• COVID-19 Resources
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Promotions
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • May 31, 2025

Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper

"THE NEWSPAPER YOU CAN TRUST SINCE 1964"

  • News
  • Editorials
  • Education
  • Urban Business
  • Health
  • Religion
  • Upcoming Events
  • Classifieds

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Tammy Baldwin Stands up for Wisconsin Students and Families, Supports New Legislation to Give them a Fair Shot at an Affordable Higher Education

May 17, 2014

Bill Gives Struggling Borrowers the Opportunity to Refinance and Eases Burden for Millions of Americans in Student Loan Debt

Tammy Baldwin

Tammy Baldwin

Washington D.C. – At a press conference today with her Senate colleague, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin announced her support for new legislation to give everyone a fair shot at affording a college education.

Specifically, the new bill will allow borrowers that have both federal and private undergraduate loans at interest rates – nearly 8 percent, 9 percent, and sometimes 14 percent and higher – to refinance at today’s lower rates of 3.86 percent with no refinancing fees.

This new legislation to make college more affordable is a critical piece of the Senate Democrats’ fight to give all Americans a fair shot.

Under the proposal, a student with an average outstanding debt load of $30,000 paying a 6.8 percent interest rate would save about $5,000 by refinancing to today’s lower rate.

Borrowers with graduate and PLUS loans would also be able to refinance to lower rates.

“Making college affordable is one of the most important steps we can take toward building a strong path to the middle class for all Americans,” said Senator Baldwin.

“A college education should be a path to prosperity not a path to indebtedness, but student loan debt is holding back an entire generation and creating a drag on economic growth for our country.

The ability to refinance at lower rates provides some relief to borrowers and gives them a fair shot at building a stronger future for themselves.”

Under the bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act of 2013, students that took out new undergraduate loans for the 2013-2014 school year pay a rate of 3.86 percent.

However, this does not assist the millions of young professionals saddled with an average of $30,000 in student loan debt that took out loans earlier than 2013 and are paying sky-high interest rates.

Senators today announced their push for new legislation, which will allow students and young professionals to pay back their outstanding federal and private loans at the same rates as new borrowers, without being charged a fee for refinancing.

Nearly 40 million Americans have outstanding student loans. According to new data from the Federal Reserve, student loan debt grew by $31 billion from January to March of this year, now totaling $1.1 trillion across the country, making student loan debt the fastest growing household debt category.

The rising debt load makes it more difficult for young professionals to purchase homes, automobiles, and other goods, creating a huge drag on the overall economy.

“I recently sat down with a group of Wisconsin students.

And they shared with me their concerns and the burden the cost of a higher education puts on them and their families,” said Baldwin.

“Their message to Washington is simple- there is debt crisis in America and it is time to take action. These students, like every young person in America, they deserve a fair shot at an affordable education.”

The average student loan debt among those who borrow to get a bachelor’s degree is nearly $30,000 – and a shocking 30 percent of Federal Direct student loan dollars are in default, forbearance, or deferment. Meanwhile, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently projected that the government will bring in $66 billion in revenue on its federal student loans made between 2007 and 2012.

The legislation is fully funded by enacting the Buffett Rule, which would limit special tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans that allow millionaires and billionaires to pay lower effective tax rates than middle class families.

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Popular Interests In This Article: Student Loan Debt, Student Loans, Tammy Baldwin

Read More - Related Articles

  • Baldwin, Colleagues Demand to Know Who Killed Minority Business Development Agency, Why & Where’s the Money Going?
  • Senator Baldwin Raises Alarms on Trump Gutting Health Department and Making Americans Less Safe, Healthy
  • Baldwin Demands Answers from Trump Administration After Funding Blocked for Wisconsin Head Start
  • Senator Baldwin Applauds Announcement of 15 More Prescription Drugs to be Negotiated for Lower Prices
  • Senator Baldwin Helps Secure Over $38 Million Investment in Wisconsin Commuter Rail Service
Become Our Fan On Facebook
Find Us On Facebook


Follow Us On X
Follow Us On X

Editorials

Lakeshia Myers
Michelle Bryant
Dr. Kweku Akyirefi Amoasi formerly known as Dr. Ramel Smith

Journalists

Karen Stokes

Topics

Health Care & Wellness
Climate Change
Upcoming Events
Obituaries
Milwaukee NAACP

Politicians

David Crowley
Cavalier Johnson
Marcelia Nicholson
Governor Tony Evers
President Joe Biden
Vice President Kamala Harris
Former President Barack Obama
Gwen Moore
Milele A. Coggs
Spencer Coggs

Classifieds

Job Openings
Bid Requests
Req Proposals
Req Quotations
Apts For Rent

Contact Us

Milwaukee Courier
2003 W. Capitol Dr.
Milwaukee, WI 53206
Ph: 414.449.4860
Fax: 414.906.5383

Copyright © 2025 · Courier Communications | View Privacy Policy | Site built and maintained by Farrell Marketing Technology LLC
We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.