Elizabeth Warren

Ms. WARREN

Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, Republicans are on the attack once again, trying to put women's fundamental rights on the chopping block. I stand with my colleagues to fight back. Senator Patty Murray of Washington, Senator Mark Udall of Colorado, and 40 other Senators have stood to sponsor new legislation to reverse the Supreme Court's shocking decision in Hobby Lobby, where the Court gave corporations the power to deny their employees access to birth control. We will vote on this legislation tomorrow morning, and I urge my colleagues to pass it without delay. Right now, with millions of Americans still out of work and struggling to recover from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, with 40 million Americans dealing with student loans, with millions of people working full time at minimum wage and still living in poverty, with the big banks getting bigger, workers getting poorer, and seniors struggling to make ends meet, Republicans in Washington have decided that the most important thing for them to focus on is how to deny women access to birth control. I will be honest: I cannot believe we are even having a debate about whether employers can deny women access to birth control. Guys, this is 2014, not 1914. Most Americans thought this was settled long, long ago. But for some reason Republicans keep dragging us back here over and over again. After all, the Hobby Lobby case is just the most recent battle in an all-out Republican assault on women's access to basic health care. In 2012 the Republicans tried to pass the Blunt amendment, a proposal that would have allowed employers and insurance companies to deny women access to health care services based on any vague moral objection. Democrats said no, the President said no, and the American people said no to this offensive idea. But instead of listening to the American people, Republicans in Washington doubled down. Remember last year's government shutdown that nearly tanked our economy? That fight started with a GOP effort to hold the whole operation of the Federal Government hostage in order to try to force Democrats and the President to let employers deny their workers access to birth control. Well, we rejected the hostage taking. Democrats said no, the President said no, and the American people said no to this offensive idea. But instead of listening to the American people, Republicans turned to their rightwing friends on the Supreme Court, and those Justices did what Congress would not do, what the President would not do, and what the American people would not do. Those Justices decided that corporations have the right to ignore the law and determine for themselves whether their employees can access basic health care coverage. The Hobby Lobby decision is a stunning case. As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg noted in her dissent, the result of this case could be to deny ``legions of women who do not hold their employers' beliefs access to contraceptive coverage that the ACA would otherwise secure.'' The case is the first step on a slippery slope that could eventually allow corporations to deny health care coverage to employees for other medical care including immunizations that protect our children from deadly disease, HIV treatment that saves lives or blood transfusions needed in surgeries. The Hobby Lobby case is stunning, but not entirely surprising. Giant corporations and their rightwing allies fight every day in Congress to protect their own privileges and to bend the laws to benefit themselves. They devote enormous resources to the task. Sometimes we beat them anyway. We beat them when they tried to pass the Blunt amendment, and we beat them when they tried to shut down the government over birth control. But when corporations lose in Congress, they don't just give up. They know they can often turn defeat into victory if they can get a favorable court decision. So while they push hard on Congress, they also devote enormous resources to influencing the courts, trying to transform our judiciary from a neutral, fair and impartial forum into just one more rigged Washington game. Nowhere has the success of this strategy to rig the courts been more obvious than with the U.S. Supreme Court. Three well-respected legal scholars recently examined 20,000 Supreme Court cases from the last 65 years, and they listed the top 10 most procorporate Justices in that entire time. The results? The five conservative Justices sitting on the Court today were all in the top 10, and Justices Alito and Roberts are numbers 1 and 2. So it is no surprise that those five Justices banded together in the Hobby Lobby case to decide that corporations have more rights than the women who work for them. They decided that corporations are people who matter more than real living men and women who work hard everyday and who are entitled to the protection of our laws. Now we can fight back against this decision and against the corporate capture of our Federal courts. We can fight back by appointing judges who are fair, judges who are impartial, judges who won't show up on any ``top 10'' list for putting a thumb on the scales in favor of big business. We can fight back tomorrow by passing legislation to overturn this terrible Supreme Court decision. The proposed law, called the Protect Women's Health From Corporate Interference Act is simple. It does not require any person, any church, any house of worship, any faith or any religious nonprofit to endorse or provide insurance coverage for contraception. It does just one thing: It prevents ordinary for-profit corporations from ignoring the law and imposing their own religious beliefs on their employees by refusing to provide basic health benefits that are legally required. That was the law before Hobby Lobby, and it should be the law again. Senators will have a chance to vote tomorrow, and I urge every Senator to do the right thing. But whatever happens, we have won this fight many times before, and I am confident that sooner or later we will win it again, because no matter how many resources the other side pours into this battle, they will never convince Americans that their bosses should be in charge of their most intimate health care decisions, and they will never convince Americans that corporations are people whose imagined rights are somehow more important than the health of real living, breathing people. I have a daughter, I have granddaughters, and I will never stop fighting the efforts of backward-looking ideologues who want to cut women's access to birth control. We have lived in that world, and we are not going back--not ever. Thank you, Mr. President.

