Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. BURR. Mr. President, today is an excellent day for students across the country who are taking out college student loans. For the upcoming school year, the Treasury auction just took place on 10-year notes. Some folks might ask: What is the connection with student loans and Treasury notes?

Three years ago, Senator Alexander, myself, Senator Manchin, Senator King, and others said something very simple: We are going to get politicians out of the business of setting student loan rates, and we are going to let the marketplace do it. That was a wise decision, as was the law we passed--the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act. Since 2013 it has saved students and their parents $36 billion in taking out student loans. We will save another $10 billion again this year. That means that 200,000 North Carolinians--students and their parents--are saving even more on student loans. Those 200,000 North Carolinians take out about $500 million in student loans to attend universities and colleges. Because of this law, they have been saving. Because of today's Treasury auction, they are going to save even more. They are going to save about $1.1 billion across my State alone because of the reduction in the Treasury note from a little over 4 percent on the 10- year to 3.76 today.

Congressional Research Service tells us that about $4,500 less will be paid out for a 4-year degree. I hold this up because I think this is indicative of where we are this year--the lowest student loan rate since the year 2004. I know this is a debate not only within the body of the Senate and the House but also on the campaign trail for our Presidential candidates.

Prior to 2013, interest rates had been written into law by politicians and were essentially set at 6.8 percent. Many of us looked at it and said: This is insane. For the protection of American taxpayers, it ought to be tied to some financial instrument. So we tied it to the 10-year bond. Since that point, taxpayers--specifically, students and their parents--have saved $36 billion because we decoupled it from the political process here.

In fact, those interest rates have dropped significantly since last year--4.29 percent to 3.76 percent today. That means about $40 more per month in the average graduate's pocket. It means $4,500 more overall in saved costs.

What would have happened if we hadn't come together to pass this law? Students would have shelled out another $46 billion in student loan interest payments. This is one thing that Congress can hold up, and we can highlight the fact that we did something responsible. For those who claim we haven't done anything about the high cost of student loans, let me suggest to you that we have done a lot. We have saved parents and students $46 billion. We probably could save them more than that if, in fact, we didn't divert some of the proceeds that the Government gets off of student loans to the Affordable Care Act by about $2 billion a year.

We ran into significant pushback from several Members of this body. In fact, 18 Members of this body, mostly from the other party, opposed this law. The junior Senator from Vermont called it a disaster for young people in our country looking to go to college. This law was also vocally opposed by the senior Senator from Massachusetts. But today, it demonstrates the shortsightedness that was displayed then. Today, because of what we did in a bipartisan fashion passed by this body, parents and students have saved $46 billion, and in North Carolina this next year, it is projected that they will save another $1.1 billion in interest payments on their student loans. This is a day that Congress can be proud of because we have done something good for the American people.

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