releases: https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=d9c453a5-c9ec-48df-8842-dccab58a151b
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=d9c453a5-c9ec-48df-8842-dccab58a151b | In Minot, Heitkamp Brings Attention to Growing Cost of Higher Education | 2013-09-03 | 2013 | 2013-09 | Democrat | House | ND | Heidi Heitkamp | H001069 | www.heitkamp.senate.gov | legacy | MINOT, N.D. – U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today visited the campus of Minot State University to bring attention to the rising cost of higher education and talk about ways to make college more affordable. Heitkamp brought together students, administrators, and financial aid officers from area colleges to focus on solutions to address the problem. Heitkamp, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, recently helped provide long-term certainty to student loan rates and is now working to address the skyrocketing price of a college degree. “To help find solutions to the rising cost of higher education, I am listening to the folks who are seeing it firsthand: North Dakota students and education officials,” said Heitkamp. “Just as I’ve heard from other discussions across North Dakota, I heard today from students about how they face crippling college debt for decades because of the exponentially growing costs of higher education. The legislation I voted for was an important first step to provide certainty about student loan rates, but we have so much more to do. All students, regardless of their family’s financial situation, should be able to afford public higher education and get the college degree they deserve, while not feeling the burdens of massive amounts of debt.” Heitkamp was joined in Minot by current college students, Turtle Mountain Community College President Jim Davis, and several Minot State University officials. Heitkamp has recently held similar discussions in Valley City and Grand Forks. In July, Heitkamp helped pass the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act of 2013, which the President signed into law. The legislation allows students the ability to take advantage of historically low interest rates, while locking in the rates for the life of the loan, and capping future rates. In addition to her work to on keeping rates low, Heitkamp is also working on a plan to help Americans saddled with costly, private student loans refinance to more affordable options. In June, Heitkamp introduced a bill to help folks reduce their debt through refinancing, which would be no cost to taxpayers. Heitkamp understands that the issue of mounting student loan debt not only affects students and graduates, but that it is a drain on the entire economy. Last year, outstanding student loan debt reached more than $1 trillion and 81 percent of the undergraduates with high student debt had private loans. This excessive student loan debt dampens home purchases, slows small business startups, diverts retirement savings, and limits opportunitites for economic expansion in rural communities. Private loans typically have higher interest rates - that can top 18 percent - and are more difficult to refinance and offer fewer payment options than loans administered by the U.S. Department of Education. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |