important things more urgently and with less shouting and i've been blessed to spend this year across the 93 counties to have support him just from republicans but democrats and independents across the counties it has been a great time and i would ask for your vote. >> god gave me skills and gave you skills and i fundamentally cared about the nebraska people. it's that simple i love you i really do but you asked me to take an oath of office and i will take that oath with pride. i have to defend the constitution from threats both foreign and domestic at the constitution says five things. establish justice. i will not create inequality under the law for donors for elected officials. it's about justice. i will ensure the domestic tranquility. i will be a peacemaker between the two parties. number three, i will provide for

the common defense securing the border cannot be prolonged more than 28 years. number four, i will promote the general not corporate welfare. and at last when i end my oath and i say so help me god i will mean it from the bottom of my heart and i will seek to ensure the blessings which is a gift from god and we the people need to get back there of liberty which isn't big thinking or governments for ourselves and our posterity that requires us to address deficits and unfunded liabilities for the next generation but the vote is in your hands in november. insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

>> first of all as we wrap up this evening's debate we have an audience on hand that has been very polite and very attentive. i think they want to show their appreciation to the candidate this evening. [applause] thank you very much to the candidates and panel of journalists. we want to thank our platte high school for letting us take over the facility. they've been wonderful to work with. thank you to the nebraska broadcasters association partnered with net to bring this event. we are airing on a number of radio and television stations this evening to share the views of these candidates. finally the audience in the auditorium thank you again. we will team up with the nebraska broadcasters to host a gubernatorial candidate debate on thursday october 2 in the studios that will be broadcast

live on net radio and television and online as well and it will be available on many of those partner stations. [inaudible] -- 2014. i am bill kelly of the moderator for this evening. thank you so much. [inaudible] ♪ has more than a 20-point lead in the race. this u.s. senate is now in a break until 2015 eastern for the party lunches. when they returned to roll call

votes and denominations to the nuclear regulatory commission. and the expected approval of seven other executive branch nominations all of those by voice vote. leader members are expected to take up a short-term government spending bill in the house expected to be made shortly. live coverage begins in a little more than ten minutes on c-span2 president obama will be visiting the center the centers for disease control and prevention in atlanta and will announce the u.s. military is taking the lead in overseeing the response to the outbreak in west africa. he expects to send 3,000 military personnel to that country. live coverage of his remarks

start after 4 p.m. on our website, c-span.org. earlier today on the floor republican leader mitch mcconnell and senator lamar alexander made made a comment on the senate floor and then remarks by senator bernie sanders on unemployment.ol >> today president obama wills o visit the center for disease control and prevention to announce new efforts to contain the epidemic in west africa. the command will stand up the joint force command and liberia to provide a command and control of u.s. military activities and help workmate relief efforts. they will establish an intermediate stage base to the 5,000 health care workers to provide and stand up the field to the defense department hospital to take care of any of

the health care workers. also contributing to the national reaction to this epidemic or the agency for development, the cbc has the support to africa and the national institutes of health has the ebola vaccine. the cdc is also working with customs border patrol to identify travelers showing any signs of infectious disease. i support these efforts to contain the epidemic and know that we will monitor this humanitarian crisis in the weeks ahead. under the previous order the senate will be in a period of business until 12:30 p.m. with senators permitted to speak up to ten minutes each. thank you mr. president. before discussing the

legislation that legislation involving the national labor relations board which the republican leader mentioned, i would like to outline myself with the comments of the ebola epidemic. he is right in my view to support the president's effort to the response of this epidemic i'm not give into making overstatements. i think that would be the fair reputation of the body. iab leave that we should treat the epidemic as seriously as we treat the danger of isis. why would i say that? ahead of the center of disease control and our united nations ambassador working with other countries to get them involved say this. this is one of the most deadly, explosive epidemics in modern times. it moves rapid three.

there is no vaccine and there is no cure. one infected person can fairly quickly infect 20 other persons within a family and that leaves west african countries where it is now a problem. one can see how quickly this can spread and become hundreds of thousands of cases or millions of cases. this is a case where samantha powers said to me we should be running towards the flames with our fire suits on. in other words, we know how to control it. we know how to identify people and treat them even though half of them died. we know how to do that. but the rate of growth of this epidemic is so rapid that we need to have a response that is as urgent as the problem. so i can graduate the leader for

supporting the president's efforts today to put an important call of attempted. so what is happening in the world it's a possibility that we would treat the ebola epidemic as a important issue but not a major issue. as i said, mr. president, i believe that we must take the deadly dangerous threat of ebola as seriously as we take the threat of isis. and i support the administration's recommendations to send $30 million in the continuing resolution to upgrade the humanitarian efforts. i support the reprogramming of the military in a way to deal with this. and i support the effort to spend $86 million which would be fast tracking the efforts to

find a vaccine and then to find a cure. >> mr. president if you talk to the people in vermont, and i suspect any other state in america. when it comes to young americans this is an issue that we do not talk enough about and this is an issue that we have to focus on. yes we are better off today than we were six years ago when we were hemorrhaging 700,000 jobs a month into the nation's financial system was on the verge of collapse. but the truth of the matter is the economy for working families and low-income families today remains in very, very difficult straits. the middle-class in the country, the backbone of the country continues to disappear.

