Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) today joined Senate Democrats and dozens of college students and young professionals to call on Congress to lighten the burden for New Jersey’s student borrowers and their families and put money back into their pockets.

At today’s event, Sen. Booker was joined by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Al Franken (D-MN), Jack Reed (D-RI), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) in urging Senate Republicans to support the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act. Ensuring the nation’s young people have a chance to afford college is a critical part of the Senate Democrats’ plan to give all Americans a fair shot.

“Our greatest national asset is the intellectual genius of our young people,” Booker said. “We should be supporting them in their pursuit of higher education, not making it more difficult. Our current system is not only a disservice to our students, but our collective future as a nation in a global knowledge-based society. I will continue fighting for legislation that gives all students a fair shot at achieving the American Dream.”

Under the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act of 2013, students who take out new undergraduate loans for the 2013-2014 school year will 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 who took out loans earlier than 2013 and are paying sky-high interest rates, some 14 percent interest and higher. Under the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act, students taking out new undergraduate loans pay a rate of 3.86 percent, students taking out new graduate loans pay a rate of 5.41 percent, and PLUS loan holders pay 6.41 percent. 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.

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. A previous report from the New York Federal Reserve showed a huge increase in delinquent student loans from the beginning of 2010, and that 11.5 percent of delinquent loans were 90 days or more behind in payments. Defaulting on student loans can leave a serious black mark on young professionals’ credit reports for years to come, making it very difficult for those individuals to secure credit later in life.

View an excerpt from Sen. Booker’s remarks today: