around their dinner table. and i'm hearing about this from parents, from high school and college students in alaska, again, talking with my interns here and they all say the same thing. they're all concerned. they're all concerned about the cost of college and job training and the debt they're going to incur and their ability then to move forward, whether it is to buy that first car, whether it is to purchase a home. the decisions about getting married, starting a family. the debt has an impact, and that is absolutely a given. i do think it is important to know that we thaoer -- here in congress have not turned a blind eye to this, that we have been working over the years to help address the costs. the college cost reduction act and the college opportunity act, these were measures that i worked to craft some years ago, but they addressed these issues

in many ways. we created income-based repayment and public service loan forgiveness. there was active duty military loan deferment. graduate student eligibility for income contingent repayment, interest rate reductions, pell grant increases, teach grants, automatic zero expected family contribution for low-income families and much more. we improved student service programs. we helped ensure that students and parents have access to the kind of information that they need to censure that they -- to ensure that they really do get top dollar for their education dollars. and also to help students then persist in college to complete that, that process to earn the degree. we required counseling for federal loan borrowers prior to students griewtion about repayment plans, about debt management, loan forgiveness, consequences of default, tax benefits and more. we also require disclosure about

the terms and condition of federal family loan programs. these are the ffel loan programs before the loans are disbursed, before repayment and during repayment. and then recently, congress has supported pay as you earn and other programs and just last year enacted a new interest rate structure to protect both students and taxpayers. but unfortunately, we haven't seen much out of the administration to make americans aware that these opportunities actually exist, that they are in law. we heard a nominee for a senior policy position at the u.s. department of education who tried to justify this lack of action by saying that the provisions were just enacted recently. but, madam president, seven years ago is not recent when it comes to helping americans understand their many loan repayment options. just this week, we heard the president who gave the department of education yet

another six months to figure out how to tell americans about their loan repayment options. i think that we can do better than this. i heard just last week a young teacher who was testifying before a senate committee. she said she was completely unaware of the income-based repayment program which could have saved her about $4,000. instead, with her unaffordably high loan payments, she basically defaulted on her loans. so these -- these again, it's important that when we -- when we put measures in place, we do make sure that that education effort is there on the back end so people understand and can take advantage of some of these initiatives that will help to make a difference. obviously, we do not have the war on -- the warren legislation in front of us for consideration. i am certain that it will be a matter that will be brought back before the senate. i certainly would hope that we

would have extended debate about what we as a senate can be doing to help our young people as they deal with the burden of -- of college debt, of job training debt, and what we can do to ensure that they are well on their way to good, strong careers. but i wanted to raise just a couple of issues that presented themselves with the legislation that senator warren had put out on the floor because they speak to a program in -- in my state that has considerable impact. madam president, i know that i was scheduled to speak i think for about 15 minutes this afternoon. i have got another colleague that is on the floor. i would ask for about another five minutes, if that is acceptable with my colleague and with the chair. the presiding officer: without objection.

ms. murkowski: thank you, and i thank my friend from ohio. first, i would like to bring up the issue of the alaska state student aid agency. the alaska commission on post-secretary education, is funded by the alaska student loan corporation. it's a public corporation in the state of alaska. it is an agency that originates federal loans under the old federal family education loan program, ffel, and for 40 years, it's originated state loans. now, before you dismiss apse as another private lender, let me tell you what it does. it's the authorizing agency for institutions of higher education. they provide consumer protection for alaskans. they gather student data to inform policymakers so that we know what policies and practices are working, where improvements are necessary. they manage the state's performance scholarships and education grants which provide

both merit and need-based grants to students for post-secondary ed. they create and manage college readiness or job training programs and helping to figure out how to afford it. so effectively what it does is promote access to and success in high-quality postsecondary and job training for thousands of alaskans as well as non-alaskans who are attending alaska schools. but they also have a special emphasis on outreach to groups that are underrepresented in postsecondary ed. they do such a great job for us in the state that when late senator ted kennedy was here, he insisted on creating the college access challenge grant program to expand what they had been doing for all these years. but the measure that senator warren had, the bank on students emergency loan refinancing act, would potentially put these programs in peril and potentially end them.