every time in the history of the country and all the while we are seeing more wealth and income inequalities such that buying the 5% of all income generated america since the wall street crash is going to the top 1%. the fact of the matter is that real unemployment in the country is not the official 6.6% of dc on the front pages of newspapers if you count those people who have given up looking for it because they live in high unemployment areas, or for those people and there are many of these who are working part-time when they want to work full-time, real unemployment is 12%.

that is a crisis situation. that is the unnamed plaintiff rate is far worse for young americans. today the youth unemployment rate is 20%. a 20%. we don't pay a lot of attention to the tragedy in ferguson and missouri a few weeks ago, yet what was not discussed is that african-american youth unemployment is 33%. in many areas of the country is even higher than that. mr. president, today over 5.5 million young people have either dropped out of high school were graduated high school and you know what they are doing quite nothing. they have no jobs. many of them in vermont and throughout the country are hanging out on street corners and many of them are getting into trouble.

maybe they are doing drugs. maybe they are involved in crime. but this i will tell you and the statistics are very clear. if you leave school either you drop out or graduate high school and you don't don't get a job in the first tier, you don't get a job in the second year, you don't get a job in the third year, there is a strong likelihood you will never get a job, and never get a career, never make it to the middle-class, and never be part of the mainstream america. youth unemployment, 20% is one of the reasons why in the united states of america we have more people in jail today than any other country on earth. a lot of people don't know that. the communists and the authoritarian country, know what we have nobody we have more

people in jail than china. mr. president, i think at the time is long overdue for us to start investing in our younger people, helping them get the jobs they need, helping them get the education they need, the job training they need so they can be part of our economy, part of the middle-class, and not end up in jail or dead from overdoses of drugs. mr. president, the situation is so dire that there are studies out there that tell us now that one out of every three african-american males born today if we do not change this will go to prison in his lifetime. one out of three. >> senator sanders will be joining his colleagues on the floor of the senate in just a few moments as the gavel in to begin voting on confirmation of the nominees to the nuclear

regulatory commission. the roll call has a background story. two republicans outnumber the only democrat on the commission committee nrc chairwoman alison parlin who has allocated opposition to the yucca mountain project before being confirmed by the senate two years ago. the nominees jeffrey and stephen fill the vacant spots and senator harry reid has been to effectively kill the project and repeatedly used to enjoy the nrc opposition to it. and now, fly to the floor of the u.s. senate on c-span2. two minf debate equally divided prior to a vote on the baran amendment -- nomination.

a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: i ask unanimous consent to yield back all time on both sides. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: madam president, i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. there is. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: have all senators voted? does any senator wish to change his or her vote? if not, on this vote the yeas are 56, the nays are 44 and the nomination is confirmed.

there will now be two minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote on the burns nomination. mr. reid: madam president, we couldn't --. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: are we on the second nomination in this stack of nominations? the presiding officer: yes. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent all time be yielded back on this stack of nominations. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. the question occurs on the burns nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. there is. the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will call the roll.

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: have all senators voted? does any senator wish to kaipg his or her vote? on this vote, the yeas are 60, the nays are 40678 the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to consideration of the following nominations, which the clerk will report. the clerk: department of veterans affairs. linda a. schwartz of connecticut to be an assistant secretary. department of state, matthew t. harrington of virginia to be ambassador of the united states of america to the kingdom of lesetho. todd d. robinson of new jersey

to be ambassador of the united states of america to the republic of guatamala. jane d. hartley of new york to be ambassador of the united states of america of the french republic. jane d. hartley of new york to serve concurrently as ambassador to the united states of america to the principalty of monaco. nina hachigian of california to be representative of the united states of america to the soashes of southeast asian nations. department of defense, gordon o. tanner of alabama to be general counsel of the department of air force. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the question occurs on the schwartz

nomination. all those in favor say aye. those opposed say nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nomination is confirmed. the question now appears on the harrington nomination. all those in favor say aye. all opposed nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes have it. the nomination is confirmed. the question now occurs on the robinson nomination. all those in favor say aye. all opposed nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes have it. the nomination is confirmed. the question now occurs on the hartley nomination. all those in favor say aye. all opposed nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes have it. the nomination is confirmed.

the question now occurs on the hartley nomination. all those in favor say aye. all opposed nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes have it. the nomination is confirmed. the question now occurs on the hachigian nomination. all those in favor say aye. all opposed nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes have it. the nomination is confirmed. the question now occurs on the tanner nomination. all those in favor say aye. all opposed nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes have it. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid on 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 time until 4:00 p.m. will be

controlled by the majority, and the time from 4:00 to 5:00 will be controlled by the republicans. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i would ask consent that the time for the democrats be until 4:05, and the same with the republicans, theirs be 5:05. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. stabenow: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: thank you, mr. president. i'm very pleased to join with a number of colleagues today representing all of those in our caucus who are deeply, deeply concerned about the mounds of

debt that students incur when they're doing the right thing. they do -- we say go to college, work hard, get skills for this new economy, come out so you can be successful. they do that. and now way too many of them are coming out with mounds of debt, crushing debt that's stopping them from buying a house, starting a business, being able to move forward with their future. and there is something we can do about that, and that's what we're here to talk about and invite our republican colleagues to join us in. we've had one opportunity where there was a filibuster a number of weeks ago against our student loan debt bill, bank on students bill. we have an opportunity today to come together, rather than seeing a republican filibuster, to actually see us joining together in a bipartisan way to

provide incredibly important relief to millions of not only young people but older people across the country who are still struggling with student loan debt. you know, in every generation there are young americans from middle-class families who have the grades to go to college but not the financial resources. they take out student loans because they know that before they can get the job they want to be able to get a fair shot at the american dream, they've got to have a degree. and that's what they're taught. that's what we all tell our children. that's what i was told as well. and what they're looking for is a degree, not debt. unfortunately, by the time students graduate, they are in fact saddled in today's world with mounds of debt. so to address this problem, senator warren, senator franken

and i and many democratic colleagues have joined together to introduce the bank on students emergency loan bill. it would allow responsible borrowers to refinance the loans at lower rates, the rates there there -- the rates from last year, the lowest possible rates that have been in place. and these are currently only available to new borrowers. we think that everyone ought to have an opportunity to do that. in fact we, with lower interest rates have seen so many people, many of us refinancing our homes, taking advantage of lower interest rates, being able to use lower interest rates in other ways. but students have been prohibited, and even with the student loan has been prohibited from refinancing. and that's just plain wrong. and our bill would address that. passing this bill would help more than 25 million americans. i can't think of any one single

thing that we could do that would immediately help 25 million people, including 1 million hardworking people in the state of michigan. a mother named francis from macone county outside of detroit wrote to me on december 6, and she talked about her children. she has two children. both of them chose jobs that serve the public good. they are public service. one is a teacher, one is a nurse. because of the loans they took out when they were working hard to work their way through college, that you are student loan debt is now nearly $100 thousand. $100 thousand. in michigan, 62% of college students have debt when they graduate. the average is about $29,000, although i have talked to people with not only the $100,000 i just mentioned, but young

professionals with $185,000 or $200,000 in debt if they've gone to graduate school or medical school or law school, and it can be even higher. on the other end of the spectrum, there are some americans who have worked all their adult lives and are now retired -- in fact they're on medicare, and they're still paying student loan debt. this is wrong. the total student loan debt in this country right now is $1.2 trillion. that's more than credit card debt. more than credit card debt. $1.2 trillion. if you put it another way, every one of the 7.26 billion people -- men, women, and children -- in the world, if everybody in the world donated $165 to pay off america's student loan debt, it still wouldn't be quite enough.

so, this is something with a great sense of urgency to it. this bill needs to pass. we need to pass it now. if this passes, it means parents can save for their children's education for a home, can start a business, can afford their car, begin saving for their own retirement instead of just paying off student loan debt. these aren't luxuries. these are basics, basics of the american dream. mr. president, everyone in this chamber can agree that america isn't as strong without a strong middle class. and, frankly, it really is outrageous that we've allowed this situation to go on where the only way to do the right thing, to get the skills you need to get ahead is to put yourself in such jeopardy with student loan debt. we can do better than that, and i strongly urge my colleagues to join us in helping millions of

american workers to manage their student loan debt more effectively, saving thousands, tens of thousands of dollars in interest payments. we can help right now. this is something where we could jump-start the economy, as the fed chair said. jump-start the economy right now by passing this bill and being able to lower the costs of student loans. it's now my great pleasure to turn to a champion not only on this issue, but on the broader question of making sure that every american has a fair shot to make it and that we have a strong middle class in this country. and, mr. president, i would yield five minutes to the distinguished senator from wisconsin. ms. baldwin: it's a delight to join you on the floor to talk about this critical issue that is a growing crisis here at home

in america and really threatens america's economic strength and competitiveness. as you've heard today, there's a debt crisis in america. student loan debt. it is more than $1.2 trillion, and that is holding back an entire generation and creating a drag on our economy. it's a crisis that demands action from washington. and once again congress is failing the american people by refusing to work together to confront it. in june, the senate took a vote on the bank on students emergency loan refinancing legislation, which i am proud to cosponsor. and while it received majority support in this body, a minority of republicans obstructed the bill and prevented it from moving forward. the choice was clear, and opponents addressing the student debt crisis chose to protect tax

loopholes for millionaires and billionaires instead of to help give students a fair shot at getting ahead and providing relief to middle-class families struggling with student loan debt. i believe every student in america deserves a fair shot at an affordable education, and i believe that college education should be a path to the middle class, not a path to indebtedness. nearly 40 million students and graduates in america have outstanding student loans. the total amount of student debt in the united states has tripled in the past decade. and according to new data from the federal reserves, student loan debt grew by $31 billion from january to march of this year. my home state of wisconsin, almost 70% of the students graduating from four-year

institutions will have student loan debt, and the average debt amount will be $28,000. and that's real money. that's real money that isn't going towards buying a car or a first home. that's real money that isn't going into growing our economy at a time when we so desperately need economic growth. to help give americans a fair shot at getting out from under that burden of student loan debt, we should let borrowers refinance at today's lower rates, and that is why we are pushing for a vote on the bank on students emergency loan refinancing act. this legislation would allow those with outstanding student loan debt to refinance. it's pretty simple. it's paid for through the buffett rule, by making millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share in taxes to

give our students a fair shot at a bright future. and it will help strengthen the economic security of american families who are struggling with this debt. the department of education estimates that about 25 million borrowers in the united states could benefit from refinancing under this legislation. , including just over 500,000 wisconsinites. i've traveled the state of wisconsin, listening to students and graduates who are struggling with student loan debt. they have shared with me their concerns and the burdens that the cost of higher education puts on them and their families, and they have asked me to bring their stories and their messages to washington, d.c. one graduate student says she lives with her fiancee's parents to save money. another said that her husband borrowed against his 401-k so that the couple could afford daycare for their children while