Ms. WARREN

Ms. WARREN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Ms. WARREN

Ms. WARREN. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Ms. WARREN

Ms. WARREN. That is exactly where we stand today. We are just two votes shy. What we know now is how the Republicans have voted. So now it is up to all of us to get two more Republicans to agree to just let us bring this bill to the floor. Just let us have the debate. Just let us have the vote.

Ms. WARREN. Yes, I am hearing that in my State and around the country. What really strikes me about this bill--there are a lot of things that happen that we can't fix here in Congress, but this is something we can fix. Right now the Federal Government is charging people who try to get an education 6 percent, 8 percent, 10 percent, 12 percent, and even higher on student loans. We have a very straightforward bill that would bring the interest rate down, put money back in people's pockets, and give people who are just trying to get a fair shot a real opportunity to build an economic future.

Ms. WARREN. That is right.

Ms. WARREN. That is exactly right.

Ms. WARREN. Madam President, I thank the Senator from Illinois for his leadership on this issue, and the answer is yes. This would have permitted 25 million Americans to refinance their student loans down to lower interest rates, thereby putting hundreds, even thousands of dollars back in their pockets.

Ms. WARREN. Certainly.

Ms. WARREN. Madam President, 40 million people in this country--40 million--are dealing with more than $1 trillion in student loan debt. It is crushing our young people and dragging down our economy. It is a national economic emergency. Yesterday Senators had a chance to do the right thing. We had a chance to allow young people with high-interest loans to refinance those loans down to a lower rate, a chance to move forward on the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, and a chance to stand for our young people who are just starting their economic lives. A majority of Senators voted to seize that chance. Every Democratic Senator, every Independent Senator, and three Republican Senators voted to seize that chance. But despite the majority support, despite this bipartisan support, the bill failed. Why? Because Republicans pulled out their favorite tool--the filibuster. They blocked the Senate from even debating this bill. Over the past few days we have heard a lot of excuses, but yesterday the Republicans said we should not even consider this legislation until we voted on the Sanders-McCain legislation to address the situation at the VA. The VA legislation is a very good bill. It is a very important bill, and the Senate voted on it yesterday afternoon. So now that the Senate has passed it, where are the Republicans? The veterans vote is over, so where are the Republicans who are now ready to debate the student loan refinancing? Veterans have spoken out on the student loan bill as well. The spokesperson for Student Veterans of America praised the student loan refinancing bill. He said this bill could provide real relief for his members--veterans who have served our country and who have worked hard to get an education. If the Republicans will let us vote, we can give our veterans that relief. The Senate can come back to the student loan bill at any point. We can come back today, we can come back tonight, and we can come back tomorrow. We just need the Republicans to let us get back on the important legislation. Democrats are happy to offer a time agreement which would allow for a short debate, would allow for amendments, and would get us to a vote. Let's be honest. Most of the Senate Republicans made the wrong choice yesterday when they voted to protect billionaires who have already made it instead of the young people who are fighting for a fair shot at a better future. I am still hopeful because despite the rhetoric, despite the excuses, despite the hemming and hawing, a large bipartisan majority of Senators stood for students yesterday. I am hopeful because I know that the minute the Republicans drop their filibuster, this bill will pass the Senate, and I am hopeful because we are just two votes short of breaking that filibuster. Now that we have had a vote on the veterans legislation, let's go back to the student loan bill. This is not over. We are not done fighting for students. No one is giving up. We just need two more votes to go forward. We are going to push harder than ever for the student loan bill, and we are going to get it passed. I thank the Presiding Officer.

