CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Student Loans

Interview

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Senator Elizabeth Warren is joining us from Capitol Hill right now.

Senator, thanks very much for joining us.

You worked passionately. You tried earlier this year to get a refinancing bill to lower interest rates for college graduates who are stuck with huge student loan burdens. You failed. There wasn't enough support in the Senate. The next Senate is going to even have more Republicans.

Where do you go from here?

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Yes, this is going to be the fight. We've got to have that.

This is crazy, that you can refinance your home, you can refinance your car, you can refinance your business loans, but you can't refinance student loan debt. And as a result, we've got kids stuck at high interest rates and the government making tens of millions of dollars, billions of dollars in profit off their backs.

So, my view on this is, you know, we don't give up. We just keep fighting harder and harder. This touches families across America and I believe they're going to be part of this fight.

BLITZER: And the problem is there's a lot of Republicans didn't like the fact that to pay for lowering the student interest rates, the loan rates, you wanted to raise taxes on wealthy Americans, and they say that's a nonstarter, to which you say?

WARREN: To which I say -- wait a minute. We have billions of dollars in tax loopholes for millionaires and billionaires, or we can invest that money in young people who are trying to get a start in life.

You know, this is one of those cases where it's pretty clear what the choices are that are available to America. And I think that we ought to ask millionaires and billionaires to pay taxes at least at the same rate that middle class families do. You know, our -- as a country, we need to be investing in the future. We need to be making sure that all of our kids have a fighting chance to build something for themselves. And that's what this is about.

BLITZER: Aren't there other ways to pay for this, to help these students who got these enormously high student loan debt, there are other ways. As you know, there is a lot of waste in the federal government, a lot of expenditure. A lot of your fellow Democrats would like to see the billions spent on defense cut down and use some of that money, for example, to pay for this instead of raising taxes.

Your reaction?

WARREN: You know, I'm open to any way to pay for this, because what matters most to me is getting that interest rate down for our kids. That's where we really need to be focused. And I kept saying throughout the debate on the Senate floor, if the Republicans had some other idea for how to pay for it, come on down. Let's talk about it. Put your alternative on the table.

But instead, they just filibustered. They voted no.

BLITZER: In light of the cost, and we've got this major documentary that's airing later tonight on CNN. Is a college degree for everyone?

WARREN: Well, look, the opportunity to get a college degree should be out there for everyone. It shouldn't be just there for kids who are rich. It should be there for kids who work hard, who play by the rules.

You know, this one is really personal for me. I grew up in a family that had a lot of economic ups and downs, and there was no money for me to go to college. I ended up graduating from a commuter college that cost $50 a semester. I'm the daughter of a janitor and a mom who worked a minimum wage job at Sears and I ended up here in the United States Senate because I grew up in an America that was investing in opportunities for kids like me.

That's the America that helps us build a real future. That's the America I'm committed to.

BLITZER: I know it's a passionate issue for you and you're going to continue to struggle on this front.

Quickly, while I have you, the president is about to address the American people on immigration reform. He's going to take executive action, unilateral action. He's deeply irritating, as you know, a lot of Republicans. Here is the question to you: does he have the legal authority to change the rules in effect tonight?

WARREN: Look, I was proud to vote for comprehensive immigration reform a year and a half ago, and the Republicans haven't done anything since then. They keep blocking bringing this to a vote.

So, I support the president in taking what actions he can within the law to help families, to help businesses and try to patch up this broken immigration system.

BLITZER: Senator Warren, thanks very much for joining us.

WARREN: Thank you.

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