it would incentivize borrowers who borrow their ffel loans and state loans through acpe to refinance, but because this availability would only be available to borrowers in good standing on their state loans, it would leave them with the poorest performing and lowest credit quality loans in its portfolio, leaving behind the borrowers who are the ones the sponsors of the bill say we really need to help so much. the loss of the ffel loans would be bad enough, but here's another problem. state student financial aid loans were financed by alaska student loan corporation through long-term fixed rate revenue bond issues. these have very restrictive terms with respect to paying them off before their scheduled maturity dates and the impact on their partner state agencies and the alaskans that they serve and to the corporation's bond rating of having a large percentage of state student loan volume prepaid through the refinancing bill could be severe. the money the treasury would pay

acpe for those loans could not be used to pay off the bonds early, nor could it be reinvested at anywhere near the interest rate on the outstanding bonds. the value of the bonds exceed $65 million, but it's not only the cost to the agency and its ability to function, whether the state corporation were to default or to perhaps go to the legislature for a bailout, these consequences are not good. either situation would be toxic for the alaska student loan corporation in terms of subsequently being able to issue bonds that -- that really would be palatable to any investor. in addition to the risk of default or a hefty bill placed on the state and being labeled a toxic risk to bond issuers, the combined loss of income across both old ffel program loans and state loans could very well leave acpe unable to continue to perform any of the services that i think it performs really quite well. madam president, this is not the

only issue that i have as it relates to what we had before us this week. we all know we don't want our students, our young people to be struggling when it comes to debt. we have to be working together to try to find these solutions that -- that truly are helpful across the spectrum. one of the problems that we noted, though, was that the bill would prohibit americans who have private loans or banks or state agencies and are having trouble paying has agreed to finance at a lower rate a prohibition that does not extend to those who are having trouble paying their direct and their ffel loans. i can't understand why we would treat americans differently based on the kind of debt that they have. the cosponsors of the bill i think general -- genuinely want to help struggling borrowers but with this provision, they leave a lot of folks out in the cold,

so that is something that needs to be addressed. according to the center on budget and policy the cost of college is going up, state funding for higher education which went down during the recession is not rebounding. we're seeing exceptions in alaska and north dakota, but according to the cbcpp, louisiana is at the top of the list that contributes a little over $5,000 per student less to higher education than they did prior to fiscal year 2008. in hawaii, new mexico and alabama, we're seeing $4,000 less per student range. idaho, south carolina, massachusetts, nevada, connecticut, arizona, in the $3,000 less per student range. the list goes on. madam president, when states are unable to contribute to their public universities and to postsecondary education in general, the cost burden then for our students too often goes up, and even when our colleges tighten their belts and cut their internal costs, we see the costs rise. so, madam president, obviously a great deal to do.

i know that so many of my colleagues are committed to working to find that good solution, that solution that works not only for students in my state but around the entire country. we have -- we have our work cut out for us. i appreciate the efforts that many have made. i think the discussion will continue, and i look forward to that. with that, i yield to my colleague from ohio and i thank the indulgence of an additional five. mr. portman: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: madam president, first of all, i enjoyed hearing the remarks of my colleague from alaska and appreciate her leadership on the energy and natural resources committee where i have the privilege of serving, and she makes a lot of great points with regard to some of the student loan issues that affect our state of ohio as well as alaska, but today i'm here to talk about something else, and that is the 90th birthday of a

mentor of mine, a former boss of mine and the 41st president of the united states, george h.w. bush. in addition to honoring him by wearing some colorful socks today, madam president, i also wanted to make a statement in the congressional record so that this statement can go down in the ages and that some of the young folks who are in the chamber today and their kids and grandkids will have this as part of the congressional record in talking about truly one of our great american patriots and public servants in the history of our country. like so many in his generation, president george h.w. bush, when he heard of the attack on pearl harbor, answered the call to service for his country. he was 18 years old. so his service started long before he was sworn in as president of the united states.

at 18 years old, he became the youngest naval aviator in the united states navy. he served bravely in the pacific, famously completing one bombing after his aircraft was fired upon. in fact, his aircraft was on fire and yet he completed that mission. for that and many other examples of heroism, he earned the distinguished flying cross which of course is one of the highest honors that any aviator can receive. but his service didn't end with the war. he went home. he got to texas, had a successful business career, raising a growing family, and he started to get engaged in politics, as his dad had been engaged. he became a successful politician. he was an accomplished congressman from texas. and then he became a very respected international figure as ambassador to the united nations and as envoy to china. he also headed up the central intelligence agency during a very difficult time and helped

to improve the morale and the effectiveness of that agency. he then, of course, became vice president of the united states, and then on january 20, 1989, he was sworn in as the 41st president. president reagan 27 years ago today, in fact, made the famous statement that the soviet union's mikhail gorbachev should tear down the berlin wall. it was president reagan's successor, george h.w. bush, who actually saw it done and brought an end to the cold war. he also removed a brutal dictator in panama, and he gathered the whole world, with the united states in the lead, to remove saddam hussein and turn back the invasion in kuwait. and at home at a time of divided government which at the time one party was in control of the congress and one party in control of the executive branch, as we have now to a certain extent divided government, he

