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Students cheer during the University of Massachusetts at Amherst commencement on May 11, 2012.

(Dave Roback/The Republican)

Forty million Americans have outstanding student loans, according to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

If that doesn’t sound like a lot, consider this comparison: “Balances of student loans have eclipsed both auto loans and credit cards, making student loan debt the largest form of consumer debt outside of mortgages,” the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported in March 2013 on its website.

That’s a problem. Crushing debt has major impacts for young (and older) graduates -- on their career choices, on their spending habits, on their ability to live independently and on their ability to start and support their families. Those who would consider defaulting take major risks with their financial future.

The Federal Student Aid office of the U.S. Department of Education warns those who consider defaulting on their loans that the repercussions are serious and long-lasting: The loan becomes immediately due; credit ratings are damaged; wages could be garnished; lawsuits may ensue barring the defaulting graduate from buying real estate.

Warren wants to help college and graduate school alumni by allowing them to refinance their government-sponsored student loans with a bill called the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act.

This gives those with outstanding education loans the same option already available to those who have taken out loans on houses and cars.

Loans borrowed for undergraduate education would be refinanced to 3.86 percent. Loans borrowed for graduate education would be refinanced to 5.41 percent and loans borrowed by parents for their child’s education would be refinanced to 6.41 percent.

Warren has a plan to make up for the interest lost to the U.S. government, but while its aims are virtuous, it’s not likely to be popular with Republicans. In fact, it might sink this otherwise excellent piece of legislation. It’s called the Buffett Rule, named for Warren Buffett, and it would close a tax loophole on millionaires.

"Should America be investing billions of dollars in tax loopholes for billionaires or investing that money to help young people who are trying to get an education? “ the senator asked MassLIve.com. “I think spending should be consistent with our values."

Warren’s bill has 23 co-sponsors, and a similar piece of legislation has been filed in the U.S. House by U.S. Rep. John Tierney and U.S. Rep. George Miller.

Even with the Buffett Rule tied to it, this bill is a no-brainer for education, for graduates, and for the health of the U.S. economy.