Ms. WARREN

Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, which is currently pending before the Senate. This legislation would reduce student loan debt for millions of Americans and provide relief for those who are struggling to keep up with their payments. Student loan debt is exploding, and it threatens the stability of our young people and the future of our economy. The debt now totals $1.2 trillion and it is growing bigger every single day. In 8 years the average student loan balance increased by 70 percent, and now 7 out of every 10 college seniors are dealing with student loan debt. This debt is crushing our young people and dragging down our economy by keeping borrowers from being able to buy homes, cars, and open small businesses. It is keeping them from making the purchases that get their economic lives started and help our economy grow. We must act now to provide relief for existing borrowers, and the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act will do exactly that. The legislation is straightforward. It allows existing borrowers to reduce their debt by refinancing their high-interest loans to much lower--and much more manageable--levels. Depending on when they took out their student loans, millions of Americans are stuck in loans at 6 percent, 8 percent, 10 percent, and even higher. While interest rates are low, we propose to refinance those loans so that the old debt is at the same rates currently being offered to new student loan borrowers. These new rates are exactly the same rates that nearly every Republican in the House and Senate voted for just last summer as the fair rate for new student loans issued in 2013 through 2014--3.6 percent for undergraduate loans and a little higher for graduate and parent loans. These new rates are still higher than what it costs the government to run its student loan program. But if these lower rates are good enough for new borrowers, they should be good enough for older borrowers too. Later today Senators will have a choice. They can move forward and debate this bill or they can filibuster it and prevent any consideration of this refinancing plan. Some Republicans have pointed out that the legislation doesn't solve every problem that we have in higher education. Well, that is true; refinancing will not fix everything that is broken in our higher education system. We need to bring down the cost of college, and we need more accountability for how schools spend their Federal dollars. Senator Reid, Senator Durbin, and I have a bill to do just that, and we welcome our Republican friends to join us on that bill. But we have another problem right now--student loan debt. Refinancing that debt is a straightforward way to ease that problem right now. We should do it right now. If Senators want to do more, they should offer amendments to that bill, but they should not block it from being considered. Some Republicans have expressed concern about the effect of student loan refinancing on the deficit. In fact, the bill is fully paid for and--according to official estimates from the Congressional Budget Office--it actually reduces the deficit, and that is because it is funded by stitching up the loophole in our Tax Code that allows some millionaires to pay lower tax rates than middle-class families. Investing in students and asking billionaires to pay their taxes seems pretty fair to me. If Senators want to pay for this in a different way, they should offer amendments to this bill, but they should not block it from being considered. Finally, some have argued that the financial benefit for our young people here is small. If Republicans would like to lower the interest rates even more, then count me in. That is what I would like to do. But let's be clear: 40 million borrowers in this country have student loan debt--40 million--and many of those individuals could save hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year under this proposal. That is real money back in the pockets of people who invested in their education. If Senators want to change those rates, they should offer amendments to the bill, but they should not block it from being considered. This should not be a partisan issue. Locking old borrowers into high interest rates just doesn't make any sense. The Federal Government should offer refinancing just like any other lender. This is not only about economics, it is also about our values. These young people saddled with student loan debt didn't go to the mall and run up charges on a credit card. They worked hard and learned new skills that will benefit this country and help us build a stronger America. They deserve a fair shot at an affordable education. Unfortunately, people struggling with student loans don't have the money to hire armies of lobbyists to argue their case on Capitol Hill, they don't have a super PAC, and they can't fund super secret political machines. But they have their voices, and they are making themselves heard. Over 700,000 people have signed petitions urging Congress to refinance student loans. Dozens of organizations have endorsed the bill--including student groups, colleges, and mortgage bankers. Senators have a choice to make today. They can move forward and debate this bill, they can acknowledge that the debt is crushing our families and do what we were sent here to do--address an economic emergency that threatens the financial futures of Americans and the stability of our economy--or they can block this bill from being considered. They can refuse even to debate this idea in order to protect tax loopholes for millionaires and billionaires. That is it-- billionaires or students, people who have already made it big or people who are working to build their futures. With this vote, we show the American people whom we work for in the Senate--billionaires or students. A vote on this legislation is a vote to give millions of young people a fair shot at building their future. Forty million students and their families are counting on us. I thank the Presiding Officer and yield the floor.

Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Ms. WARREN

Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I want to recognize the 100th anniversary of management education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Management education began at MIT in 1914 with the introduction of Course XV, then known as ``Engineering Administration.'' Over the past century, MIT's business program has grown from a single course to a world-class school that provides our Nation's leaders and entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge they need for success, while also producing cutting-edge research. Today, the MIT Sloan School of Management stands as one of the world leaders in management education. MIT Sloan has jump started the careers of some of our foremost innovators, thinkers and business leaders. From launching successful Massachusetts-based companies like Zipcar and HubSpot to making revolutionary intellectual contributions to the fields of organizational behavior and system dynamics, Sloan alumni have made a huge positive difference in the world. According to a Sloan study, in 2006, there were 25,800 active companies founded by MIT alumni, which combined to employ 3.3 million workers. MIT's motto is ``mens et manus,'' which translates to ``mind and hand,'' and its school seal displays two men--one with a book, and another with an anvil. This connection between thought and action, between intellectual pursuits and practical applications, has helped define MIT's mission and has made the school the unique institution that it is today. For 100 years, MIT's management education programs have perfectly embodied this spirit. I am proud to join with the MIT community in recognizing the enduring contributions that a century of management education programs at MIT have given us, and we all look forward to MIT Sloan's leadership in the next century of its work.

