Senator Charles Schumer visited a college on Staten Island Monday to discuss a new bill he says would help students with their tuition and loans. Ny1's Aaron Dickens filed the following report.

It's been a big year for Jennifer Shanks, a graduate student at St. John's University. She recently got engaged and will receive her masters in school counseling this May. But Shanks says she can't afford to have the wedding, because in just two months she will begin paying off $70,000 in loans.

“I want to have a great wedding for my friends and family who have been so supportive of me and my fiancé,” Shanks said. “It’s hard to put it on hold.”

But Shanks could be getting some relief. Senator Chuck Schumer came to her school Monday to announce a bill he is sponsoring called the Reducing Education Debt – or RED – Act. The legislation would allow students to refinance their loans to a rate as low as %. That would be a 6% reduction for Shanks.

“That would save me hundreds of dollars a month,” she said. “I'm expecting my payment to be at least $1,200 a month.”

Shanks is not alone. Schumer says more than 60% of students in New York graduate with debt.

“We have a goal to have our students in the future graduate debt free,” Schumer said. “That doesn't mean all of it is paid for by the federal government but between a job and what your family put it you should be able to graduate debt free.”

Schumer says under the RED Act, the first two years of community college would be tuition free. It also calls for an increase in Pell grants.

“College should create a lifetime of opportunities as it does here at St. John's, not a life sentence of debt and financial strain,” he said.

Last year, the college reduced its annual tuition by $10,000. This year, there is a tuition freeze.

“We move around recourses. St. John's is a very resourceful university. It’s a matter of priorities,” said James O'Keefe, Vice Provost at the university.

Schumer says dozens of other Senators are supporting the bill. He is hoping to get it passed this year.