showed how you can work together, how a president can reach across the aisle to get things done, and he did so. but of all the things he's accomplished, there is probably nothing that he's prouder of than his call to volunteerism. he championed this as president, of course, and established the points of light foundation, which has been enormously successful in getting americans, all walks of life more engaged in helping their fellow citizens. he inspired the nation when he spoke of this thousand points of life to promote volunteerism and community action by all of us. it turns the thousand points of light was not as ambitious as he could have been because he underestimated what he would accomplish. it hasn't been a thousand, it's been millions. and the latest year that i was able to find information was 2012. in that year alone, the points

of light foundation engaged millions of volunteers, supported thousands of nonprofits and volunteer organizations across 250 cities in america. providing volunteer services estimated at a value of over $635 million. that sort of generosity reflects the heart of the man i have come to notice since i first had the honor of meeting him over 30 years ago. that generosity is what i experienced when president bush took a chance on me, a young inexperienced lawyer from cincinnati, ohio, when he made me associate counsel to the president. the experience i gained in that job was invaluable, and i continue to draw on it today. but even more was what i learned from president bush. and it's what i learned about being a father, being a husband, being a public servant and serving, serving the folks that were honored to represent here

in the united states senate. today we honor a true american hero, a selfless public servant, the person who i consider to be the most honorable and decent person in politics in my lifetime. i wish him the best and a truly happy birthday to him, and blessings on him and his entire family as they celebrate an amazing year. he's apparently jumping out of an airplane again today on his 90th birthday, and he's received numerous awards this year. it's been a terrific 90th year, and i just hope that today he understands the american response to him, which is one of great appreciation, gratitude and respect. i hope he has a very happy birthday, and i hope god continues to bless him and his

family for years to come. thank you, madam president. i yield back. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: ms. warren: madam president?

the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. ms. warren: madam president, i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. warren: madam president, 40 million people in this country -- 40 million -- are dealing with more than $1 trillion in student loan debt. it is crushing our young people and dragging down our economy. it is a national economic emergency. yesterday senators had a chance to do the right thing, a chance to allow young people with high interest loans to refinance those loans down to a lower rate, a chance to move forward on the bank on students emergency loan refinancing act, a chance to stand up for our young people who are just starting their economic lives. now a majority of senators voted to seize that chance. every democratic senator, every independent senator, and three republican senators voted to seize that chance.

but despite this majority support, despite this bipartisan support, the bill failed. why? because republicans pulled out their favorite tool: the filibuster. they blocked the senate from even debating this bill. over the past few days we heard a lot of excuses, but yesterday the republicans said we shouldn't even consider this legislation until we voted on the sanders-mccain legislation to address the situation on the v.a. the v.a. legislation is a very good bill. it is a very important bill. and the senate voted on it yesterday afternoon. so now that the senate has passed it, where are the republicans? the veterans vote is over, so where are the republicans who are now ready to debate the student loan refinancing? veterans have spoken out on the

stone bill as well. the spokesperson for the student veterans of america praised the student loan refinancing bill. he said that this bill could provide real relief for his members, veterans who have served our country and who have worked hard to get an education. if the republicans will let us vote, we can give our veterans that relief. the senate can come back to the student loan bill at any point. we can come back today. we can come back tonight. we can come back tomorrow. we just need the republicans to let us. democrats are happy to offer a time agreement that would allow for a short debate, would allow for amendments, and that would get us to a vote. let's be honest. most of the senate republicans made the wrong choice yesterday when they voted to protect billionaires who have already made it instead of the young people who are fighting for a fair shot at a better future.

but i am still hopeful, because despite the rhetoric, despite the excuses, despite the hemming and hawing, a large bipartisan majority of senators stood up for students yesterday. i am hopeful, because i know that the minute the republicans drop their filibuster, this bill will pass the senate. and i'm hopeful, because we're just two votes short of breaking that filibuster. now that we've done the vote on the veterans legislation, let's go back to the vote on the student loan bill. isn't over. we're not done fighting for students. no one is giving up. we just need two more votes to go forward. we're going to push harder than ever for the student loan bill, and we're going to get it passed. thank you, madam president.