Ms. WARREN

Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, outstanding student loans now total more than $1.2 trillion and millions of young people are struggling to keep up with their payments. But we have a chance to give those borrowers immediate relief by cutting the interest rates on existing student loans. Make no mistake--this is an emergency. Federal watchdog agencies such as the Federal Reserve, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Treasury Department are already sounding the alarm. Forty million Americans are saddled with student loan debt. It is holding them back, and it is holding our economy back too. Crushing student loan debt is keeping many young people from moving out of their parents' homes, from saving for a downpayment, from buying homes, buying cars, starting small businesses, saving for retirement, or making the purchases that grow our economy. It doesn't have to be this way. Congress set artificially high interest rates on old student loans that generate extra money for the government. The GAO recently projected that just the slice of Federal student loans issued between 2007 and 2012 will generate $66 billion for the U.S. Government. Those are the kinds of profits that would make a Fortune 500 CEO proud. These young people didn't go to the mall and run up charges on a credit card. They worked hard and learned new skills that will benefit this country and help us build a stronger America. They deserve a fair shot at an affordable education. We can give them a fair shot by cutting those interest rates and cutting those government profits. Along with more than 30 of my colleagues, I introduced the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act to do just that. The idea is simple. With interest rates near historic lows, homeowners, businesses, and even local governments have refinanced their debts. But a graduate who took out an unsubsidized loan before July 1 of last year is locked into an interest rate of nearly 7 percent. Older loans run 8 percent, 9 percent, 10 percent, and even higher. We need to bring those rates down, and we need to do it now. The Bank on Students bill would give student loan borrowers the opportunity to lower their interest rates on old loans to match the rates the government offers to new borrowers today. That is 3.8 percent for undergraduate loans, 5.41 percent for graduate loans, and 6.41 percent for PLUS loans. I want to be clear. These rates are still higher than what it costs the government to run the student loan program. The government won't be subsidizing student loans. In fact, the government will be making a profit on these loans--just a much smaller profit. And let's also be clear that our work is not done until we eliminate all of the profits from the student loan program. But this is a step that both Republicans and Democrats can easily support right now. Last year nearly every Republican in Congress in both the House and the Senate voted for the exact same loan rates that are in this legislation. If Republicans believe that 3.86 percent is good enough for new undergraduate borrowers, then it should be good enough for all the existing undergraduate borrowers. There is no reason on Earth to say that some kids could get a better deal than others when they all worked hard to do exactly what we wanted them to do--get an education. Passing this bill would have a real impact for people who are struggling to make it--college students, young graduates who are only starting to build their lives, parents who are juggling their own student loans and trying to figure out how they are going to pay for their kids' educations, and parents who guaranteed their kids' student loans. Student loan refinancing can save real money for millions of Americans, and they are voicing their support. Letters, emails, and phone calls are already pouring in, and petitions for the bill's passage have already garnered hundreds of thousands of signatures. Think tanks such as Demos and the Center for American Progress, student groups such as Generation Progress and Young Invincibles, and teachers groups such as the AFT and NEA have all come forward and endorsed this proposal. Today the Congressional Budget Office announced that the bill actually saves billions of dollars and reduces the Federal deficit. That is because the refinancing proposal is fully paid for by implementing the Buffett rule, which limits the ability of millionaires and billionaires to exploit tax loopholes and pay a lower tax rate than middle-class families. Later today we will introduce an updated version of this legislation in the hopes that we will be able to consider it on the floor of the Senate very soon. I am encouraged by the fact that some Republicans have also come forward to say they are open to considering a refinancing proposal. I want to be clear. This should not be a partisan issue. I am eager to work with any of my colleagues regardless of party who believe that we need to do something about this growing debt crisis. If they have issues with the proposal, if they want to suggest different offsets or policy changes, they should bring their ideas forward. We are ready to hear them. What we cannot do is continue to ignore this problem and hope that it will go away on its own. Congress made this mess by setting artificially high interest rates that are crushing our kids. It is Congress's responsibility to clean it up. Refinancing won't fix everything that is broken with our higher education system, but the need for comprehensive reform must not blind us to the urgency of addressing massive debt that is already crushing young people. This is personal for me. I grew up in an America that made it a priority to invest in young people, and it opened a million doors for me. I will keep fighting to make sure that every kid who works hard and plays by the rules gets a fair shot. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill. Student loan borrowers don't have armies of lobbyists to fight for them, but they have their voices and they are asking for our support. Let's give it to them.

Ms. WARREN

Ms. WARREN. I yield the floor.

