President Obama on Saturday promoted his new “student aid bill of rights,” asking people to go online and sign their name to what he called “a simple declaration of values” concerning the cost of higher education.
“Tell your families, and your friends, and fellow students,” Obama said during his weekly address to the nation. “I’m going to ask members of Congress, and lenders, and as many business leaders as I can find. Because making sure that students aren’t saddled with debt before they even get started in life is in all our interests. ”
Obama announced the creation of the student aid bill of rights on March 10 at Georgia Tech. The program is aimed at making it for students to repay college loans. It will require lenders to provide clear information about how much a student owes, the options for repayment and help for those who fall behind on their loans. The program would also require lenders to allow repayment of the higher interest loans first. Obama also promised to “take a hard look” at adding new “protections” for all borrowers.
Obama called higher education “the surest ticket to the middle class,” but said the cost is too high for many, with the average undergraduate debt up to about $28,000.
He promoted his recent plan to provide two years of free community college, the expansion of Pell Grants and the move to cap loan payments to ten percent of income.
“But all of us — elected officials, universities, business leaders — everybody needs to do more to bring down college costs,” Obama said.
