Student Loan Interest Rates

Floor Speech

Ms. SINEMA. Mr. Speaker, Brandie Reiner, Jack Welty, Andy Albright, Diego Soto, Anthony Carly, Ellen Hamilton, Ariel Carlos, Joe Slaven, Brandy Pantilione, Gary Brewer, Christopher Valles--these are the students and college graduates from Arizona State University, my alma mater, who shared their stories with me. Some of these young adults are my students at Arizona State University where I teach. Some are recent graduates. Some are thinking of starting a family, while others are working hard to care for the families they already have.

What do these graduates want? They just want a fair shot. They want to know that their hard work in college mattered, that it led to the promise that their parents made to them when they were little, the promise we all believe in: if you work hard and play by the rules, you will succeed. Essentially, they want what each of us wanted for ourselves, what we want for our own kids, what we're working for in our districts. They want a shot at the American Dream.

Instead, as Brandie Reiner begins her life and career as a social worker--having just graduated from ASU last month--she will face the biggest financial hurdle of her life. She doesn't face massive medical bills or an expensive car loan. It's not rent or a mortgage payment. It's a bill for over $100,000 in student loans. Eighteen days--18 days--that's all the time we have to stop student loan interest rates from doubling. Eighteen days makes a lot of difference to the young people who will have to pay thousands of additional dollars to the Federal Government at a time in their lives when those dollars matter the most.

Christopher Valles has $20,000 in debt, and he's just a freshman; Gary Brewer, $57,000 in debt; Kent Fogg, $70,000; Sara Cureton, $74,000.

The Federal Reserve has noted that the U.S.' $1 trillion in student debt is further constricting our economy. Young people are foregoing long-term job opportunities and homeownership in order to meet the urgent demands of their large student loan payments. And today, as they work hard to find jobs in this recession that they didn't cause, Congress debates whether to force students to pay more in order to pay down Congress' debt.

Brandie, Christopher, Gary, Kent, Sara--these graduates should not have to foot the bill for Congress' failure. In 18 days, I want to go back to Arizona and tell these students that I took their stories to Congress and that their stories mattered, that their experiences made a difference.

When these young adults tell me that they just want a shot at the American Dream, that they're working hard, playing by the rules, and doing everything they can to live that dream, then they've done their part. Now it's time for us to do ours.

I challenge us, all of us: Republicans, Democrats, Senators, Representatives. I challenge us to stand together and do the right thing. Stop the finger-pointing and the cynical posturing. Instead, we must act together to keep student loan interest rates affordable. The clock is ticking. There's no time to waste.

Source