Ms. WARREN

Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, earlier today, the Senate confirmed Mark Mastroianni to fill a judicial vacancy in Western Massachusetts on the District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Mr. Mastroianni came highly recommended by the Advisory Committee on Massachusetts Judicial Nominations. The advisory committee is comprised of distinguished members of the Massachusetts legal community, including prominent academics and litigators, and is chaired by former Massachusetts district court judge Nancy Gertner. Their recommendation reflects the strong sense of the Massachusetts legal community--and in particular the legal community of Western Massachusetts--that he will make an excellent district court judge. Mr. Mastroianni is a true son of Western Massachusetts--born in Springfield and a lifelong resident of Hampden County. Prior to his confirmation, he served as the elected district attorney for Hampden County--a position he has held since 2011. He graduated with honors from the American International College in Springfield, MA and went on to earn his law degree from Western New England College School of Law-- also in Springfield, MA. Mr. Mastroianni began his career in the Hampden County district attorney's office. He served there as an assistant district attorney for over 5 years, gaining prosecutorial experience in a wide variety of district and superior court matters. He then moved into private practice, where he built a significant career as a defense attorney representing clients in criminal and civil matters. Over the course of 16 years, he represented clients in matters before the Massachusetts State trial courts and appeals courts, as well as the district court to which he has been nominated. In November 2010, Mastroianni ran as an independent and was successfully elected to serve as the district attorney for Hampden County in the western part of Massachusetts--a position that returned him to lead the office where he began his career. As district attorney, he was responsible for managing the prosecution of all cases in the 23 cities and towns that make up Hampden County. Aside from the impressive qualifications of this candidate, the fact of Mark's nomination is particularly important because the seat he has been nominated to fill has been vacant for far too long--since U.S. District Court Judge Ponsor took senior status in 2011. The vacancy has strained the Federal judicial system in Western Massachusetts, causing cases to be postponed, forcing judges from Boston to travel to Springfield to hold hearings, and impeding the ability of citizens to get their day in court. Filling this vacancy as quickly as possible has been a top priority for me since I arrived in the Senate last year, and his confirmation will significantly improve the administration of justice in Western Massachusetts. I am proud to have recommended Mark Mastroianni to President Obama. He is an independent-minded district attorney whose diverse litigation experiences, both as a top prosecutor and as a top defense attorney, will enrich the Federal bench in Massachusetts. I have no doubt that he will have a long and distinguished career as a member of the judiciary.

Ms. WARREN

Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, outstanding student loans now total more than $1.2 trillion and millions of young people are struggling to keep up with their payments. But we have a chance to give those borrowers immediate relief by cutting the interest rates on existing student loans. Make no mistake--this is an emergency. Federal watchdog agencies such as the Federal Reserve, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Treasury Department are already sounding the alarm. Forty million Americans are saddled with student loan debt. It is holding them back, and it is holding our economy back too. Crushing student loan debt is keeping many young people from moving out of their parents' homes, from saving for a downpayment, from buying homes, buying cars, starting small businesses, saving for retirement, or making the purchases that grow our economy. It doesn't have to be this way. Congress set artificially high interest rates on old student loans that generate extra money for the government. The GAO recently projected that just the slice of Federal student loans issued between 2007 and 2012 will generate $66 billion for the U.S. Government. Those are the kinds of profits that would make a Fortune 500 CEO proud. These young people didn't go to the mall and run up charges on a credit card. They worked hard and learned new skills that will benefit this country and help us build a