Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) plan to introduce legislation to simplify the options available to repay student loan debt in order to combat the expensive crisis that our nation’s college students and graduates are currently facing.
King stressed at an event last week at Southern Maine Community College that the “simpler system” he and Burr will advocate for will make it easier for students to understand their repayment options and make judgements based on that understanding that are best for themselves and their finances.
“The amount of student loan debt is now in the trillions, and the problem is that it creates a situation where students start their career carrying a tremendous weight on their back,” explained King. “And in turn that stifles their ability to take a job they might really want because, instead, they have to take a job that allows them to pay their loans.”
“We need to continue to talk about this issue and ask why the cost of education has increased faster than any other costs in our society, including healthcare,” he continued. “We also need to find ways to remove red tape and make the larger system more user-friendly to students.”
According to the bill’s discussion draft, it will consolidate “many of the benefits of current repayment programs into a single, simplified income-based repayment option.”
Borrowers emerging from the class of 2014 shoulder an average of $33,000 in student loan debt each, according to the Wall Street Journal. What’s more, about 70 percent of graduates leave college with some debt.
These two senators join the Capitol Hill chorus of lawmakers’ voices on student loans — including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R- N.C.) — that should prove to be quite loud ahead of the midterm elections in November.