she goes back to school. another woman said that she owes about $27,000 in loans. when she tried to buy a $6,500 car, she needed her grandfather to co-sign because she would not have otherwise been able to get the loan on her own. i heard from a woman in green bay, wisconsin, who was strapped with $600 a month in payments for her student loans. the failure of washington to hear these voices and to take action is holding them back, and it's holding back our economy. this money isn't going to supporting small local businesses. those business people who are working so hard to move our economy forward. and that's why we should seize this opportunity today to pass the bank on students emergency loan refinancing act. and by allowing eligible student

loan borrowers to refinance their private loans into the federal program by closing costly tax loopholes for millionaires and billionaires, we are solving a major economic crisis in a meaningful and effective way. it's really the least we can do to address the student loan debt crisis, but it's not all we can do. last week, i had the opportunity to introduce two bills to help address the larger issue of student debt and college affordability. my legislation targets working students and students enrolled in career and technology education programs. my working student act will allow students that must work while in college to complete their degrees more quickly and with less debt. the new legislation increases the amount working students can earn without that income counting against them and

accessing needs-based federal financial aid including the pell grants. in addition, some career and technical education students cannot access federal student aid to help them advance their careers, and that's why i have introduced the career and technical education opportunity act. this legislation simply allows c.t.e. students enrolled in short-term programs that lead to industry recognized credentials to also qualify for federal student aid. c.t.e. is one of the most effective vehicles for responding quickly to labor market changes and work force readiness needs of business and industry. and this legislation will help ensure that federal investments are supporting ready to work education. one thing is clear. there is a lot more that we can do in washington to give a much-needed break to people struggling to build a stronger future for themselves, their

families and for america, so i'm pleased that in a short while, senator warren will call for a vote on this important matter. we have a chance today to make a powerful difference in the lives of millions of students and graduates. let's do so. and i yield back. ms. stabenow: thank you, mr. president. it's now my great pleasure to yield to the distinguished senator from new hampshire. i have to say that senator shaheen's voice has been strong and clear. she has been one of our very strongest advocates about what we need to be doing on student loan debt and also to make sure that middle-class families have a fair shot to get ahead. so i am really pleased to have the senator from new hampshire, and i would yield five minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. shaheen: thank you. mr. president, senator stabenow, senator baldwin, i'm really pleased to be down on the floor

today joining you and senator warren, senator franken, all of the other senators who are going to be here speaking in support of the bank on students emergency loan refinancing act. this is a critical piece of legislation, and it would allow eligible borrowers who took out student loans prior to january january 1, 2013, to refinance those loans at lower interest rates. right now, you can go and refinance a car, you can refinance a mortgage, but you can't refinance your student loans, and we have heard from literally hundreds and hundreds of students and residents in new hampshire who are no longer students but who are trying to pay back loans after years of having to try and pay back the loans and start their lives. supporting this bill is a

commonsense way that we can come together to help the millions across this country who are struggling to pay back their student loans, and this is especially important to us in new hampshire because we rank second in the country in average debt per graduate. almost $33,000 per graduate for student loans. and according to recent estimates, almost 130,000 new hampshire residents could benefit from this bill. these folks need some relief from their student debt burden because it often comes at interest rates that are higher than they pay for a home or a car, and it's unacceptable to leave these borrowers struggling with crippling debts when we have the opportunity to take action to address this growing problem, and it's not just for those people who are affected because of their own student loans. this has a ripple effect through our economy. i met with a group of realtors over the summer, and one of the

things they talked about is that they are seeing first-time home buyers delay buying a home because of the costs of student loans. so to put this issue into perspective, i want to talk about some of the people that i have met who have been burdened by their student loans. first is calvin. he was a young soldier from new hampshire who i met at walter reed medical center. he was there recovering from losing his leg after stepping on an i.e.d. in afghanistan. he was married and had a young child, and we were talking about the challenges that he was facing after he recovered from his injuries, but what impressed me the most about our conversation in addition to his commitment to this country, it was that the thing he was most concerned about wasn't losing his leg, it wasn't where was he going to get a job after he got

out of the military. it was how were he and his wife going to pay back their student loans? another college graduate, a woman from durham, new hampshire, wrote to me recently. she has a master's degree and she is employed in a public service field. she has been working now for 12 years, but she has not been able to buy a home for her family because she still has $90,000 in student loan debt. and i heard from a woman in stratham, new hampshire, who has $150,000 in student loan debts. she has consolidated her student loans, but she still has a 7% interest rate which accrues noarl $900 on interest alone per month. a lower interest rate would make a critical difference to this woman and to her young family. those three young people represent thousands, the