stronger America. They deserve a fair shot at an affordable education. We can give them a fair shot by cutting those interest rates and cutting those government profits. Along with more than 30 of my colleagues, I introduced the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act to do just that. The idea is simple. With interest rates near historic lows, homeowners, businesses, and even local governments have refinanced their debts. But a graduate who took out an unsubsidized loan before July 1 of last year is locked into an interest rate of nearly 7 percent. Older loans run 8 percent, 9 percent, 10 percent, and even higher. We need to bring those rates down, and we need to do it now. The Bank on Students bill would give student loan borrowers the opportunity to lower their interest rates on old loans to match the rates the government offers to new borrowers today. That is 3.8 percent for undergraduate loans, 5.41 percent for graduate loans, and 6.41 percent for PLUS loans. I want to be clear. These rates are still higher than what it costs the government to run the student loan program. The government won't be subsidizing student loans. In fact, the government will be making a profit on these loans--just a much smaller profit. And let's also be clear that our work is not done until we eliminate all of the profits from the student loan program. But this is a step that both Republicans and Democrats can easily support right now. Last year nearly every Republican in Congress in both the House and the Senate voted for the exact same loan rates that are in this legislation. If Republicans believe that 3.86 percent is good enough for new undergraduate borrowers, then it should be good enough for all the existing undergraduate borrowers. There is no reason on Earth to say that some kids could get a better deal than others when they all worked hard to do exactly what we wanted them to do--get an education. Passing this bill would have a real impact for people who are struggling to make it--college students, young graduates who are only starting to build their lives, parents who are juggling their own student loans and trying to figure out how they are going to pay for their kids' educations, and parents who guaranteed their kids' student loans. Student loan refinancing can save real money for millions of Americans, and they are voicing their support. Letters, emails, and phone calls are already pouring in, and petitions for the bill's passage have already garnered hundreds of thousands of signatures. Think tanks such as Demos and the Center for American Progress, student groups such as Generation Progress and Young Invincibles, and teachers groups such as the AFT and NEA have all come forward and endorsed this proposal. Today the Congressional Budget Office announced that the bill actually saves billions of dollars and reduces the Federal deficit. That is because the refinancing proposal is fully paid for by implementing the Buffett rule, which limits the ability of millionaires and billionaires to exploit tax loopholes and pay a lower tax rate than middle-class families. Later today we will introduce an updated version of this legislation in the hopes that we will be able to consider it on the floor of the Senate very soon. I am encouraged by the fact that some Republicans have also come forward to say they are open to considering a refinancing proposal. I want to be clear. This should not be a partisan issue. I am eager to work with any of my colleagues regardless of party who believe that we need to do something about this growing debt crisis. If they have issues with the proposal, if they want to suggest different offsets or policy changes, they should bring their ideas forward. We are ready to hear them. What we cannot do is continue to ignore this problem and hope that it will go away on its own. Congress made this mess by setting artificially high interest rates that are crushing our kids. It is Congress's responsibility to clean it up. Refinancing won't fix everything that is broken with our higher education system, but the need for comprehensive reform must not blind us to the urgency of addressing massive debt that is already crushing young people. This is personal for me. I grew up in an America that made it a priority to invest in young people, and it opened a million doors for me. I will keep fighting to make sure that every kid who works hard and plays by the rules gets a fair shot. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill. Student loan borrowers don't have armies of lobbyists to fight for them, but they have their voices and they are asking for our support. Let's give it to them.

