Providing Consideration of H. Con. Res. 27, Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal year 2016
Floor Speech
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Ms. ADAMS. I thank the gen tle lady for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today as a member of the Higher Education Subcommittee and as a retired professor of 40 years at Bennett College in North Carolina. I am steadfastly committed to making sure that every student has access to a quality, affordable college education because education is key to achieving the American Dream.
However, too many of our graduates are burdened with insurmountable debt, which hinders their prospect of achieving the great American Dream. Even worse, the rising cost of education and the threat of educational debt has become a barrier for many students considering college. That is not acceptable.
National student loan debt is more than $1.3 trillion. It is time to invest in our constituents and help our graduates better manage their debt. Homeowners and car owners can refinance their loans. Why can't our hardworking graduates do the same?
The Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act will allow them to do just that. It will allow graduates to refinance their old debt so that they are better equipped to pay it off.
One in seven student borrowers defaults on their loans within the first 3 years. If we don't act now, our graduates will continue to be forced to choose between paying school debt, purchasing homes, creating a savings account, and starting families. The threat is too grave to our economy.
I know firsthand what higher education can do for a person's life because of what it did for me. That is why I am fighting for every student to have access to a quality, affordable education.
We can no longer sit back and watch students spend their entire adult lives paying off their student debt. I urge my colleagues to put our graduates before partisan politics, and let's pass this legislation.
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