the presiding officer: the assistant majority leader. mr. durbin: would the senator from massachusetts yield for a question? ms. warren: yes. mr. durbin: first i through the chair would like to thank the senator from massachusetts for her leadership on this effort to refinance student loans. is it true that what was at stake yesterday was an opportunity for 25 million student loan borrowers out of the roughly 40 million nationwide to refinance their student loans at lower interest rates? ms. warren: i want to thank the senator from illinois for his leadership on this issue, and the answer is, yes, this would have permitted 25 million americans to refinance their student loans down to lower interest rates, putting hundreds, even thousands of dollars back in their pockets. mr. durbin: through the chair, i'd also like to ask the senator from massachusetts, is it not true that the way that we paid for this, this loss of interest by the federal government was to

impose the buffett rule, which meant that those who were multimillionaires, for example, would have a higher income tax rate, at least as high as the secretaries who work for them, and that that would have meant a tax increase on roughly 22,000 millionaires? ms. warren: that's exactly right. mr. durbin: through the chair, the choice yesterday was between helping 25 million student borrowers get lower interest rates, saving on average $2,000 a year, and asking 22,000 multimillionaires to pay slightly more in income tax. and sadly only three republicans would join the democrats in saying let's help the student borrowers? is that what happened? ms. warren: that's right. mr. durbin: i would say to through the chair, i've been traveling the state of illinois,

city campus, all down state, every campus i stop on there are students coming forward to tell me their stories of the debt that they have incurred for their degrees and the impact it's had on their lives. teachers who, sadly, cannot take jobs teaching because they owe too much money in college. is the senator from massachusetts hearing that in her state and around the country? ms. warren: yes, i am hearing that in my state and around the country. that's what really strikes me about this bill. there are a lot of things that happened that we can't fix here in congress. but one we can fix, right now the federal government is charging people who tried to get an education 6%, 8%, 10%, 12%, and even higher on student loans. we have a very straightforward bill here that would bring down that interest rate, that would put money back in people's pockets, that would give people who are just trying to get a fair shot, a real opportunity to build an economic future.

mr. durbin: i'd ask the last question through the chair. and so yesterday, so we understand what happened, there was a threatened republican filibuster to stop us from even debating this bill. and in order to stop the filibuster and begin debating the bill so that 25 million students could get a lower interest rate on the student loans, we needed 60 votes on the floor. we had all the democrats prepared to vote. only three republicans, senator collins of maine, senator corker of tennessee and senator murkowski of alaska, no other republican senator would join us in starting the debate on lowering the interest rate on student loans. so we need two more republican senators to join those three so that we can start bringing this relief to student borrowers all across the united states. is that where we stand today? ms. warren: that is exactly where we stand today. we're just two votes shy.

and what we know now is we know how the republicans have voted. so now it's up to all of us to get two more republicans to agree to just let us bring this bill to the floor. just let us have the debate. just let us have the vote. mr. durbin: i thank the senator from massachusetts for her leadership on this important issue. ms. warren: thank you. mr. durbin: madam president, what is the order on the floor? the presiding officer: there are three minutes remaining prior to the senate proceeding to executive session. mr. durbin: madam president, i would just follow on with a dialogue with senator warren. these are issues that really hit home for families. we've had four issues on the floor of the united states senate in the last several months which really define the difference between the political parties. the democrats have argued and urged that we extend

unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed in america so they can find work, save their homes, pay their utility bills, have a cell phone to go look for work. unfortunately, we didn't have enough support on the other side of the aisle when it came to extending unemployment benefits. the next issue was to raise the minimum wage, which we haven't done for a long time. so that those who are struggling -- primarily women -- those who are struggling will have a basic minimum wage so they can get by from paycheck to paycheck. many of us believe if you're willing to get up and go to work every morning, you shouldn't live in poverty in america. the third issue was gender equality. to say that my daughter and my son, if they work the same job, get the same paycheck, that women are not discriminated against. and the republicans opposed us on that. now comes the fourth issue. renegotiating college student loans so that some 40 million student loan borrowers across

america have a chance to pay less interest on their student loans. their monthly payments would go down. they'd pay off the loan sooner. they could get on with their lives. we could only get three republicans out of 45 who would join us in an effort to start the debate on the bill yesterday. so we fell short. we need two republican senators to join senator warren, myself and others, senator franken of minnesota, senator reed of rhode island, to join us in initiating this conversation. i would say to my republican colleagues, when you go home this weekend try to find some college students and their families and engage them in this conversation. you will find what we have found on the democratic side. if you're listening to working families struggling to put their kids through school, they will tell you they need help. we offered help yesterday. we fell short by two republican votes. i hope that the republican filibuster will be overcome next week when we return. and, madam president, at this point i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations which the clerk will report. the clerk: nominations, department of defense, michael j. mccord of ohio to be under secretary of defense comptroller. nominations -- lael brairnd of the district of columbia to be a member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system. jerome h. powell of maryland to be a member of the board of governors of the federal reserve

system. stanley fischer of new york to be vice chairman of the board of governors of the federal reserve system. the presiding officer: the question occurs on the brainard nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote: