Student Loan Debt

Floor Speech

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend President Obama for announcing a plan this morning to lower student loan payments. The New York Times recently reported that student loan debt outpaced credit card debt for the first time last year and that the growth in student loan debt threatens to undermine the future life prospects of the current generation of students.

It was this realization that led me, as a State senator, to pass the Tennessee Education Lottery program that gives scholarships to our Tennessee students.

Too many young people have an unbelievable amount of debt that burdens them for the rest of their lives. The students that participate in Occupy Wall Street are very aware of this threat.

Earlier this year, I reintroduced H.R. 2028, the Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act, which will restore fair treatment to Americans in severe financial distress whose debts include private student loans.

Before 2005 private student loans issued by for-profit lenders were appropriately treated in bankruptcy like credit card debt and other similar types of unsecured consumer liabilities. The bill I've introduced with Senator Durbin in the Senate would ensure that privately issued students loans will once again be treated like other debt and be dischargeable in bankruptcy.

We need to give our students a fair chance.

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