Senate Republicans:  “We Can’t Afford Our Own Affordability Plan”

GOP Senate does nothing to help the nearly 1 million Wisconsinites with student loans

(Madison)—State Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) issued the following statement in response to the Senate Republicans’ failure on student loans:

“Nearly 1 million Wisconsin residents have nearly $20 billion in student loan debt.  Nearly 60% are over the age of 30 and an increasing number of people are having their Social Security checks garnished to pay their student loans.

“Yet another session ends without Senate Republicans doing a single thing to help lower the cost of crippling student loan payments except blocking the one thing we know will help: making it possible for them to refinance their student loans at lower interest rates.

“After blocking a vote on the increasingly popular Higher Ed/Lower Debt bill that allows student loan refinancing, Senate Republicans amazingly did absolutely nothing to help those nearly 1 million people with student loans.

“It’s as if they asked themselves ‘what’s the least we can do to look like we care?’ and then did even less. 

“Today they did nothing.

“After all their talk, Senate Republicans refused to even hold a vote on the key provision of Governor Walker’s affordability plan, a $5.2 million tax cut, because they couldn’t afford to pay for it.

“It is extremely disappointing that we have a low-risk, cost effective way to help hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin residents refinance their student loans at lower interest rates but the Governor and Senate Republicans would rather leave them at the mercy of Wall Street and the giant student loan corporations.”