BINGHAMTON N.Y – Congressman Anthony Brindisi met with some local college students to discuss how their student loans are affecting them.

Brindisi held a roundtable at Binghamton University with student leaders to discuss the topic.

He says that the student loans are really holding back many college graduates.

Brindisi says Congress needs to work to make college more affordable and make student loan interest rates more in line with those for small businesses.

He says there also needs to be stricter oversight on lenders to prevent them from taking advantage of students, many of whom are only 18 when they sign up for these loans.

“I think the big concerns are that by the time you can actually start paying off the debt you’re well into your late 20s or even earlier 30s after graduate school. It becomes very hard to buy a home, take out a loan for car to start a small business while you still have this crushing student loan issue hanging over your head,” said Brindisi.

Brindisi says the average student borrower leaves college with more than $35,000 in debt.