If there were a consensus complaint by Millennials, it would revolve around the student debt crisis.

The inefficiency of containing the cost of college has resulted in a demolition of opportunity for many Millennials throughout the U.S. What was once only a couple hundred dollars, tuition alone now rides along the tune of tens of thousands of dollars a year. Not only is it unbelievable, but it is impossible for an 18-year-old to afford that astronomical price.

During a panel at the Center for American Progress (CAP), Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) expressed sincere concern regarding college affordability, or lack there of.

The increasing cost of college not only limits who is eligible to attend, but also fewer students are graduating within four years than ever. Murphy made note that “we have gone from first to twelfth in the world in people age 25 to 30 with college degrees.”

That is simply unacceptable, and both Murphy and Schatz understand, as they are still paying off their student loans. The two youngest Senators in the nation are on a mission to increase innovation and hold university presidents accountable.

Joining her Senate colleagues Murphy and Schatz, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) shares the duo’s urgency to address the student debt crisis as she has introduced the College Affordability and Innovation Act of 2014 aimed to incentivize institutions to lower the cost of college and increase the outreach to Pell Grant recipients.

Schatz understands that “costs are out of control” and “as long as you have a family you are concerned about the affordability of college.” The key issue for this legislation is that the quality of a degree is not sacrificial to the introduction of innovative cost reducing programs.

The increasing cost of college is a trend accompanied by the increase in time it takes for students to receive a degree. In this day and age, many students complete their undergraduate degrees in excess of five to six years. Many members of our government do not understand the factors at play including that most students change their major before they graduate which lengthens their stay.

Schatz recognizes the pressure for students to “choose my major almost instantly,” while Murphy mentioned another issue plaguing the increase in length it takes to graduate resides in the lack of credit representation by students who work.

The increase in the length of education directly correlates to an increase in the debt that will be haunting students for years.

Schatz made note that 57 percent of students in public universities are graduating within 4 years and that 66 percent of public university students are borrowing money to afford college. The Student Debt Crisis is a critical element in the deprivation and dissolution of the middle class.