Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on  H.R. 4622, the Federal Student Loan Refinancing Act, a bill she has co-sponsored which requests that the Secretary of Education allow borrowers to refinance their student loans at an interest rate of four percent. A lower interest rate would allow millions of borrowers, many of whom have substantial debts incurred in college or graduate school, to invest in our economy.

The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Mark Pocan and Congressman Scott Peters – a companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

“The fixed high rates of interest on student loans have effectively removed millions of dollars from our economy, reducing the amount of investment on which our shared prosperity depends,” said Congresswoman Clarke, who has consistently voted to reduce the rate of interest on student loans. “The enormous student loans incurred to afford college tuition have prevented millions of people from buying homes and investing for their retirement. I believe borrowers with student loan debt should have the same choice borrowers with other type of debt have to refinance at a lower rate.”

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.