Ms. WARREN

Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to offer my strong support of the Environmental Protection Agency's clean power plan to cut carbon pollution from existing powerplants. The EPA's proposal is a powerful step in the fight to protect our health and our environment. We face a crisis. We know that high carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere are driving climate change. We know these carbon dioxide levels are increasing the acidity of our oceans, disrupting already fragile marine ecosystems. We know that powerplants are responsible for about 40 percent of America's carbon pollution. Add all that up and we have enough to know that reducing carbon pollution from powerplant emissions will make a real difference in the fight against climate change. Pollution from powerplants is also associated with other dangerous chemicals. A study led by the University of Syracuse and Harvard University found that reducing carbon dioxide emissions from powerplants can also reduce emissions of other pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and mercury. These dangerous chemicals contribute to acid rain, the destruction of ecosystems, ozone damage to trees and crops, and mercury in fish. These dangerous chemicals are also a direct threat to our health, increasing the risk of heart attacks, asthma, and even death. Add all that up and we have enough to know that reducing powerplant emissions will make a real difference in the health of our children, our parents, and ourselves. Scientists all around the world have collected mountains of evidence about the dangers of carbon pollution. Their basic conclusions are no longer speculative or debatable. Even so, some politicians respond to this evidence by denying it is true, by rejecting scientific evidence or by claiming they just cannot understand the science. This country was not built by people who ignored facts. Sure, the deniers can defend their friends in the pollution business, they can rail against science or pretend it does not exist, but the facts are catching up with us. This pollution is killing people across this country. According to the American Lung Association, up to 100,000 asthma attacks and 4,000 premature deaths will be avoided in the first year the clean power plan goes into effect. Let the deniers deny the facts, but do not let them deny our children clean air to breathe or deny our parents long and healthy lives. The EPA's draft proposal based on its authority under the Clean Air Act is a commonsense approach that builds on work already underway in States and cities across the country. Under the proposal, States will work with the EPA to reduce carbon pollution, and they can use a variety of tools to do it. The clean power plan encourages States to be creative and efficient, to partner with private industry to give our children a safer, healthier world. In Massachusetts, we have seen how effective those solutions can be, after passing laws to increase energy efficiency and encourage renewable energy production. The Commonwealth joined neighboring States as part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. We called it RGGI, and since 2005 RGGI has helped member States cut carbon emissions by 40 percent. RGGI has shown results and it has done so with bipartisan support and the backing of many members of the business community, members who understand that taking action against pollution is not only good for our public health and our environment, it is also good for business. The fight against carbon pollution is about protecting our health, protecting our communities, and protecting our future. But make no mistake, this fight is also about whether this country works only for big energy companies or whether it works for everyone else too. The terrible consequences of failing to act are real. We cannot afford to wait. But every time rules are proposed to clean up our air and water or to protect our environment, powerful deep-pocketed corporations line up to fight these changes. These opponents and their Republican friends are already attacking the EPA's proposed changes. Their latest move is to argue that the EPA's efforts somehow are not legal. That argument is laughable. Seven years ago, my State of Massachusetts led a multistate fight that went all the way to the Supreme Court to force the EPA to do its job to address carbon pollution in this country. We won that case and we started the process that resulted in the Supreme Court ruling that the EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. Instead of embracing change, instead of working to develop rules to reduce pollution and protect the air we breathe, some companies and their Republican friends have fought change at every step. They loudly defend a world where polluters cut their costs by spewing dangerous chemicals and greenhouse gases into our air and water, leaving everyone else to deal with the consequences of their pollution. They loudly defend a world where giant oil companies suck down billions of dollars in subsidies every year, while the green energy industries of the future fight for every scrap of support. They quietly work to tilt the playing field against the technologies of the future so that clean energy entrepreneurs and innovators have a harder time succeeding, while dirty energy companies keep raking in the profits. Climate change is real. More than 120 million Americans live in counties that border the shoreline and a rising sea that threatens their homes and their communities. Millions more live in the path of wildfires or will be caught in the drought that will devastate our land. But unlike big energy companies, they do not have armies of lobbyists and lawyers to protect their interests. They see Washington ignore those problems and they see a system that is rigged against them. These millions of Americans have only their voices, and they call on us to fight for them, to fight for meaningful action to address climate change. The EPA's new clean power plan is one part of the solution. We must build on this proposal and continue our efforts to cut carbon pollution, to improve energy efficiency, and to invest in building a clean energy economy. I applaud President Obama and EPA Administrator McCarthy for their leadership in stepping up and pushing for meaningful standards, and I expect that a strong final rule will be implemented next year because no matter the opposition, no matter how powerful those industries that would let our forests burn, let our crops dry up, let our children get sick, and let our cities drown just to protect their own profits, we have no choice but to take real action to fight climate change. The simple truth is that our future depends on it. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Ms. WARREN

Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Ms. WARREN

Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 3, 2014; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that following any leader remarks, the Senate be in a period of morning business until 11 a.m., with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the majority controlling the first half and the Republicans controlling the final half; that all time during morning business count postcloture on the Harper nomination; that at 11 a.m. the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the Harper nomination postcloture with the time until noon equally divided and controlled in the usual form; and that at noon all postcloture time be considered expired and the Senate vote on confirmation of the Harper nomination; further, that at the conclusion of the cloture vote on the Bowen nomination, the Senate recess until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings.

Ms. WARREN

Ms. WARREN. There will be two rollcall votes at noon tomorrow. Additional rollcall votes on nominations are expected.

Ms. WARREN

Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Ms. WARREN

Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order.