129,000, 130,000 people across new hampshire who could benefit from refinancing their student loans. this bill is important for new hampshire but it's important for the country. we should take action today for the benefit of all americans with student loan debt who deserve a fair shot at the american dream and opportunities for them and their families. i urge my colleagues to join me. as senator baldwin said and senator stabenow said, we have an opportunity this afternoon to make a huge step forward in addressing the student loan debt faced by too many americans. i hope our colleagues will support the bank on students emergency loan refinancing act. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? ms. stabenow: thank you. mr. president, i yield five minutes to the distinguished senator from minnesota, and let me thank senator franken as one of the lead sponsors of this bill for his passion and his

fight, not only for people in minnesota but for the 25 million people across the country that are going to benefit from the opportunity to be able to afford to go to college. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. franken: i thank the generous senator from michigan, and i thank the senator from new hampshire on her remarks about the bank on students emergency loan refinancing act. i have held college affordability roundtables around my state of minnesota ever since i got to the senate. it's astounding how hard students work while they are also in college. i remember i had a student governing body from minnscue,

the minnesota college and university student bodies. i said how many of you work 20 hours a week. they all raised their hands. they are from the minnscu. they are in the governing body. i said how many work 30 hours a week. some raised their hands. how many of you work 40 hours a week? a couple raised their hand. this is while going to college. and yet in minnesota, students graduate with above $30,000 on average. we're about fourth in the nation. i heard senator shaheen said that they are second in the nation. our -- this bill would help over 550,000 minnesotans and 25 million americans cut down their debt and keep more of their hard -- hard-earned checks.

a few months ago, i had a roundtable at the university of minnesota, and i met joelle stangler. she happens to be the student body president at the university of minnesota. she has a -- she was the valedictorian at rogers high school with a 4.12 g.p.a. she doesn't lack motivation, joelle. both of joelle's parents are teachers. in fact, she comes from a long line of educators going back six generations. i'm telling this story -- you will see why i'm telling this story. a couple of years ago, joelle's mother, casey stangler, made the difficult decision to quit her job as a fifth grade teacher to work in the private sector because she could make more money in the private sector, and she needed to do this because she has four kids in college. among the fifth grade classes in

mrs. stangler's school district, her students showed some of the biggest rates of improvement in test scores. this is what i'm talking about. we lost a great teacher because of how expensive post-secondary education is. and not only that but with -- even with her mom's sacrifice, joelle already has $12,000 in student loans and she estimates that her total debt will be around $30,000 by the time that she graduates. there are so many students like joelle who are drowning in debt in minnesota and across the country. student debt today totals about about -- over $1.2 trillion and is a threat to our economy. we are seeing young people delay decisions, delay decisions to start a business, to start a family, to buy a home, and just

make the other kinds of purchases that make an economy grow. but there is a commonsense solution and it's contained in our bank on student emergency loan refinancing act. our bill simply allows students and graduates to take advantage of lower interest rates and refinance their loans. that's what people with mortgages can do. that's what people with car loans can do. that's what people with business loans can do. they can take advantage of lower interest rates and refinance their loans, but the government won't refinance student loans, and that's -- that's just not right. in the summer of 2013, we came together in congress to prevent the interest rate on new student loans from doubling. thanks to that effort, undergraduate students taking out new loans now pay a lower

rate. well, our bill would enable students and graduates who are saddled with higher interest rates on their undergraduate loans to refinance at the same lower interest rate. and the bill would similarly enable americans with graduate student loans or plus loans to refinance at lower rates. student debt is holding americans back, it's holding our economy back. that's why we need to pass this bill. thank you, mr. president. i yield to the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: thank you very much to the distinguished senator from minnesota. now i'd like to yield to the distinguished senator from new york who not only is a leader on this issue and so many other issues but is the author of a major tax credit in our code that allows middle-class families could be able to get

help for college, there's not a bigger champion for middle-class families than the senior senator from new york. i would yield to him. mr. schumer: thank you. thank you, mr. president, and i want to thank my colleague and dear friend from michigan for the great work she has done as chair and vice chair of the dpcc, we have worked very hard on this fair shot agenda. we believe it is resinating with the american people. when our colleagues on the other side of the aisle oppose simple things like a fair shot at getting out of poverty if you work 40 hours a week, a fair shot at having -- if you're a woman to get equal pay for a man and a fair shot to prevent jobs from being sent overseas that get a tax break, they know what we're talking about. and perhaps no issue resonates more than getting a fair shot for people to be able to afford and -- afford college and then repay their loans at a reasonable amount of money. mr. president, probably the greatest problem america faces is the decline of middle-class

incomes. they've been declining since 2001. if they continue to decline for another decade, woe is america. woe is america. america has been expanded on the notion, has grown to the greatest country in the world on the notion of opportunity. in my harbor sits a lady with a torch. that torch symbolizes to just about every american and most citizens of the world the american dream. what does that symbolize? if you ask the average american they couldn't put it in fancy words or high fluteen language. it means if i work hard, i'll be doing better and my kids will be doing better than me. nothing, mr. president, keeps that american dream burning more brightly than the ability to afford a college education. the bottom line is simple. the statistics show it. in our you in and -- new and

technological world, whether it's an a.a., b.a. or higher do a lot better economically than everybody else and amazingly enough they do better in other ways in terms of how good their health is, longevity, in terms of their happiness. so college which used to be a rare commodity a hundred years ago is now almost a necessity to millions of americans, and yet it is so expensive. it's expensive in two ways. first, it's hard to get there. and we've been working really hard, the american opportunity tax credit which my friend from michigan mentioned, reducing the rate of student loans for those who already are in college and many other things we have done to try and make college affordable for those families who have someone in college or will enter college in future years. but there's another huge problem as well. those who have been to college have huge amounts of debt and they are paying this u.s. government far more interest than they would be paid on the

market. now, you can refinance almost everything, your mortgage, your car, loans on jewelry, but you cannot refinance your college loan. that the government has given you. so people are paying 6%, 7%, 8% whereas if they went into bank on their own, paid pay less. how fair our federal government make money on the backs of younger people struggling to pay back their debt. boy, does it hurt those families. it prevents them from starting businesses, prevents them from buying homes, it prevents them from going on a vacation. many delay their marriages. and so there could be nothing that would make millions and millions of americans happier economically, there could be nothing that will help people get a fair shot at a decent education, ability to repay, than this simple bill put together largely by the senator

from massachusetts, elizabeth warren, who has done a great job. it is hard to figure why our colleagues oppose this. do they want -- they have some distrust of the federal government. in this area we do, too. we think the federal government's demanding too much money to repay your loan. why don't they join us? why don't they join us? the cost of tuition goes up and up. the cost to repay goes up and up. and the burden on the backs of so many goes up and up. so, mr. president, all we want is a fair shot for everyone to afford college and to be able to repay. we would hope that our colleagues, this should have been a bipartisan bill. it's not right now. but maybe there will be a change of heart because i will tell you this, this will become law. maybe not today, but in the next months and next year. it's become an issue in campaigns throughout the country, it's an issue that

resonates with voters, democrat, independent, republican, liberal, conservative, north, south, east, and west, and we will keep fighting. we will keep fighting, mr. president, until every american has a fair shot at affording college and repaying their loans. with that i yield back to the senator from michigan who has been kind enough to put together this hour of debate. ms. stabenow: thank you, mr. president. thank you to my friend from new york who has been so passionate and -- on the broad question, how do we have a fair shot as americans to get ahead and particularly as it relates to affordability in college loan debt and we're so pleased to have another champion with us from the great state of maryland, and i would yield now to senator cardin from maryland. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cardin: let me thank senator stabenow for organizing this time to underscore the importance of a fair shot for

everyone to afford a college education. earlier this month, senator mikulski and i met with students. we met with students from the university of maryland, baltimore county, we met with students from bowie state college, we sat around a table and listened to their story. bowie state college is one of our historically black colleges and universities in maryland. it's a pretty reasonable tuition cost. much lower than most state colleges and certainly a lot lower than private schools. so senator mikulski and i were shocked to find that the average amount of debt today at a state college like bowie is over $27,000 of debt that a graduating senior has. now, mr. president, that affects their decisions. we were there during the first week of school. we talked to the president and the president said he still doesn't know the enrollment this year because there are a lot of

students who had preenrolled but until they paid their cost they're not fully enrolled and a lot had had not fully enrolled because they didn't know how they were going to pay their cost. we heard from students who showed up for class and didn't have textbooks because they couldn't afford to buy their textbooks. then we heard from students who said look, it's difficult enough to afford a four-year college education. but the average length of time to get a degree was six years. why? because they have to work in order to pay for part of their schooling. to keep their debt down. and they couldn't graduate earlier. courses are only offered certain times of the year, took them six years to get the required amount. you've heard the numbers. the amount of student debt outstanding is $1.3 trillion, more than credit card debt. that the united states for a family's income it takes maybe half their income to afford a college education, the rest of the industrial world is between

5% and 10%. you can't be globally competitive at that rate. education is a great equalizer in this country. and we've outpriced ourselves. so we have a chance to do something about it today. i'll give you one more example if i might. i was at a four-year college earlier this year and i was talking to a college student who was a junior. a second-year student going into her third year and she said she was going to drop out. i said judge? are you not doing well in school? she said i've got straight a's. i'm dropping out because i can't justify to my family taking out more debt knowing what the interest cost will be to my family. it broke my heart. that's the situation. so certainly we need to have a greater budget support for colleges and public colleges and universities, we need to increase the millions, we need to make pell grants, and we need to do that, there's a lot

of things we need to do but today, today we need to take a giant step forward with interest costs. my colleague senator elizabeth warren will be making a examine. we have a chance to pass this bill today in the united states senate. that would say, you know, it's just wrong for the federal government to make $66 billion on the interest flow. from 2007 to 2012, the federal government made $66 billion on the difference between what they charge in interest and what the cost is to the government. to me that's the worst taxes on the most vulnerable in our community. and we should eliminate that and that's what the warren bill does. what it does it says look, week -- let our students refinance their loans. by the way, it's not just young people. there are several million americans over the age of 50

have student debt. this is a lifetime burden. let them refinance. so they can take advantage of the lower interest rates and save several thousand dollars in doing that. we have chance to do that today. so i would urge my colleagues to allow us to take up this legislation and let's pass it and let's show the people of this nation this nation we want a fair shot for everyone to afford a college education. i'm proud to be part of senators on the floor that urge this to happen, i thank my colleague, senator stabenow for her leadership on this issue, and with that, mr. president, i would yield the floor back to senator stabenow. ms. stabenow: thank you very much, senator cardin. let me just state what i think senator cardin said so eloquently. we have the opportunity today to vote today on a fair shot for everybody to go to college. and so we will ask our

