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Gillibrand challenges Obama to ease student loan debt

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Sunday challenged President Obama to back her plan to ease student loan debt in his State of the Union Address.

“All of us here are urging the president to make a commitment to help tackle the mountain of student debt that is crippling the lives of so many of our young people,” said Gillibrand (D-NY).

Flanked by education advocates at her New York City office, Gillibrand touted her bill, which would allow students to refinance federal college loans at lower interest rates.

Refinancing of federal student loans is currently prohibited.

“Here in New York City and across the nation, we are facing a student crisis,” Gillibrand said. “Student loan debt is at $1.2 trillion nationwide. Americans now owe more on their student loans than they do on their credit cards or with their car loans, holding back their own opportunity and economic grown for our country.”

The White House did not immediately respond to Gillibrand’s comments.

The legislation, known as the Federal Student Loan Refinancing Act, would allow borrowers paying interest rates above 4 percent to refinance the federal loans at a fixed rate of 4 percent.