The Senate on Tuesday began debating legislation that would let college graduates refinance their loans when interest rates fall. “One of the great crises facing our country today is student indebtedness and the high cost of college,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, a cosponsor of the bill by Sen. Elizabeth Warren. 

Unlike loans for homes and cars, current law prohibits refinancing student loan debts. “It is absurd that students cannot refinance their debt to lower their interest rates. Like every homeowner in America, people paying student loans should be able to take advantage of lower rates,” Sanders said.

Americans have piled up more than $1.2 trillion in student loan debt – more than is owed on credit card debt. In fact, student loan debt has tripled since 2004 while the price of a four-year college education rose at a rate 43 percent greater than the rate of inflation

“It is obscene that millions of working-class families are finding it extremely difficult to send their kids to college,” Sanders said. “Colleges must control costs and the federal government must provide the necessary assistance so every person in this country – regardless of income – can get a college education.”