colleagues to join us. the rules of the senate are such that even though we have a majority, because our caucus is all supporting this effort we have a majority to get this done, if there is an objection we go into a filibuster mode which takes a supermajority. it's the way the rules are. we know we have a majority to pass this bill if our colleagues don't want to vote for it, that's fine. but what we ought to be doing is having the vote. somebody wants to stand up and say this is not important, it's not a priority, to make sure that everyone has a fair shot to be able to go to college and not be buried in student loan debt, if they want to say they'd rather protect those that we are asking to help chip in to pay for this, which are millions and billionaires that aren't paying their fair shots like middle-class families are asked to do, we're paying for this by

closing a loophole that as warren buffett said shouldn't be there when he as a billionaire has a lower tax rate than his secretary. so we're saying join us to close that loophole, take those dollars and help 25 million people, 25 million people be able to cut thousands of dollars off of their payments. and for me i'm laser focused on the million people in michigan that this would help. mr. president, let me just share a few of those stories. i met a young man, nathan collision and his wife who live in saginaw, they're young professionals, they have a combined student loan debt of $185,000. they have a 3-year-old little girl. i'll never forget nathan saying to me when she is ready to go to college i'm still going to be paying off our student loan debt and i can't afford to put money aside for my little girl to be able to go to college.

that's not right. he and his wife both work, and right now they're talking about $600 a month on student loan debt. as nathan pointed out to me, that's a house payment. that's a good house in saginaw. at $600 a month. and yet it's only a fraction of the interest on nathan's loans. which means that his debt is going to keep growing and growing and growing, and just to make his debt stop growing, he would have to be paying $2,200 a month. so if he was going to be paying the full amount and not deferring part of it, it would be $2,200 a month. just a -- which is a really nice house in michigan. and the ability to do more than just have a nice house, but to put money aside for his little girl to be able to go to college. and to be able to invest for

them in their future. so this legislation wouldn't automatically make nathan's debt go away but it would make it a whole lot easier, mr. president. if we look at over time $185,000 over a 20-year period you're talking about tens of thousands, a hundred thousand dollars in savings by what we're talking about. so this is very much about having a vote today, the opportunity to vote. our colleagues don't have to vote "yes." they don't have to vote "yes." we're confident we have enough votes to pass this. we just need to get thew the -- thew the procedural hurdle, the objections that trigger a filibuster. that's all we're asking for. i think the 1 million families, the 1 million people in michigan and their fathers the 25 million people across the country who are buried in student loan debt deserve a vote. they deserve a vote today.

let me also talk about a young woman from lambertville, michigan. she went to my alma mater, michigan state university, graduated in 2008 on the dean's list. of course, 2008 was a disastrous year for the economy nationally and certainly in michigan. as we saw what happened to auto manufacturing. and it was especially brutal for young people looking for work. so even though she graduated among the top in her class, it ended up taking her four years to find a job in her field and today she is only making slightly more than minimum wage and trying to figure out how in the world she is going to pay off her student loan debt, let alone proceed with her dreams for the future. last week i heard from a young man who was originally from union city, michigan. he was working in north carolina when his father was diagnosed

with a terminal illness, with brain cancer, and he came home, as i'm sure his family appreciated, to help care for his father. you know, showing the right kind of values, family values, to come home and help care for his dad. during the recession, he lost his job in michigan, was out of work for two years, which is why he ended up in north carolina and ended up with a low-wage job with no benefits, and now he's back trying to figure out how he can help take care of his dad, figure out a job and not be totally buried in the debt that he already has. his debt has been turned over to a collection agency and counting on the fees, he now owes $90,000 and counting trying to do the right thing, not only going to college but for his family. you know, when i think,

mr. president, about how things have changed over the years, the kind of support we used to give and one of the great american strengths has been creating opportunity for people to be successful. and a lot of that opportunity has been in relationship to college, the chance to get an education, go to college, get the skills that you need. i remember growing up in clair. when i was going to high school, my dad was very, very ill. we didn't have any money for me to go to school. i worked very hard, was at the top of my class, my small class of 93 people. and i was in a position to get a tuition and fee scholarship that allowed me to go to college. now, somebody somewhere at that time thought it was important for some red-headed,

freckle-faced kid t to have a st to make t that's what is best bower country, about america. we have tried, we have increased bell grants but certainly they need to be increased much more. we have focused on other areas and we certainly need to do more. but what we have seen over time is more and more has -- more of what -- more of what students have had to do is student loans. there's been less opportunities for consol scholarships, less ss for proud to see it happen in my home state of michigan because of what i thing of upside down values.

but what we've seen over time as the economy has changed and everything is changing and we're telling young people, we're telling people who are going back to school, who lost their job, you need to go back to school for the education and the tools and the skills for the jobs that are available in today's economy. we have new opportunities, new economy. but it means we have to have new skills. we have to have an education. and so students are doing that. they're doing the right thing. they're doing what they have been told to do. and then they turn around and their only option is loans. and then they take a look at the fact that somehow student loans are treated differently than student loan debt. you can't get the lowest interest rates and refinance if you are in the unfortunate situation of having gone into bankruptcy, you can't discharge those loans into bankruptcy like you can other kinds of debt.

