The Senate on Wednesday voted not to move forward with a student loan reform bill from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a proposal that would have allowed an estimated 25 million people to refinance their student loans.
It's been a student loan-themed week for Barack Obama, who issued an executive order Monday to cap student loan payments at 10 percent of borrowers' monthly incomes. He and Warren have warped her bill, which would tax the wealthy in order to allow older students to refinance their loans, to make the issue a contrast between helping students or the rich.
The Senate fiercely debated the bill, and Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, accused Democrats of capitalizing on merely playing politics as midterm elections approach.
Senate Democrats “want an issue to campaign on to save their own hides this November,” McConnell said. “Americans are not going to fall for this spin.”
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), speaking on the Senate floor Wednesday, urged Congress to send the bill back to the education committee in order to give precedence to veterans and appropriations legislation.
Warren, though, has pledged to stand by her bill, and on Tuesday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the issue would be brought back to the floor if it failed to pass Congress.