i don't understand how we've gotten to a place that how student loan debt is with you forever and ever and ever and we don't have the same ability to allow people to manage that debt as they do other kinds of debt, but that's where we are in this country. and so we're seeing more and more people, cuts at the state level, tuition goes up, and we then see a situation where more and more people have to turn to student loans. well, we can do something about that today. there's a lot of things we can do, and i support doing all of those things that will allow us to get us back to right size the situation in terms of our values in supporting opportunity for education in our country. one thing we can do right now is have a vote on this bill, and we could immediately see change happen, put more money back in the pockets of folks across our

great country who've just been doing the right thing and want a fair shot to make it and the opportunity to have some kind of help as they are paying off their student loans. now, i'm so pleased to see our leader and the main author of this legislation join us on the floor. she understands, as we all do, and as someone who's been dedicatiodead dedicated to education, and advocating for people to have a fair shot. it is my pleasure at this point to turn to the distinguished senator, the senior senator from massachusetts and support her request, as she moves forward this afternoon. i yield to the senator.

the presiding officer: without objection. ms. warren: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. ms. warren: thank you, mr. president. and i want to commend all of the incredible work that the senator from michigan has done on the fair shot agenda, how she's really been out there working hard for families across this country, for middle-class families, for working families, people who are just trying to get a fair shot. and on education, she has been a tremendous leader. it has been a real privilege to have this opportunity to work with the senator from michigan on this, and i know the senator from michigan and i are going to keep working on this set of issues. mr. president, i rise today to urge my colleagues to allow a debate and vote on the bank on students loan refinancing bill. 40 million americans are dealing with student loan debt, and many

of them are drowning in it. a quarter of all federal student loan borrowers are behind on their payments. student loan debt is dragging down our young people, and it is dragging down the economy. keeping borrowers from buying homes, moving out on their own, buying cars and opening small businesses. in june, the senate voted on a proposal to allow borrowers to refinance their existing student loans down to the interest rates offered to new borrowers. the same rates that nearly every republican in the house and the senate voted just last summer to offer to new borrowers. now, this refinancing bill would not add a single dime to the deficit. it is fully paid for by closing tax loophole that right now lets millionaires and billionaires pay less in taxes than middle-class families.

so the vote on our student loan refinancing proposal asks senators to make a simple choice: protect billionaires from paying their "fair" of taxes or protect student loan borrowers who worked hard to get an education and are struggling to stay afloat. protect the billionaires who've already made it big or help young people who are still trying to build a future. a majority of the senate, including every democrat, every independent, and three republicans sided with students and supported moving forward on this bill. but the rest of the republicans blocked it. now, we heard a lot of excuses from those who oppose the bill. some republicans suggested that the benefit for our young people on this bill is small. well, i disagree. putting billions of dollars in federal student loan profits back into the pockets of americans who worked hard to get

an education is not small. saving millions of americans hundreds or thousands of dollars a year in excessive student loan interest payments is not small. but, look, if the republicans think the benefit is too small, then work with us to offer amendments to this bill and give students a bigger break. but don't refuse to even debate the bill. now, some republicans suggested that the $1.2 trillion in outstanding debt just isn't a big deal, that we should focus on rising college costs instead. yes, the rising cost of college is a terrible problem, but so are the outstanding loans at 6%, 8%, 10%, 12% and eve higher. we need to fix both problems, not play rope-a-dope politics that we can't fix this because we haven't fixed that yet.

millions of young people are just stuck. they can't buy homes, they can't buy cars, they can't save for retirement, they can't do the things that would help this economy grow, all because they're struggling under the weight of student loan debt. if senators think we should do more than just refinancing, more to improve college accountability, and to reduce the future costs for students, then work with us to offer amendments. but don't refuse to even debate the bill. some republicans don't like that this proposal is paid for by closing tax loopholes. if senators don't like that, if they have other ideas, then they should offer amendments, but don't refuse to even debate this bill. some republicans even suggested that democrats don't want this bill to pass. now, that's just plain ridiculous. only in washington can you vote against something and then when it doesn't pass blame the people

who voted for it. you know, these excuses don't fool anyone. they don't fool the hundreds of thousands of people who have signed petitions, attended rallies, and called their senators asking for a vote on this bill. this isn't complicated. senators can make a choice, a choice that raises a fundamental question of who this place works for: does 2 wor it work for those whn hire armies of lawyers and lobbyists who want to protect loopholes in the tax code to give more advantages to millionaires and billionaires? does it work for the big banks with their armies of lobbyists who just want to maximize student loan profits? or does it work for young people who worked hard, who played by the rules, who got an education and who are trying to build a future for themselves and their families? we are just a few votes away

from breaking the republican filibuster and moving forward to debate this bill. i urge my republican colleagues to allow a vote to let us debate and pass this bill. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 409, s. 2432, the bank on students emergency loan refinancing act, and the senate immediately proceed to vote on passage of the bill with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. cornyn: mr. president, reserving the right to object, i want to say to my colleague from massachusetts, i appreciate her highlighting the importance of student debt in the lives of a lot of our young people who are struggling in this stagnant economy, but the best thing we could do is try to get the

economy growing again. but the majority leader has chosen not to use the senate for that for the purpose of actually legislating. this is the killing field for good bipartisan ideas that have come from the house of representatives now more than 380 bills. but, unfortunately, the majority leader has refused to take any of those up. we stand read y to work with our colleagues across the aisle on serious legislation that will through an open and deliberative process that our constituents are demanding. there's a reason why the approval rating of the congress is 14%. people look at washington, d.c. these days and reelsz that it's completely broken -- and realize that it's completely broken and nowhere else is it more broken than the united states senate where senator reid has decided to grind this what used to be known as the world's